by Mia Taylor
“What?” he finally gasped. “You’re pregnant?”
She nodded miserably, lowering her head.
“I didn’t mean for it to—”
“That is incredible!”
His voice was almost a scream as he leapt from the table and scooped her up into an embrace, flooding her face with kisses.
“This is what we wanted!” he chortled, dancing her around the kitchen, much to Fallon’s confusion.
What does that mean? We never discussed having children, at least not yet.
“Oh, darling, I can’t wait to tell Bea!” he screeched and a jolt of apprehension shot through Fallon as she wiggled her way out of his arms.
That’s a weird thing to say.
“Y-you’re happy about this?”
“Of course!” he choked and Fallon could plainly see he was speaking the truth. “I can’t wait until the baby is born!”
Fallon inadvertently stepped back, watching him nervously. She knew she should be relieved that he was happy, but his reaction was bizarre.
“We’ll move up the wedding,” he gasped, pulling her reluctant body back toward him, kissing the top of her head with almost too much force. “We’ll be married before the baby comes.”
“I’m only six weeks along,” Fallon offered weakly, unsure of why she was trying to dissuade him. Her well-honed sixth sense told her something was off about his reaction but she couldn’t fathom what it was.
“I have to call Bea,” he squealed like an excited child, releasing her abruptly and hurrying back toward the glass table for his cell phone.
Fallon nodded slowly but he didn’t seem to notice as he dialed out, leaving her to stare at him.
Why aren’t you nearly as excited as him? she asked herself, worried that there was something wrong with her. Maybe the shock of the pregnancy hadn’t worn off yet or perhaps it was the incredible morning sickness which plagued her that made it less appealing to her than it did her fiancé.
“Bea! Bea, it’s me! Guess what?” Daniel chirped into his phone. “Fallon is pregnant.”
His face froze as he listened, the smile plastered there but a light seemed to diminish slightly from his eyes as she watched and she wished she could hear what her future sister-in-law was saying.
“No… of course,” he mumbled, turning his head slightly away. “No… yes… listen, Fallon is still here. Yeah, okay… great, yeah, I’ll tell her.”
He disconnected the call and turned his attention back to Fallon.
“Bea is just as stoked as I am,” he assured her, apparently sensing her mounting distress, but Fallon wasn’t so sure. “She says she’ll see you at the office.”
“All right,” Fallon replied, placing her empty orange juice glass into the dishwasher and reaching for her purse.
“Fallon?”
She glanced at him warily.
“Thank you.”
Again, she was filled with uncertainty as his beam lit the room. Thank you seemed like another odd response to the news but what did she know? She had never been pregnant before. How was someone supposed to react?
Still, calling his sister seemed like a strange way to celebrate the moment but Fallon admitted that the relationship between her fiancé and his sister was something she would never understand, not as an only child. Maybe she was slightly jealous of their bond, even if she though it was strange.
It could have been worse, she reasoned. He could have been furious. He could have blamed me for trying to trap him.
Fallon shuffled forward and placed a dutiful kiss on his lips.
“See you tonight,” she told him and he nodded, his grey-green eyes glowing with happiness.
“You will,” he promised and as she left for work, she had a terrible feeling.
~ ~ ~
Bea was waiting for her when she arrived at the office, her face a mask of concern.
“How are you feeling?” she demanded, following Fallon like a bodyguard. “Which doctor have you seen?”
Fallon glanced around the maze of employees, wishing Bea would lower her voice. She wasn’t sure she wanted anyone else to know about the baby yet.
I’m not even sure I wanted Bea to know about it.
Fallon didn’t respond until they entered her glass office overlooking the city and closed the door.
“I saw Dr. Hamlin,” she replied slowly. “But I need to find an Ob-Gyn.”
“Ambrosia has doctors,” Bea explained, nodding toward a sheet of paper on her desk. “I made you an appointment with Dr. Verity for this afternoon. He’s very thorough.”
Fallon blinked.
“Already?” she asked in amazement. “You only found out about this half an hour ago.”
Bea chuckled merrily.
“Fallon, I didn’t get where I am today by taking my time. You’ll be happy with him. He’s very discreet and professional.”
The words confused Fallon.
“He’s a doctor, isn’t he?”
Bea blinked uncomprehendingly.
“Of course he is.”
“Then why wouldn’t he be discreet?”
A tension seemed to rise in the room and Bea averted her gaze, reaching up to finger the knot of pearls around her neck.
“I’m just saying…”
Fallon didn’t know whether to believe her or not. There seemed to be something she wasn’t saying, something that she didn’t understand, but Fallon also knew there was little point in pushing her boss and friend. If there was something she needed to know, Bea would tell her on her own time. Fallon knew that much about the fiery redhead.
“How are you feeling?”
Fallon sat heavily in her chair, a wave of dizziness overcoming her as if on cue.
“Sick,” she admitted. “But that’s normal, I guess.”
Bea studied her, eyes narrowing slightly as if she was thinking.
“I’m sure Verity will have something to make things go smoothly for you,” Bea assured her.
