by K. A. Berg
“You tell her if she wants the amount we discussed, she’ll find a way to make it happen,” he says with a mouth full of food. “I’m not rescheduling. I want what I said I want. The instructions were clear.”
Through the tossing of my stomach and bad taste in my mouth, I still find a way to laugh to myself at the fact it sounds like he’s ordering a call girl. Although, in all honesty, he probably is.
“Unacceptable,” he barks into the phone, slamming his fork down. “You tell her, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
He ends his call. “I have an important matter I need to handle.” He shoves another chunk of meat into his mouth and then rises from his chair. “Tell Jordan I’ll expect a meeting the moment he arrives back in town.”
And to my benefit, he just leaves the table. I’ll deal with the rudeness so long as it means I’m done with this man for the night, Nausea rolls in swift and forceful. Vomiting in front of that asshole would’ve been the nail in the coffin for all women in business when it comes to him.
I wave our waiter over and ask him to take the plates. “Can you bring me a ginger ale and the bill, please?”
The waiter delivers both items, and I sip the drink as he takes my card to pay the check. The unease of my stomach starts to settle as the distance between DiPaulo and me grows. Thank god! It’s incredible how much that man repulses me.
With everything taken care of and my stomach feeling better, I head over to the valet station.
While I wait for the valet to bring my car around, a bus passes by, releasing a thick, dark cloud of exhaust. The toxic fumes hit my nose, and I gag. I dash across the sidewalk just in time to puke up my dinner into a city garbage can.
After a few more heaves, I finally stand back up and begin frantically running my hands over my black slacks trying to get rid of some of the grime on them.
The young man holding the keys to my car comes to my rescue with a few wet wipes with the restaurant’s logo on them. “You okay, ma’am?”
Ugh, he called me ma’am. But he brought me something to clean my disgusting hands with, so I’ll let it slide. “Yes, I’m okay now. Thanks.”
He holds out my keys to me then backs away as if he’s worried I may start throwing up again but in his direction this time.
My stomach still rolls as I slip into the driver’s seat. I pray this isn’t food poisoning. That would be fucking awful. Hopefully, it was just the presence of DiPaulo making me sick.
Whatever the reason, I plead with whatever god above that there’s no traffic heading back to Jersey. I roll down the windows, letting the crisp fall air fill the car. With any luck, some non-toxic air blowing in my face will help. The last thing I need tonight is to have to pull over and throw up on the side of the road.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
QUINN
AN INTENSE URGE TO VOMIT HAS ME DASHING FROM THE kitchen to the hall bathroom. I’m able to flip the lid up on the toilet just in time. My throat burns, and my eyes water as I throw up my dinner.
Alex knocks on the door and sticks his head in. “Angel, you okay?”
I groan and flop down on the floor. “There has to be something going on with the seafood they’re getting around here. Is it being pulled from the Hudson? This is the third time I’ve thrown up after eating seafood in the last two weeks. What the hell?”
“What do you mean?” he asks as he squats down next to me. “This has been going on longer than tonight?”
I nod as I absentmindedly scratch my stomach. “First was the dinner with my investor. Although, I honestly thought it was him who made my stomach toss. Then I got sick when we ordered from the Portuguese restaurant. Now, shrimp tonight. I haven’t spent this much time on my knees since college.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” he asks as he stands and wets a washcloth for me. “I had no idea you haven’t been feeling well.”
We’ve both been a bit busy these last two weeks. Alex has been doing the extra college programs, and Jordan and I have been doing extensive planning for California. I hadn’t put much thought into it until a little while earlier when I was trying to fall asleep to escape the queasiness of my stomach.
“Quinn, how long have you been itching your stomach like that?” Alex asks, looking at my hand.
Looking down, I pull my hand out from under my tank top and pull my shirt up. Red splotches have formed across my abdomen and up my chest. “I hadn’t even really noticed I was doing it,” I say as I shove off the bathroom floor, nausea forgotten for the moment. Standing in front of the mirror, I look horrified as I see what looks like hives spreading across my torso. “Holy crap! It looks like I’m having an allergic reaction.”
Alex’s eyes widen in the surprise and panic as we look at each other through our reflections. “Are you having trouble breathing? Does your throat feel like it’s closing? We need to get you to a doctor.”
I shake my head. “Relax, I can breathe fine,” I reassure him. “My stomach is really itchy, and I feel nauseous. That’s it.”
He doesn’t look relaxed as he scans me in the mirror. “Both of those things are symptoms of an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions are different for everyone and can be delayed. I’d rather not wait for something to happen before heading to the ER just to be safe.”
This doesn’t make sense. “I’ve eaten seafood my whole life. Why the hell would I develop an allergy to it now?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know, but I don’t like this. I want to go to the ER. Did you break out the other times as well?”
