by Lund, S. E.
She winked at me and I laughed.
“You’re wrong,” I said. “Luke has good instincts. He’ll invest in some aspect of the space race that will give him a crazy return on his investment. You wait and see.”
“So, speaking of the prenup, when are you two going to set a date? Are you going to have a big wedding? Pretty please? Can I be your wedding planner?”
“You’re a geologist. You hardly know a thing about anything else. You wear high-tops and eat Captain Crunch out of the box for breakfast.”
“I’ll have you know that I have very good taste when it comes to weddings,” she said, indignantly. “Besides, I have nothing on my plate for the next four or five months. I could pick potential venues, sort through menus and decorations, and of course, arrange for you to try on only the top of the line wedding dresses at designer boutiques.”
“You’re really into this, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said and rubbed her hands together. “I’ll never have a wedding like yours will be, so I’ll enjoy every minute of it, if you’ll let me.”
I smiled. “I don’t suppose you’re attracted to John by any chance?”
She shook her head. “He’s cute and all, but he’s not my type. He’s a little too dorky.”
“He’s too dorky for you, the Queen of Dorks?”
She laughed at that, her head thrown back.
“I don’t know if we should even bother to have a formal wedding,” I said with a sigh. “Considering Mrs. Marshall just disinherited him, I guess she won’t be in attendance.”
“What?” Candace said, her jaw dropping open. “You didn’t tell me that! Spill, sister.”
I told her all about Mrs. Marshall sending papers to Luke’s attorney.
“Can you believe her nerve?” Candace asked, shaking her head.
I shrugged. “She had plans for Luke that involved merging two fortunes.”
“He had other plans,” she replied.
“It sucks to be less than second best,” I said.
“Stop that,” Candace said firmly. “Any mother who truly loved her son would be happy with you as a daughter-in-law, kiddo.”
I smiled at her. She was such a good friend.
“What would I do without you?” I said and leaned over and gave her a hug.
“You’d be single and still living with me, wearing sweats and puppy slippers, that’s what. It was me who talked you into going to Cipriani’s that night.”
“It was you,” I said and smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome,” she replied with a grin. “Now, appoint me your wedding planner and let me live vicariously through you and Luke, okay?”
I laughed and nodded. “The job’s yours.”
“Good,” she said and opened a browser on her laptop. “Let’s get started.”
I smiled and shook my head, not really sure what I was getting myself into, but I knew it would be fun if Candace was in charge.
Chapter Twenty
Luke
Our life was pretty routine for the next two weeks and I think we were both settling back into life in Manhattan after our months at sea traveling around the world.
Alexa attended class and taught, and I spent my time with John. From her recliner, Candace plotted our wedding. My mother fumed and probably sent me hate signals across the ether, but at least she was now out of my hair.
My father was still on my side, and I was happy to get a message from him while I was on my way home from the office one Thursday afternoon.
FATHER: Your mother will come around as soon as she sees your first-born child. I guarantee you she will.
LUKE: You think so? I suspect she’s too stubborn, even when we have our first child.
FATHER: When is the wedding, by the way? You going to hold it at the beach house? It’s a great location.
LUKE: Would Mother approve?
FATHER: It’s built with my money, so I don’t know what say she has in it. If she isn’t back on good terms with you by next year, she can take a holiday somewhere during the week you two get married. I plan on letting you use the beach house and I plan on being there.
LUKE: I appreciate the support. I’d be pretty sad if she can’t find her way to supporting us, but if she doesn’t, having you with us will be some solace. And I’d love to have it at the beach house.
FATHER: Consider it done. Any update on the crazy ex-boyfriend?
I was shocked at that question, not having thought about Blaine for a while.
LUKE: No. He’ll be arrested as soon as police locate him because he’s broken the terms of his parole, not to mention he’s probably the one who pushed Candace off the platform at the subway station.
FATHER: I hope they find him. I wouldn’t be very happy if I knew I had a psychopath like him lurking around.
LUKE: We have security in place.
FATHER: Good. Don’t let your guard down for a minute until they find him.
LUKE: Thanks, Dad. I appreciate your concern.
FATHER: Of course, I’m concerned. She’s the future-mother of my future-grandchildren. Now that Dana and Eric are separated, I don’t expect I’ll have any more from her any time soon.
LUKE: She’ll find someone else.
FATHER: Hope so. Gotta go. Your mother just came in, so I better put my cell away.
LUKE: Thanks for texting me. It was nice hearing from you.
FATHER: Give Alexa my love.
LUKE: I will. Thanks, Dad.
I closed my messages and smiled.
When Alexa arrived back at the apartment after her afternoon class, she looked exhausted.
“Hey, babe,” I said and pulled her into my arms after she removed her shoes and dropped her book bag by the door. “I’ll be glad when we’re out of this place. Next week, right? Are you excited?”