Fallon chuckled dryly.
“Women have been having babies for thousands of years,” she reminded Bea. “I’m sure I’ll get through it.”
Bea bit on her lower lip and cast her eyes down, muttering something under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Bea replied brightly, turning toward the door. “I have a car coming for you at noon. Your appointment is at twelve thirty.”
Bea was gone and Fallon inhaled deeply to ward off the nausea.
She closed her eyes and immediately, Bea’s face popped into her mind.
Maybe this is just how the rich act when a new one is born, she thought wryly but a wave of bile rushed to her throat, causing her to retch.
As she reached for a nearby garbage can, she was once more filled with the memory of Bea standing before her and suddenly, Fallon realized what the ginger had mumbled under her breath.
“I hope you get through this.”
Goosebumps exploded over her body and Fallon finished being sick, falling back into the high-back leather chair in a pale, shaking mass.
Why wouldn’t I get through this? she wondered but she had no answer, only worry.
Chapter Five
Cypher
He was the most beautiful child Fallon had ever seen. Every time she touched his tiny toes and he gurgled forth a laugh, her heart sang like an angel choir. It seemed unbelievable that she and Daniel had produced such a miracle, especially after the extremely trying pregnancy which had left Fallon terrified.
“He looks like me,” Daniel said, grinning as he peered into the playpen at his infant son. “Look at those little balled-up fists. He even sleeps like me.”
“Poor kid,” Fallon teased, leaning her head back against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Thank goodness there’s still hope he’ll outgrow that. And blessedly, he doesn’t snore like you.”
“I do not snore!” her husband protested and Fallon gav
e him an impish smile.
“How do you know? You’re sleeping when you do it!”
Daniel laughed and placed a kiss at the base of her neck, brushing her hair aside with a wide hand.
“I wouldn’t mind another one who looks just like you,” he purred and she giggled.
“After that pregnancy?” Fallon scoffed. “You’re dreaming.”
“No?” he murmured, his hands trailing along the curves of her body. “A little girl with big brown eyes?”
Fallon laughed again but as he pressed himself against her, she realized that he wasn’t joking.
She turned but he held her firmly, his voice filling her ears hypnotically.
“Why not?” he whispered. “Doesn’t Cypher deserve a sibling? He would be a fierce older brother, don’t you think?”
“He’s not even a year…” Fallon started to protest but he spun her around, crushing his lips to hers and she felt herself responding in spite of herself.
Why not, indeed? We’re married now, we have the means and he obviously wants a family. What harm could one more baby do?
She glanced at her sleeping son through her peripheral vision and pulled back slightly, grinning at her husband.
“Okay,” she whispered. “But quietly. If you wake the baby, it’s game over.”
He beamed like he’d won the lottery and before she knew what was happening, Daniel scooped her into his arms and carried her toward the living room sofa, just out of view of the infant.
As their clothes stripped away, the heat between them growing with the passion of their kisses, Fallon found herself studying Daniel’s handsome face, wondering how she had gotten so lucky.
He had been so attentive to her throughout the entire pregnancy, caring, loving and jumping on her every whim.
It had been a scary pregnancy, Dr. Verity ordering Fallon on strict bedrest as her morning sickness ensued.
Despite the physician’s assurances that the child was developing normally, Fallon could not help but be filled with incessant dread up to the delivery. Sometimes Fallon would catch Bea or Daniel casting her worried looks as if they knew something she didn’t, only fuelling her paranoia.
But Cypher Wexley had been born perfectly healthy and without any obvious issues, much to everyone’s relief.
Pressed back against the sofa, she ran her hands through Daniel’s thick hair lovingly, relishing the feel of his breath against the bare skin of her swollen breasts. It had been a while since they had made love and Fallon realized how much she had missed him.
“I missed the way you taste,” Daniel whispered as if reading her thoughts and the words sent thrills of excitement through her body as she moaned softly, pulling his head toward hers, their eyes locking.
“I love you, Fallon,” he told her earnestly and she nodded, her lips curving into a smile.
“I know,” she replied lightly. “But I still think you should prove it.”
He grinned and wedged himself between her legs, Fallon locking her ankles about his hips to guide him inside her. She gasped at the feel of him but again, his mouth was upon hers, tasting her cries as he slowly made circles against her hips. She tightened her grip around him, urging him forward and together they fell into a sweet, longing rhythm as if they were relearning one another.
His mouth fell along the line of her chin and he grunted softly, his movements becoming faster as the tension between them grew.
“I’m so glad I found you again,” he told her, his words escaping in short gasps and Fallon gulped, feeling her body buck against him.
She was at her peak and she could sense he felt the same. Mewling quietly, she released, feeling him spasm simultaneously as her fingers curled into the blades of his toned scapula.
Breathing heavily, they held fast to one another, unspeaking as they regained their composure. Daniel laced Fallon’s neck and cheek with kisses, nuzzling his nose into the thickness of her hair.
“You are my mate, you know?”
She chuckled.
