I was also scared to death to meet his mom. What would she think of me? I was a woman who slept with her friend and got pregnant, then didn’t tell him about it. But I owed him this, so I got on the plane, and made the just over two-hour flight.
We ended up in a neighborhood with single-family homes. He pulled up to a house.
“Shit,” he said as he parked next to another car.
“Is something wrong.” If I was nervous before, now I was downright terrified.
He sighed. “Lora is here.”
I swallowed. “Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. Did I offer to go home? Then I had a fear that he and Lora might try to get custody of the baby once they were married. I pressed my hand over my belly, making a secret vow to never let anyone take my baby from me.
He got out of the car and got my suitcase. I stepped out with him.
He managed a smile that I’m sure was to reassure me, but because he still looked out of sorts, it only served to make me more nervous.
“Come on,” he said as he walked up the path to the front door.
He opened the door. “You’re still up,” he said as he stepped aside so I could follow him in. “Mom, this is Petal Riley. Petal this is my mother. Jane Blake.”
My knees were knocking and my hands were shaking. I looked at the frail woman sitting in a recliner. Her eyes sparkled with life and she smiled.
“It’s so lovely to meet you,” I said moving toward her and holding out my hand.
“You too dear.” She looked to my belly and her eyes turned misty. “You have such beautiful red hair. I wonder if the baby will have it.” She took my hand, but didn’t shake. Instead, she simply held it like she wanted me to stay near.
I shrugged. “I…I don’t know.” Using my free hand, I reached into my purse. “I brought this for you.” I handed her the sonogram.
She took it and stared at it lovingly. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re back—” A woman said from behind me.
I stiffened knowing this had to be Lora.
“Yes,” Cyrus said, tension filling his voice. “Lora this is Petal. Petal this is Lora.”
I psyched myself up to meet the woman he was marrying. I turned and my heart fell. She was gorgeous. Tall. Thin. As she came to stand next to him, I could see that they were a perfect match in size and appearance. Much better than I was.
I mustered a smile. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Her voice didn’t have venom, but there was something that suggested she didn’t think much of me. Then again, I was carrying her fiancé’s child. That had to be hard for her.
“Cyrus, show Petal to her room. Are you hungry dear?” his mother asked.
I shook my head. “I ate already, thank you.”
“Your room is this way,” Cyrus said, leading me around Lora and down a hall. He stopped at a room and turned on the light, putting my case on a trunk sitting at the end of the double bed. “The bathroom is across the hall. It has clean towels.”
“Thank you.” I opened my case and pulled out a bakery box. “I brought cupcakes.” It felt so stupid to say and do, but I didn’t’ feel I couldn’t come visit without bringing something.
He took the box. “I’ll take these to the kitchen. Do you need to rest or can you come sit with her a little bit?”
“I’ll just clean up and come out.”
He nodded. “Thank you for this, Petal. It means a lot to her.”
I smiled even though inside I was weeping that it didn’t mean anything to him. When he left, I went to the restroom and washed my face. I wasn’t wearing any make up and I could see how tired and weary I looked. Next to Lora, I’d look like a washout dishrag. Oh well.
I walked back up the hall, tentatively looking around when I found the living room empty. I heard talking around the corner. Following it, I found Ms. Blake sitting at the table while Cy was in the kitchen. I didn’t see Lora.
“Oh honey, come sit.” Ms. Blake motioned for me to join her. “Cyrus tells me you brought cupcakes? That’s your business? You own a bakery?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I sat down.
“Please call me Jane. I know I look like I’m a hundred years old, but I don’t feel old enough to be a ma’am.”
I bit my lower lip. I was tired and I could feel tears coming on as I felt like I was botching everything.
She reached out and took my hand. “You look tired. With Cy, I never thought I’d sleep again. Sometimes I still don’t.” She was being so nice.
“I have been tired. And emotional. I’m told it will stop soon.”
Cy put a plate with cupcakes and cup of tea in front of his mom. “Would you like tea?”
“Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you,” I said. Mostly I wanted something to do with my hands as they were still shaking. “Did Lora leave?”
“She had to get home,” Cy said tersely.
“I’m sorry.”
“Whatever for?” his mother said.
Ah…did I blurt out that she probably didn’t like Cy’s pregnant friend-with-benefits here? I opted not to say anything.
“So tell me about these cupcakes, Petal. What an unusual name. Are your parents British?” Jane said, sipping her tea.
“No. My mom just liked that name and my father always gives my mom what she wants.”
“Oh that’s sweet. Are your parents there to help you in North Dakota?” It felt like twenty-questions, but not in a bad way. She seemed genuinely interested and her questions didn’t have an edge like was fishing for something negative.
I took the tea that Cy handed me. “My parents moved to Florida. It’s warmer there.”
“This time of year, Florida holds an appeal, that’s for sure. Are they happy about the baby?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. I’d finally called and told them. They sounded more concerned than happy, but they weren’t unhappy either.
“So these cupcakes. What flavors are there?” She studied the plate of cupcakes.
I pointed to them. “This is a peanut butter chocolate.” I glanced at Cyrus who was watching me from where he sat next to his mom. “This is a lavender lemon that my assistant created. This one is limoncello, which is Cy’s friend Jude’s favorite.” I’d brought two of each.
