‘Yes Mia I ate ok. How r u? x’
‘I’ll be ok mom don’t worry about me I’ll see u 2mor. Love u x’
‘Ok love u 2 x’
Should I call Cody? No, he made it clear he didn’t want to talk about anything else with me, so I’ll leave it there and hopefully bump into him tomorrow.
It’d been an emotional rollercoaster of a day for Mia. She and Cody had shared just about every emotion together from elation to sadness and betrayal. They’d been intimate and fallen out all in one day. In some ways, she regretted telling him about her pregnancy tonight; at least she should’ve told him before she told her mom.
There was nothing she could do now; she couldn’t claim the words back, make them unspoken, so she’d have to live with the fact that she was wrong to tell them both together.
Mia decided to go to bed. She was exhausted, and as she got undressed, she switched on CBC television to hear the late news and was shocked at what the broadcaster said, “We are receiving reports of more wolf sightings around the Banff area and the wildlife rangers are urging people not to wander into the forest areas after dark.”
“Jeez, you stupid, stupid cow Mia!” she mumbled, climbing into bed.
At least her nighttime adventure had shown her that Cody still cared about her. She’d been foolhardy, she knew that now, and by all accounts had been extremely lucky. A big risk to take to see if a guy still loved you, but she’d honestly not known about the wolves.
39. Chapter Nine
After a restless sleep, Mia awoke to the sound of her alarm clock; 6 a.m. had dawned. She forced herself out of bed as she could’ve easily gone back to sleep. Mia wasn’t looking forward to the day ahead because she knew it’d be filled with explanations to both her mom and Cody of why she ended up in the forest.
“God, I feel like friggin shit!” she mumbled, racing into the bathroom to throw up. “Well, at least I know why I’m throwing up now.”
So far, Mia wasn’t impressed with the whole pregnancy malarkey; she knew it’d get a whole lot worse too. Her thoughts turned to her parents, and she wondered how her dad would react to the news. It wasn’t as though Mia was a teenager, she was in her mid-twenties now, so surely her age would make it more acceptable.
She rolled over onto her knees, her body covered in a light sweat. Her legs felt like jelly, but she managed to stand up and walk the short distance to the sink where she splashed some much needed cool water on her skin.
Glancing in the mirror, she muttered, “Good God, girl, you’re gonna need a lot of work!” as she observed her messy hair, tired eyes, and sweat-covered face.
The first step was a shower, and as Mia smoothed shower gel over her body, she began imagining herself pregnant; this only upset her.
I won’t be slim or sexy anymore, what will Cody think of me? If he’s even with me by then, of course. Millions of women go through it for fuck’s sake, girl, and they get their figures back again.
Of course, her other option was to have an abortion, but this thought was quickly removed from her mind. Mia didn’t believe in it and would have the baby regardless of what everyone else thought of her. Adoption was a possibility but that’d break her mom’s heart; she’d only have a grandchild for a very short time before the baby went to new parents.
“Out of options then kiddo really,” Mia whispered under her breath, stepping out of the shower and beginning to dry herself off. She opted for her stonewashed skinny jeans and a turquoise T-shirt tucked in to show her slim waist off while she still could. Her long black hair was put into a tidy looking plait; her makeup was minimal, and her feet were pushed into her gray and pale pink sneakers.
Her cell beeped—it was a message from Cody. Mia pounced on it as even though things weren’t great between them, she still loved him, and was pleased to hear from him, ‘Mia we need 2 talk can u meet me in the lobby soon?’
“Huh, so no kiss now then on your message?” God, you can be so childish at times, pull yourself together; you’ve got more to worry about than whether he’s put a kiss on his message or not!
‘I can be there in 5’ she typed back, also leaving the kiss off.
‘Cool see u then’ he replied. Mia shoved her cell in her shoulder bag, picked up a thin sweater and headed for the elevator, hoping she wouldn’t see her mom on the way downstairs. She’d planned in her own head to meet her later and would let her know soon, but Mia’s priority was seeing Cody.