“I’m exhausted,” she said and slumped in my arms so that I had to pick her up. “Can you be my knight in shining armor and order in supper?”
“What does Milady fancy? Take-out or something from room service?”
She made a face. “Salad? My stomach’s off for some reason.”
“Salad?” I said in dismay. “How about a nice steak and baked potato and salad from room service. Their meat is really good.”
“Meat? Ugh,” she said and let go of me, running to the bathroom. I followed her to the door only to see her leaning over the toilet.
Vomiting.
She took some toilet paper and wiped her mouth. “I must have the stomach flu,” she said and rinsed her mouth out and then brushed her teeth. “I felt sick earlier today.”
I nodded and followed her to the bed when she was finished.
“I can get something for myself,” I said. “You should lie down and rest if you’re sick.”
“Thank you,” she replied and crawled into bed. She laid her head on the pillow, her eyes closed, her hand tucked under one cheek. “Can you turn off the lights?”
“Sure,” I said and pulled the covers up around her, tucking her in. I kissed her cheek and then left the bed. “Do you need a bucket or anything? I could bring you the ice bucket…”
“No, I hardly ate anything, so I doubt I have anything else in me. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
I closed the door most of the way, not wanting to close it entirely in case she called out for help, and then I went to the living room and sat down in front of the television.
I pulled out the room service menu and called down to get myself some food, ordering some ginger ale for her in case she wanted something to settle her stomach.
“Do you have any Dramamine in the shop in the lobby?” I asked the front desk clerk. “My fiancée is sick and needs some.”
“I’ll check, but I’m pretty sure there’s something.”
“Thanks,” I said and sat back, watching the news while I waited for my supper.
The clerk called me back in five mi
nutes. “There’s some Dramamine chewable tabs I could put on your bill. One of the bellhops could it bring upstairs, if you’d like.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Please do. I appreciate the help.”
“You’re welcome.”
While I waited for my food to arrive, the bellhop arrived with the Dramamine. I gave him a nice tip and brought the tablets and some water in to Alexa.
“Here’s some Dramamine,” I said and sat on the side of the bed. “Take some. It might make you feel better.”
“Okay,” she said and sat up. She took one of the pink tabs and made a face when she looked at it. “What flavor is it?”
“It says wild cherry.”
She took in a breath and put the tablet in her mouth, chewing slowly. She swallowed it down with a mouthful of water, an expression of disgust on her face.
Then, she lay down again and pulled the covers up around her.
“Let me know if you need anything,” I said and stroked her hair.
“Okay…” she said. “Maybe a new stomach?”
“Sorry, Miss. That’s beyond my pay grade,” I replied, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. “You’ll feel better in the morning. These bugs only last for twenty-four hours.”
“Thank God,” she murmured.
I closed the drapes and left her alone. She would feel better in the morning and hopefully, the medication would make her feel somewhat better sooner, although if you had a bug, you had to just give in and let nature take its course.
So, I had a solitary evening, eating my food alone in front of the television, watching news and sports until it was time for bed. When I did finally go to our bedroom, Alexa was asleep and apparently, had no more episodes of vomiting.
That was good. It meant the worst was over and she would be feeling better in the morning. I went to bed, making sure not to wake her up when I crept under the covers. As I lay in the bed on my back, I listened to the sounds of the hotel room, the air conditioning, and the sound of Alexa sleeping.
We had a lot on our plates in the next few months and I fell to sleep thinking of it all: moving into our new apartment, planning our wedding, Alexa’s PhD courses, her seminar, and for me, developing Astra Investments as a new business.
In the morning, I woke to find myself alone in bed, and the sound of the toilet flushing in the bathroom. Alexa was up. I hoped she was feeling better.
When she came back into the bedroom, she plopped back down on the bed.
“How are you?” I asked, rolling over to put my arm around her. “Stomach better.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “Just dry-heaved.”
“Oh,” I said and sat up. “Do you want more Dramamine?”
She shook her head again and didn’t open her eyes.
“Maybe you could go to the drug store down the street and get a pregnancy test?”
She opened one eye and peered at me.
“Alexa…”
A shock went through me at that.
“Do you think…”
I sat there, trying to calculate her last period, which I could remember quite well, because she was really suffering and needed lots of red wine to get through it because of her cramps.
“I’m only a week late,” she said softly. “But my period was really erratic while we were away. Sometimes, it was six weeks between them. Sometimes five. We may have been off in our calculations. I could be six weeks pregnant.”
She’d gone off the pill because of migraines before I met her, and so using condoms had been a necessity. There had been a couple of times, however…
“It was the night we decided not to go to the movie, right?” I said, remembering the one and only time since we returned to Manhattan that we hadn’t used one. “We counted the days and thought you were safe, right?”
“Right,” she said, her voice sounding defeated. “Maybe we counted wrong.”
I lay beside her and pulled her into my arms.
“What do you want to do if you’re pregnant?”