“The lavender lemon sounds wonderful.” She picked it up and took a bite. “Oh goodness that’s good. Cy have one.”
He picked up the peanut butter chocolate.
“I didn’t know you were such a cupcake fan, Cy?” his mother said.
His dark eyes watched me. “Yes, I was.”
I knew he was talking about me and not the cupcakes. He’d used past tense, so he wasn’t a fan of me anymore. I suppose I couldn’t blame him.
We chatted a bit more, but then Jane excused herself, saying she was tired. Cy helped her to her room. I sat alone for a moment. I finished my tea and cleared the table, putting the dishes in the dishwasher and covering the cupcakes.
“You don’t have to do that.” His voice made me jump.
“I don’t mind.” I turned and looked at him. “I’m sorry Lora left.” I said again. “Is she…okay with all this? I hope I didn’t ruin things with her.”
His jaw tightened. “Nothing has changed with her.”
Was it possible that my heart could break more? Apparently it was, because knowing that he and Lora’s relationship was going to withstand his having a child with another woman tore my heart yet again.
“I’m glad.” There was an awkward silence. “Well, I’m tired. I think I’ll call it a night, unless there’s something you need?”
He shook his head. “Is there something I can get you to be more comfortable?”
“No. Thank you.” It was hard to believe I’d ever be comfortable around him again. “Good night Cyrus.”
“Good night Petal.”
I only had half the day Sunday to visit with Jane. That morning, Cyrus said he had to run some errands so I hung out with his mother by myself. I won
dered if he was really going to see Lora. Or maybe he just needed to get out of the house and away from me.
I sat in a chair next to Jane in her recliner. I noticed Jane Eyre sitting on the table.
“Jane Eyre. I love that story,” I said.
“Do you? Cy is reading it to me. We’re at the part where Jane is returning to Thornfield,” she said.
“I’ve always wondered what Jane would have done if she had survived the fire.”
Her eyes glittered. “Cy and I do too. I told him I’d ask Charlotte if I saw her in heaven.”
I flinched wondering if she was planning on not surviving. “I understand your treatment is going well.”
“It’s going as expected, but life isn’t guaranteed. This has helped me see that. Right now, I just want Cy to be happy. He’s not, you know.”
I looked down as I realized I was the source of his unhappiness. “I’m sorry for that.”
“It’s not your fault Petal.” She reached out and took my hand. “I wasn’t blaming you. No, I blame him.”
“He has a lot on his plate.”
She studied me for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell him about the baby?”
My hands started to shake again. I wanted her to like me because of the baby, but she apparently knew I’d not told him as soon as I should have.
“I called once, but he was out with Lora and after that…” I looked down. “I told myself that it was because he had you to worry about and Lora. They’d just reconciled and I figured my having a baby would ruin that. I want him to be happy too…I just…” I wiped a tear that started to fall. “I’m sorry. Hormones.”
“He had a right to know.”
I sniffed. “Yes. I know that. I do. And I don’t want to keep the baby from him. I’ll work out a way to make sure he’s involved. And you too.”
She watched me again, and I shifted uncomfortably from her scrutiny. “I understand why you did what you did. You know when I got pregnant with Cy, I was afraid to tell his father too. When I finally did, it didn’t go well. He’d already moved on to another woman. They got married and moved to California. He wanted nothing to do with me or Cy.”
“I didn’t know that.” As many hours as I’d spent with Cy, I hadn’t heard about his father.
“Cy never knew him. He’d have no reason to talk about him. We did just fine on our own.”
I smiled. “Yes. Cy is a wonderful man.”
She grinned. “He is, isn’t he? He’s my pride and joy, just as your child will be.”
I pressed my hand over my belly. “Yes.”
“But you’re not alone like I was. It sounds like you have your parents and friends back in North Dakota. And you have me and Cy. That you can count on us.”
I swallowed as emotion filled my chest. But then it was quelled by the idea of Lora being involved as well.
She frowned. “What’s wrong, honey? You don’t want me and Cy to help?”
“Oh no, I do. Really, I do…I just…Cy and Lora will be able to offer something I can’t. I…”
“Petal. Lora and Cy aren’t a couple. Didn’t he tell you?”
What? I shook my head. “No. He didn’t tell me.” I didn’t know what to make of that. Why would he want me to think he was engaged still? Maybe he hoped to win her back again. “I guess she didn’t take the news well.”
Jane shook her head. “Honey, they never reconciled. Cy’s been adamant that he and Lora were finished long before he came back here to help me. I’m the one that had it wrong. I was worried about leaving him alone if my treatment didn’t go well. I just wanted to know someone was looking after him and Lora seemed the obvious choice. That is, until I met you.”
I didn’t know what to make of all this, except that Cy was lying to me. I couldn’t be too mad about it considering what I’d done. He had to have a reason for wanting me to think he was with Lora. Maybe it was so I wouldn’t get any ideas about him and I being a family. If that was the case, he succeeded. The truth was, I knew from the beginning that he’d never really be mine.