Shaking like a leaf, she walked from the elevator in the lobby scanning the area for Cody. “Mia, over here,” his voice called. She caught sight of him standing by the main door, and her heart skipped a beat; he looked so handsome in his black straight legged jeans and an orange T-shirt. His hair was back in a black Alice band, and his handsome face had a light covering of stubble.
Mia had to refrain from hugging him when she reached his side. He smiled awkwardly, and she did the same, much like total strangers meeting for the first time.
“I thought we might go for a walk,” he said, staring down at her with a serious expression.
Shit this is it; he’s gonna break up with me—I just know it. He’s decided he doesn’t want me or the baby.
“Yes, that’ll be good, Cody,” she muttered, flashing him a small nervous smile and following him out into the bright sunlight.
As soon as they were clear of Thrill Seekers, he started talking, “Mia, I’ve something to ask you. Did you know about the wolf sightings in this area before you went into the forest last night?”
His question threw her completely; she’d expected a question about Callum, not about wolves, “No, Cody, I can assure you, I didn’t. There’s no way I’d have gone into the forest at night had I known, however upset I was.”
“That’s good, Mia. If I thought you’d endangered yourself and our baby on purpose just cos you needed some sort of proof that I loved you, then I’d have been mad at you,” he replied.
Mia stopped walking and turning to him said, “Our baby?”
“Huh?” he answered staring down at her with his pale blue eyes and a small smile playing on his soft lips.
“You said our baby,” Mia said quietly, liking the sound of the words as they fell from her lips.
Cody cleared his throat, “I did? Well, I was worried about you both when Sophia called. I couldn’t help it; my natural reaction was to worry, Mia. I’ve not stopped loving you; even when you told me about Callum and Sophia, it didn’t suddenly make my feelings for you vanish into thin air.”
“It sounds nice doesn’t it, our baby?”
He didn’t answer her question, but instead, asked her another one, “You’re sure you only found out last night?”
“Yes, Cody. I bought the kit when we were out, as you guessed, and used it last night before I met you and Mom for dinner.” Our baby. God that sounds so great. Please don’t be pissed with me anymore.
“What a fucking mess, Mia!”
She was surprised by his outburst. “It doesn’t have to be a mess, Cody. We can sort it out.”
“You mean an abortion?” he asked.
Mia was shocked, “No! God, no. I’d never, how could you even think that I’d do that?” There were tears in her eyes as she began walking forward away from him; she heard his footsteps behind her and felt his hand on her arm as he spun her around to face him.
“Mia, stop for fuck’s sake. Stop walking away from me. I didn’t mean to upset or offend you. It’s just that when you said we can sort it out, I assumed.”
Mia laughed in a totally psychotic way, “You assumed, you fucking assumed, Mr. Never Assume guy, you assumed!” She felt as though she were losing her grip on reality as she screamed the words at him. The tears were rolling down her silky-soft cheeks now; she felt his hands on her arms then her shoulders and then holding her gently.
“Shush, pixie, shush. It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered into her ear while holding her tightly now.
“Have ... have ... have you really? Got me I mean?
” she stuttered between sobs.
“Of course, pixie. I’ll always have you cos I love you, but I’m also concerned about one thing and need you to do something for me,” he spoke quietly and pulled away from her now so that he could look at her tearstained face.
“What do you need me to do, Cody?” she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Have a paternity test for me, Mia; will you do that?”
How could she refuse? If she did, it looked like she’d something to hide, and anyhow, she wanted to know one way or the other if the baby belonged to Cody or Callum. She nodded her head slowly in response to Cody’s question.
“That’s a start, Mia. You can have the test done between 14 and 20 weeks into your pregnancy, and yes, I’ve done my homework.” Cody grinned at her now.