“No.” The last two times I just got sick; no hives. I can see from the seriousness of Alex’s face that there’s no way I’m getting out of going to the ER. As I look at the red welts spreading all over my body without me even realizing, maybe it’s not such a bad idea.
______
“IT DEFINITELY LOOKS LIKE AN ALLERGIC REACTION AND vomiting is also a common symptom,” the doctor agrees as I finish explaining my evening. “I’m still going to examine you and make sure we’re not missing anything.”
He listens to my lungs, my heart, and looks over my body for anything else alarming. “Your lungs are clear which is good. Heart rate is fine. I just want to run some quick bloodwork, and then we’ll send you on your way. I’m going to send the nurse in with some antihistamines which should help with the hives and itching.”
I glance over at Alex and finally see him start to relax. His shoulders drop, and his forehead softens. He’s been stiff and worried since we left the bathroom at our house. “Feel better?” I ask as I grip his hand.
He nods. “I was worried for a minute there. Food allergies are no joke. The last thing I wanted was for your airways to start closing and not be able to get here in time.”
I laugh despite the intense itching going on under my shirt. I can’t help it. “Clearly, it wasn’t that serious. I’m still not convinced some fisherman somewhere didn’t dredge the Hudson and is passing those fish off as caught in the mid-Atlantic.”
The nurse comes in to collect my blood and give me the medicine the doctor ordered. Now, we wait.
It takes about an hour for the doctor to return with the results. “I think I’ve found the cause of your symptoms,” he says.
“And?” I ask, hating the suspense. Obviously, it can’t be too serious because the doctor is calm.
A smile scrawls his face. “You’re pregnant, Mrs. Taylor.”
What? I’m what?
“Holy shit,” Alex gasps from next to me.
“Pregnant?” I ask stupidly.
He nods. “Sometimes the hormones from pregnancy can make you have adverse reactions to foods even if you’ve been eating them your entire life. You will have to follow up with your OB/GYN and see what they recommend. Sooner rather than later because you don’t want to run the risks of this happening again, only worse. You should avoid all seafood until you speak with your doctor.”
“Pregnant…” I cannot seem to wrap my head around it. Two years ago, this was e
verything I ever wanted. Until I thought I couldn’t have it. I never went back on birth control. I didn’t see a reason.
Oh my god… I’m pregnant.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
QUINN
MY MIND WHIRLS AT TWO-HUNDRED MILES PER HOUR. EVERYTHING after the words ‘you’re pregnant’ seems to have faded, leaving only those two words floating in my head.
My body seems numb as we sign the discharge papers. The itching is gone. The upset stomach long forgotten.
“Angel…” Alex’s voice is soft and reverent as we get into the car in the parking lot of the emergency room. I don’t think I’ve spoken more than ‘yes’ and ‘no’ since the doctor gave us the news.
I glance over at him as I sit in the passenger seat. “Am I dreaming?”
He shakes his head, confirming that the doctor inside just told us we have everything we’ve been waiting for currently nestled inside me, and everything explodes as I begin to sob.
The sounds of Alex’s door opening echoes throughout the inside of our Audi, mingling with my cries, and then he’s squatting in my door, pulling my body to his. “I can’t believe this is happening…”
“Why do you say it as if this is a bad thing…”
I clutch his shirt and speak into his chest. “It’s not. It’s everything we have ever wanted. I just… I just thought this was something that wasn’t meant to be for us. I never went back on the pill and now… now…”
Alex slides his finger under my chin and tips my head back. “Now what?”
I can finally say the words I wanted more than anything to be able to say a year ago. Looking at him, the man I love more than anything, all the pain and anguish of the last year dissipates and is salved by the gift we’ve been given. “Now, we’re having a baby.”
Alex’s face lights up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. “We’re having a baby.”
Just like in my fantasies, Alex kneels down on the pavement of the parking lot and kisses my hive-covered abdomen. “I love you already, little one.”
EPILOGUE
ALEX
SURREAL.
There’s no other word to describe how it feels to stand here holding my son.
Henry Alexander Conway was born in the early hours of the morning, and it was the happiest moment of my life. A moment I wasn’t sure I’d get. The road to having my child here in my arms was a long, hard, and sometimes a brutal one, but every ounce of pain and sadness was worth it for this perfect blessing.
Quinn lies turned on her side, sleeping. She was exhausted after fifteen hours of labor, but God she was perfect. We have an entire waiting room of people patiently waiting to come in and see this little guy, but I’m not ready to let anyone into our little bubble. We decided to take this leg of the journey on our own. After everything we went through to get to here, we wanted the joy to be shared just between us.
“You know,” Quinn says in a sleep-riddled voice. I had no idea she was awake. It’s been such a long day, I was positive she would be out for a least a couple of hours. “I’d pictured this moment before. Just like this. You standing at the end of my hospital bed, holding our child, although for some reason I always pictured pink, with the biggest, proudest smile on your face.”