“How can you be sure?” she joked, but to her surprise, he sat up, his eyes flashing.
“Because I’ve been looking for you,” he growled.
Fallon didn’t know what to make of the sentence but she brushed it off as awkward pillow talk. The doubts which had plagued her at the beginning of their relationship had dissipated quickly, her concern for the baby overriding any suspicion she had felt toward either Bea or Daniel.
By the time Cypher had been born, Fallon knew that her history of suspicion was the only reason she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop with the Wexleys. Surely, if they meant her any harm, she would have seen some indication of it by then.
Yet every once in a while, her husband or sister-in-law would say something which made her think twice or question the motives behind the unlikely marriage of a former homeless woman and a billionaire CEO of a pharmaceutical company.
“Well I’m glad you found me,” Fallon offered lightly, placing another light kiss on his lips. “I—”
A feral wail cut off her next words and Fallon grunted slightly, realizing Cypher was awake.
“At least his sense of timing is mine,” Fallon offered and Daniel laughed, sitting up to allow her to reach for her clothes.
“Let me get him,” Daniel said as she scrambled to dress and she nodded gratefully.
She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he crossed the living room to collect his crying son from the playpen. It warmed her heart to see how intimately they loved one another, Cypher’s face lighting up as soon as he saw his father.
“Are you hungry, buddy?” Daniel whispered. “Did you have a good nap?”
Cypher continued to cry but not nearly at the volume he had been.
“You’re going to be big and strong,” Daniel murmured, pressing Cypher to his chest warmly. “You’re going to change the world.”
High expectations for such a little baby, Fallon thought with some amusement. Maybe having another one isn’t such a bad idea. Take the pressure off Cypher a little bit.
Again, it was as if Daniel was reading her mind even though he was still speaking to the infant, rocking him soothingly.
“You and your sister will rule the world one day,” he continued, closing his eyes and Fallon had to wonder how much of what he said he genuinely believed.
Every parent thinks their children is going to own the world. In Cypher’s case, he might be right. He certainly has everything he needs to do that. We are so lucky.
“I’ll get his bottle ready,” Fallon told Daniel but her husband didn’t seem to hear her as he continued to coo to the baby.
“Soon, my son, soon you will know power like this planet has never seen.”
Fallon froze in her tracks and eyed Daniel warily.
What the hell does that mean?
Daniel glanced at her, feeling her skeptical gaze on him. His face flushed slightly and he gave her a sheepish smile.
“Are you getting his bottle? I don’t think my sweet nothings are working.”
Fallon didn’t answer but she turned back toward the kitchen, shaking her head slightly.
He needs to work on his pillow talk, she thought, reaching into the fridge for the premade formula. It was a special blend concocted by Dr. Verity and Bea said that all the mothers who worked at Ambrosia swore by it.
Fallon had wanted to breastfeed but she had been convinced by Daniel that the formula was better for Cypher, given her history of self-neglect from living on the street.
It made Fallon feel guilty but she knew it wasn’t a judgment, just an observation. After the beating her body had taken during the pregnancy, Fallon wasn’t sure that she was in the best place to produce milk anyway. She needed to give herself time to regain her strength.
I’m lucky I have a family watching out for my best interests and the best interests of the baby, she told herself, shoving aside any of her misgivings. The last thing she wanted
was to appear ungrateful.
She fixed the bottle for her son and brought it back into the living room where father and son had retreated to the sofa. Cypher had calmed enough to giggle between his sobs of hungry indignation.
Daniel reached for the bottle and Fallon sat at his side as Cypher took the formula, gobbling it down with gusto.
She lay her head against her husband’s shoulder and watched the baby suck back his lunch.
Yes, she thought happily. I could go for another one of those. At least I know Dan and I will have fun trying.
Chapter Six
Briar
The birth of their second son was nothing like the birth of Cypher. As if a switch had been flipped, Daniel was suddenly unavailable for diaper changes and working at all hours of the day and night.
While he seemed to have an affection for Cypher, Briar could have been a piece of furniture in the nursery of their new house, one which Daniel had bought to account for their growing family.
Fallon had her hands full, juggling two babies under the age of three, but it was made so much worse by Daniel’s unexpected aloofness. When she finally built up the nerve to ask him about it, he simply pleaded work was the problem and vowed to be home more to help.
“We can hire a nanny if you want,” he suggested and Fallon bristled.
“I don’t want someone else raising our sons!” she snapped hotly. “I want my boys to know their father!”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Fallon,” Daniel told her, a note of exasperation creeping into his voice. “How do you expect me to afford all this luxury if I don’t work?”
Fallon knew it was a cop-out but she had no choice but to accept his explanation.
One day, when Briar was six months old, Bea came by for an unexpected visit, much to Fallon’s chagrin.
“Oh, Fallon,” the redhead sighed. “You look exhausted! You really should hire someone to help you. Why are you being so stubborn about it?”
“Why should I have to hire someone when I have a perfectly capable husband?” she asked bitterly. “One who had no problem making time for his first child but apparently wants nothing to do with his second.”