Mia processed all the information. The pregnancy test had indicated that it’d been three+ weeks since conception; she’d not mentioned this to Cody yet because she knew the timing was about right for her threesome with Sophia and Callum. Of course, she was having a lot of sex with Cody throughout this time period too, so the conception date alone was no proof.
“Okay, I’ll have to visit a doctor, and hopefully, get a scan done. I know no more about any of this than you, Cody, so I’ll have to book an appointment when I get home to Vancouver,” she replied. Eliza’s cousin had her first scan at around eight weeks into her pregnancy, according to Eliza.
Eliza didn’t know anything definite about Mia’s pregnancy as of yet, only that Mia was buying a kit.
She felt his strong arms wrapping around her slim body and felt safe. “Are we good?” he asked as he held her tightly.
“Yes I think so,” she answered tentatively. What if the baby belonged to Callum? She’d no idea what would happen then; he wouldn’t want to be with her just for the baby’s sake. He wouldn’t leave Sophia, and Mia wouldn’t want him to, and Cody would be devastated. Everything could go horribly wrong, but for now, Mia was safe in the knowledge that until the paternity test was done, she and Cody were together.
“I do love you, pixie, you know that right?” He pulled away from her but still held her arms and stared into her eyes searching for her answer.
“Yes, Cody, and I love you. I just want things to be right between us. Now I need to ask you a question,” she replied, knowing in her heart that her words were true. She was lucky to have his love after the fiasco with Sophia and Callum, let alone after telling him she was pregnant. Her mom had said he was a keeper, and Mia was determined to hang onto him.
“And what’s the question?”
“Does this mean you want to have kids now? Cos you were unsure before.”
“Still am unsure, Mia, but if the baby’s proved to be mine, then my mind will be made up. I want and love you, and I’ll do the same with our baby. And yes, our baby does sound nice.” He kissed her nose as he spoke, something he’d not done for a long time.
“It wasn’t planned Cody, you know that.”
“Yes, I do know that, Mia, and I know you’re on the pill. We can cope with this, pixie, I know we can.”
“This is all I wanted Cody, your support.” She was thrilled that he was more accepting to the news of her pregnancy now; even though they weren’t certain that the baby was his, he was prepared to stand by her side, and that meant the world to her.
They began walking toward the forest, “You think this is safe? What about the wolves, Cody?” she asked, pulling his arm gently to stop him walking forward.
Cody turned to face her. “We can go back if you want, pixie, but wolves generally hunt at night, and by now, the pack has probably moved on. There are other people walking in the forest, look.”
Mia followed his pointing finger and spotted a small group of hikers making their way through the dense forest. She felt better about entering the forest in the bright sunlight of the day rather than being in it during the night, “Okay, I’m up for it if you are!”
She tied her sweater around her waist as the sun was warming up now; Cody held out his arm for her; she took it, and the couple headed off arm in arm into the forest.
Mia felt more relaxed now than she’d done in a long time: they weren’t fighting or falling out with each other. It was nice and simple; they didn’t need to talk about the situation anymore. Mia would make a doctor’s appointment, and she’d find out about having a paternity test done.
“Hey, I guess Callum will have to know about the paternity test?” The question just popped into her head. Mia felt Cody’s arm tense at the mere mention of Callum’s name and now regretted saying anything.
“I think it’s best if he does know Mia. You can have certain tests done prior to the birth or obviously afterward when the child’s grown up a bit, but with these, a cheek swab is taken, and that would prove tricky to get from Callum if he doesn’t know anything about it!” Cody chuckled.
Mia giggled as she imagined them coming up with an excuse to Callum about why he needed to have his cheek swabbed, “Yeah, could be a bit awkward.”
“Best thing to do pixie is to talk to your doctor about the options once you know how far along you are with the pregnancy,” he replied, calmly squeezing her arm gently as he spoke.