She sighed. “We were going to wait to get married until I’m done with my coursework. We were going to wait to have children until I was finished with my PhD.”
I smiled, wanting her to not feel bad about it.
“We couldn’t wait until I went to the drug store to get more condoms,” I said, grinning. “I guess we won’t have to wait any longer.”
“You think it’s funny?” she asked, her voice sounding surprised.
“You know what they say – the best laid plans of mice and men…”
I didn’t feel bad – just shocked. In my mind, it was just a change of plans. Just rescheduling things. Juggling priorities.
“It will change everything,” she said in a soft voice.
“Everything changes everything,” I said and kissed her. “If you’re pregnant, we’ll tell Candace to move up the plans for the wedding. One month from today. How does that sound? We can probably find a justice of the peace willing to marry us in that short time. We’ll have the wedding at the beach house. We’ll send out e-invitations to our closest family and friends. Think Candace can pull off a shot-gun wedding?”
I smiled at her expression.
“You’re actually okay with this?”
“Alexa, we were going to get married and have children anyway.”
“Yes, but not for a couple of years…”
I sighed and pulled her closer against me. “Alexa, I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to have a family and live together for the rest of our lives. Let’s do it. Sooner than later is fine with me.”
“Okay,” she said and finally, she smiled. “I’ll ask Candace to put a rush on her wedding planner gig.”
“Good. Better yet, we should get married as soon as possible so our child doesn’t think he or she was conceived out of wedlock. We’ll lie and say they were just premature.”
“Luke!” Alexa said and mock-punched my shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with being premature. It happens all the time. The first baby can take anywhere up to nine months but the second always takes the full nine.”
I laughed.
“Why not next weekend? Do we really need to wait a month? We could do all the planning and just invite my family and our close friends to the beach house.”
“Are you sure about this?” Alexa asked, her voice sounding hesitant.
“Never been more certain of anything in my life.
“You’re not mad at me that I got pregnant before we got married?”
“Those were my boys swimming to your egg, my love. I’m fifty percent responsible for this little predicament.”
She smiled and relaxed in my arms. “I guess you are just as irresponsible as I am.”
“I guess. But let’s not get our hopes up until we see that little blue line in the test stick. You might actually just have the stomach flu.”
“I might,” she said, and we lay in silence for a few moments, both of us thinking about the prospect either way.
“I’ll go get a test as soon as I have a shower and get dressed.”
“Okay.”
I kissed her and then got out of bed. Part of me hoped she was pregnant and that soon, we’d be a family and one of those three bedrooms would be used as a nursery instead of a spare bedroom. Excitement built in my gut that we might be getting married sooner than I had initially imagined.
Chapter Twenty-One
Alexa
I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Luke had a shower and dressed quickly, seemingly eager to get a pregnancy test from the drug store down the street from the hotel, so we could find out if we were going to be parents.
It was early September. If I was pregnant, it would mean I had conceived about twenty-one days earlier, when we had sex without protection the night we didn’t use a condom.
I couldn’t lie to myself – I felt stupid. I should have said no, and made Luke get up and go to the drug store to get more condoms, but I’d been lazy and
in the mood. Both of us had been irresponsible.
If I was pregnant, everything would change. I’d stop drinking right away and would console myself with non-alcoholic beer and wine. I’d have to start prenatal vitamins. If I had morning sickness every day, I’d have to rethink my schedule. I had morning classes and my seminar later in the afternoon, so I might have to change that depending on how my morning sickness went or I’d be running to the washroom on campus during class.
We’d get married right away. That would mean my parents would have to fly out as soon as possible. Like next weekend. I’d have to find a dress, but everything would be scaled back due to the short timelines.
It would be a small wedding. Just family and a few friends.
I rubbed my belly, thinking about the tiny embryo that may have implanted there. So many pregnancies ended before they really began due to natural causes, so even if I was pregnant, there was still a high chance that the embryo wouldn’t implant. In fact, most conceptions never made it to the implantation stage. I’d read that fully forty to sixty percent never implanted, disintegrating before implantation, or were flushed out with the woman’s next menstrual period or sometime after. It was much more likely that I was not pregnant, even if Luke’s boys made it to my egg and fertilized it.
I wasn’t sure what I hoped the outcome would be.
Luke said we planned on having a family, but my plans were to finish my PhD first and then have a baby. I couldn’t imagine having to go on campus and do research and be a new mother at the same time.
Since I couldn’t know, I decided to just wait to find out and was determined to accept either outcome with no complaints either way.
In about twenty minutes, Luke returned with a bag from the drug store in hand. He came right into the bedroom where I was still in bed and sat on the side.
“Here you go,” he said. “You should do it now.”
“Okay,” I said and took the bag in hand. “Right now?”
“Right now,” he said, and I thought I could detect excitement in his tone.
I got up from bed and padded to the bathroom with Luke in tow.
“Are you going to watch me pee on the stick?”