A tear spills down my cheek. “Pink or blue, I’d still be just as happy and just as grateful.”
The story leading up to this chapter of our lives wasn’t the most flowery. We started out as a one-night fling, meeting through friends. Most of Quinn’s first words to me were insults. I believe she even told me I had a small dick. We had the best two years of our lives, followed by two of the worst years of our lives. I was sure I was going to have to watch her marry Jordan or end up in jail. Our sweet Hailey, God rest her soul, saved our asses, and then I got to marry the most fantastic woman on the planet. Only to almost lose her again while trying to get to the here and now. The road was unpredictable, but we made it anyway. All of the hardship and strife makes everything about this that much sweeter.
Quinn glows as a sated smile shines from her lips. “You’re going to have to break one of the promises you made me.”
“Not a chance, angel.” I’d never do that again. I’ve learned the horrible consequences that come from not keeping my words. I humor her. “But please enlighten me on which you’d like me to take back.”
A tear escapes, glistening as it rolls down Quinn’s face to her upturned lips. “I don’t want you to love me like I’m the most important person in your life. He’s now the most important person in your life.”
My heart expands in my chest with so much love and adoration for this woman. Already showing just how great of a mother she is. “You are the most important part of my life, but don’t you worry. I have more than enough love. No one will love you better.”
A dreamy sigh slips passed her lips as her smile widens. “I love you, Alex.”
This woman is the love of my life. I wouldn’t want this with anyone else. “I love you, angel.”
“What do you say we let everyone in? I think we’ve made them wait long enough.”
I nod. It’s time we share this joy with everyone.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Where to start? I thought Quinn and Alex’s story was done in Irrefutable. I was ready to move on. But then ideas began popping into my head, and the characters were talking to me… so two years here’s the last leg of Quinn and Alex’s journey.
Quinn is still one messed up chick. She is flawed, always has been and always will be. That’s just a part of life. No one is perfect. Everyone doubts themselves and their abilities. But I like the way their story played out, and I’m glad everyone stuck around for the ride.
Jordan’s story is next, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what life holds for him.
On to the thank you’s…
My hubby… Your unwavering support is the most beautiful gift in the world. Sometimes I can get so wrapped in these stories that I completely forget the world around me. You never complain. Not when the laundry doesn’t get done, not when we’ve had takeout five nights in a row because I can’t stop working to cook. Not when my brain’s fried and I want to throw in the towel. You just tell me it’s okay and I can do it. You listen to me prattle on about fictional characters like they’re in the room with us with a smile. You come to all my signings and are the best support in the world. I love you!<3
My children… Thank you so much for being so understanding about mommy’s ‘working.’ Thank you for asking about my books and how many there are and congratulating me they’re finished. I love you guys, and everything I do is for you, even if it may not seem like it. <3
Tiffany… My slutty, dick-loving, country bumpkin! God, are there even words to express my gratitude for you, your work, and your loyal friendship? Thank you for EVERY single thing you do for me. I push and push and you always come through, surpassing my expectations with a smile on your face. (Like I’m about to do with re-formatting this book since I found a ton of typos :/) Thank you for your friendship. True friends are hard to find, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world with your annoying ass <3
Isabelle… Even with your always overflowing plate, you find a way to be there whenever I need you. Whether I need a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason, or someone to tell me I’m wrong, you’re my girl! I honestly have no idea what the hell I would do without you. Thank you so much for being you <3
Holly… I love you and how much you love my characters. I’m thrilled I met you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for our awesome duo!
Melissa… Thank you for all you do for me. I would’ve been very lost these last two years with you. You are a very wonderful assistant. I thank my lucky stars every day for Tiff sending you my way <3
Bloggers and Readers…. Thank you for your support. Thank you for posting about my books. Thank you for joking with me, chatting with me, and hanging out at events with me. I met some really great people this year, and I just want to say thank you! It�
�s because of you I’m putting out another book!
I’m so sorry if I forgot anyone, but please don’t think you’re unappreciated. I love each and every person who has been stood behind to rotted for me.
XoXo
Kimberly
COMING SOON….
Finding Faith
Keep your eye out for Jordan’s story.
Finding Faith releases this October.
It’s a ride you won’t want to miss.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
By day, Kimberly is a full-time student as well stay at home mom with four beautiful, crazy children. At night she’s steaming hot novelist. She’s a Jersey girl at heart and that's where she currently calls home with her amazing husband and children.
Her debut release Inhibitions and the subsequent Uninhibited Series as well as the spin-off Apprehensive Duet both show her love of all things football. But not to worry, she'll still bring you plenty of steam!
When not writing she can be found curled up with a good book or watching her beloved New York Jets. Lover all things romance, including a little M/M action as well as the dark and twisted. She enjoys video chats with her best friends and always loves to hear from her fans on social media.