Mia felt as though they were truly facing the issue together now, and it felt good. She really hoped that Cody was the baby’s dad; maybe it’d bring them closer together if they’d had a baby, or maybe that was the wrong reason for wanting him to be the dad. She knew she loved him and wanted to be with him, and she knew he felt the same way, so the baby wasn’t simply a tool to make them fall in love all over again.
It was great to be walking along with the man she loved in the warm sunshine.
She couldn’t believe he was being so understanding now; things could’ve turned out so differently. Mia squeezed his arm and smiled to herself as she felt his arm wrapping around her waist.
The forest was looking beautiful; the birds were singing, and Mia couldn’t be happier right now.
“Remember what happened last time we were walking together?” Cody asked.
Mia giggled. “How could I forget?” They stopped walking and turned to face one another. Cody held her face in his hands gently, and with a smile on his face, bent his head to kiss her; his lips felt like velvet, and his kiss was soft and intoxicating.
I can’t do this. I have to know.
She pulled away from him, “Cody, I need to ask you something?”
“Anything Mia, ask away.” He looked hurt that she’d pulled away from his kiss; his hands held her arms gently as he looked down at her, his blue eyes filled with concern.
“Why did you tell Callum about the pregnancy? Why did you call him last night?”
She felt his hands loosening on her arms as he let her go. Cody took a few steps back, “Jeez, I was fucked up, Mia. There were so many emotions flying around inside my head that I just snapped and called him. I was pissed off with him for having a threesome with you and then for possibly getting you pregnant, Mia.”
“I so wish you’d not told him, Cody. Oh, I know he’d have found out eventually cos of the paternity test and everything, but for now, I just wish it’d remained our secret.”
“Right, so why did you tell your mom then?” he shouted.
“That’s totally different, Cody. I told Mom for support—you told Callum cos you were pissed at him and cos you wanted to hurt him. If he knew I might be having his baby but couldn’t be with me cos of you and Sophia, it’d hurt him.” She was absolutely certain this was Cody’s reasoning behind telling Callum about the baby.
Cody fell silent. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black jeans and resembled a sulky teenager. “So what? It’s a human reaction to want to hurt the person who hurts you.”
Mia didn’t know if she should feel relieved that he’d spoken the truth at last or sad that he’d all but used the baby as a weapon against Callum.
40. Chapter Ten
They walked in silence until they came across a fall
en tree and sat down; well, Cody sat, and Mia stood and leant against the tree as it was too high off the ground for her to sit on. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least.
“Listen, Mia ...” He began swinging his legs casually above the ground and staring at the forest floor. “I’ve had a rough time dealing with my feelings since you told me about the baby. I’m devastated that my mom isn’t here anymore; she always wanted grandkids. I know she wasn’t my real mom, Mia, but she raised me as her own, and my childhood was a good one, a happy one.”
Mia hadn’t even given this a thought—how Cody would be feeling about the baby and his own parents. His mom had gone, and now his dad too, and then to discover they weren’t even his real family must’ve been one heck of a shock. The news of Mia’s pregnancy had probably reopened old wounds.
“This doesn’t excuse me blurting it out to Callum on the phone, but I’m simply trying to explain my actions to you,” he continued.
Mia moved along the tree until she was level with him, and resting her hands on his legs, she said, “I know you’re trying to explain things to me Cody, and I appreciate where you’re coming from. I never even gave your parents a thought; what sort of a girl does that make me?”
She felt his finger underneath her chin, lifting her head up. “The sort that I love. I don’t expect you to think about everything I’m going through pixie, and to be honest, the thoughts about Mom and Dad not knowing the baby only came to the surface this morning. For some reason, I began remembering the moment you told your mom and me last night at dinner and started to wonder how my mom would’ve reacted to the news.”
“Probably a whole lot calmer than mine!”
Cody laughed. “Yeah, your mom didn’t really go for the quiet reaction, did she? Mind you, I always remember my mom was highly strung, and I know she mentioned grandkids a few times so I think she’d have been the same, Mia.”
Interview with a Billionaire: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 27