33
Cyrus
When I arrived home with groceries, the living room was empty. I had a moment of concern until I found my mom in her bedroom. She was in bed and Petal was sitting in it beside her. My mother had photo albums and she and Petal were laughing at something.
“Oh, hell no, mom. You didn’t. Not old pictures.”
She grinned up at me. “Of course, I did.”
Petal smiled, but it wasn’t that radiant one. “You were a cute kid, Cyrus.”
Feeling embarrassed that she was seeing photographic proof of crazy hairdos and clothing choices, I said, “I picked up some food. I’m going to put it away.” I left them to it.
My mom said it was rude of me to leave Petal alone with her, but when I woke that morning, I found I couldn’t be around her all day. Not without simultaneously wanting to be angry at her for her deception and wanting to hold her. My emotions were having a tug-of-war.
“She’s here to see you mom,” I said, even though I knew a part of what she said was right. It was rude to leave Petal with my mother. Fortunately, I knew my mom would be good to her. Probably better than I was.
As I put the groceries away, my phone rang. Taking it from my pocket, I saw it was Lora. Another person I didn’t want to be around at the moment.
“Hey Lora,” I said when I picked up.
“Hi Cy. How’s the visit?”
“It’s going great. What do you need?” I was probably being too terse, but I was tired feeling pulled apart by all the women in my life.
“Your mom said Petal would be leaving tonight. I was wondering if you wanted me to come by when you take her to the airport.”
I ran my hand through my hair. My mom insisted she’d be fine alone for a short time, which was why I hadn’t called Lora about sitting with her when I picked Petal up. The last thing I’d wanted was the two of them meeting. Of course, she came anyway, so now that was a moot point.
“Yeah, sure. We’ll leave here about four.”
“Okay. Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine, Lora.” I heard a noise and looked to see Petal entering the kitchen, carrying a tray with a couple of mugs and plates.
She winced and mouthed. “Sorry.” She stepped back out of the room.
“I’ve gotta go,” I said to Lora and hung up. “Petal.”
Her head peeked around the corner. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She stepped into the room and brought the tray.
“You didn’t. What’s that?”
“Your mom and I had a tea party. She’s resting now.” She set the tray by the sink and started to do the dishes. “Is everything okay with Lora?”
Lora and Petal sure had an odd interest in each other. I knew that woman could get jealous over a man, but both Lora and Petal had lied to me, so why they cared if I saw one or the other, I didn’t know.
“Everything is fine.”
“Good. I was worried that I messed things up for you.”
“It takes two to tango, right?” I said. “I need you to stop second-guessing me and my life.”
She flinched. “I understand.”
I leaned against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest in case I had the urge to grab her and kiss her, like now. She looked so soft and warm. I desperately wanted to see the radiant smile.
She took a breath, her hands gripping the edge of the sink like she needed strength. “I’m sorry about that Cyrus. I know I hurt you and that wasn’t my intention.”
“What was your intention? Really?”
She swallowed and then looked at me. For a moment, I thought I might get the truth. But then she blinked and shrugged. “I told you. I was concerned to add this to your already stressful life.”
I stepped up to her, watching as her green eyes flared in surprise. “Bullshit.”
To her credit, she didn’t look away.
“You kept something important from me. Something I had
a right to know,” I said.
“We’re all full of secrets, Cy.”
What the fuck did that mean?
She managed a smile. “I like your mom a lot. I hope I can see her again soon. I should go pack so I’m ready to go at four.”
She started to step around me, but I couldn’t let her go for some reason. I reached out and took her arm.
“I’m going to be an involved father,” I said, not knowing why. I suppose it was because I knew I had to say something since I’d stopped her. But I couldn’t very well tell her that despite my anger, I still wanted her so fucking bad.
This time her smile was more genuine. “I know.” But then it morphed into something that looked like an accusation. “I’m sure Lora will be a great step-mom too.” She tugged her arm free and left me standing in the kitchen with my jaw hanging open. Fuck. I still hadn’t told her about me and Lora.
I started after her, but then my phone rang. Fuck again. I looked at the caller ID. Jude. It was Sunday. Why was he calling?
“Jude.”
“Hey man, sorry to interrupt but April says I have to pick up Petal at the airport, but she couldn’t remember the flight information.” So why not call Petal, I thought. I gave him the information.
“Is the visit going okay?”
“Great. My mom loves her.”
“Well, yeah. Who doesn’t love Petal, right?”
I frowned wondering if his words were meant to have more meaning. He and I still hadn’t talked about what happened with me and Petal. Then again, as long I was doing my part to take care of her and the baby, he probably didn’t want the details. I knew I wouldn’t.
“Yeah.”
There was a pause. “Listen, buddy, April said that you and Petal were on the downlow because you were worried about how we might take it if things went wrong. I’m not built like that man. You should know that. Will I kick your ass if you hurt Petal? Yes. But relationships come and go, and I’m not going to cause you grief because you love someone that’s close to us.”
“We’re just friends,” I said by rote.
“Ah…well…I just wanted you to know. I’m fine with you and Petal. You both deserve to be happy.”
Friends to Lovers: A Secret Pregnancy Romance (Heart of Hope Book 6) Page 21