“Good.”
He was aware of every woman in the place watching him. He was used to attention, but it usually wasn’t so blatant.
Bella seated him in a chair and wrapped a plastic cape around him. Then she stood behind him, her hands on his shoulders, and met his gaze in the mirror.
“What would you like?”
“Just a trim,” Pia said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “This is his first haircut in town.”
Bella smiled. “And you came to me.”
“Where else would we go?” Pia asked.
“Exactly.” Bella reached for a spray bottle and dampened his hair, then combed through it. “Are the two of you together?”
“No,” Pia said quickly.
“Yes,” Raoul insisted just as fast.
Bella raised her eyebrows. “You should probably get that part figured out.”
Pia looked at him. “We’re not dating.”
“We’re together.”
“Okay, but not in that way. Just because we’ve…” She stopped and glanced around, as if aware of everyone listening.
He’d been talking about him being her pregnancy buddy, but he realized she’d been thinking about their night together.
“Men,” she muttered, as she stalked off and started talking to one of the other hairdressers.
Bella combed and cut efficiently, her hands moving confidently. “So you like our Pia, do you?”
“Very much.”
Bella’s expression sharpened. “As a friend or more?”
“We’re friends.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
He held in a grin. He’d always enjoyed women who spoke their minds. “Why?”
“Pia is worth ten of whatever women you’ve been dating. She’s a good girl. Smart, caring, beautiful.”
He turned his head so he could see Pia in the mirror. She’d shrugged out of her coat and he could see the way her sweater clung to her curves. She laughed at something he couldn’t hear, but the sound of her amusement made him smile.
She was all Bella said and more. She had heart and character. No one knew about the embryos. She could have walked away from them, had them donated to science or simply thrown away. But none of the options had occurred to her. There weren’t a lot of people he admired, but she was one of them.
“What happened to her was sad,” Bella continued. “Losing her father that way, then having her mother run to Florida. There was Pia, in her senior year of high school, and she lost everything. She had to go into foster care.”
“I’d heard,” he murmured, wondering what kind of mother simply abandoned her kid without a second thought. The grief and loss could have drawn them closer together. Instead Pia had had to deal with all the crap on her own.
He found himself wanting to fix the problem—even though it had happened over a decade ago. Still, the need was there, to do something. To act.
“She’s had boyfriends, you know,” Bella announced.
“I’m sure she has.”
“They never stay. Poor girl. I don’t know what goes wrong, but they leave.”
Not a conversation he wanted to be having with Bella, he thought. His gaze once again returned to Pia. She’d had a difficult road and her life was about to get three times more complicated. Who was going to take care of her? Who would be there when she needed help?
He knew she had friends and they would help. The town would pull through. Fool’s Gold seemed like that kind of place. But on a day-to-day basis, Pia would be on her own.
He wondered if she’d thought that part through. If she knew what she was getting into. She turned and met his gaze in the mirror, then smiled. He winked at her and she returned her attention to her conversation.
He’d been in love twice in his life. He and his first girlfriend had grown apart, and Caro had betrayed every part of their marriage vows. He wasn’t looking to feel that way ever again. Not getting involved was safer. But there was still the reality of wanting a family—needing that connection. He couldn’t have one without the other. Or so he’d always believed.
* * *
“I CAN HEAR YOU,” Pia yelled through the closed bathroom door.
“I’m just sitting. There’s nothing to hear.”
Even so, she was sure there were noises. Or maybe the problem was there weren’t. Talk about pressure, she thought as she stood and pulled up her bikini panties and jeans. Is this what it was like to be a guy? Pure performance anxiety?
She opened the bathroom door.
“I can’t do this with you in the room,” she said, then held up a hand. “Don’t bother saying you’re not in the room. It’s practically the same thing.”
Raoul shook his head as he got to his feet and turned to face her. Laughter brightened his dark eyes. “Can’t stand the heat, huh?” he teased.
“The heat isn’t the problem.”
“Have you tried turning on the faucet? The sound of running water might help.”
“I’m not going to stand here having a conversation with you about my inability to pee.”
“You already are.”
She rolled her eyes, then pointed at the front door. “Go stand in the hall until I’m done.”
“I’ve had my tongue in your mouth.”
“So not the point.”
“We can have sex, but I can’t be in the next room while you go to the bathroom?”
“Exactly.”
“Fine.” He crossed the room and let himself out. Then he stuck his head back in. “What should I tell the neighbors if they ask why I’m loitering?”
“Don’t make me kill you.”
He laughed and shut the door behind him.
“Men,” she muttered, then returned to the bathroom and pulled down her pants.
After sitting on the toilet, she turned on the faucet and reached for the plastic stick from the pregnancy test. Everything was fine, she told herself. She peed several times a day. It didn’t require a lot of thought or effort. It was natural. Easy.
But at that moment, it felt far from easy. It felt impossible. She turned off the water, tried humming, shifting, breathing more slowly. Her bladder stubbornly refused to empty.
Never again, she told herself. Pregnancy was too hard. When she finally managed to pee on the stick, she was going to get ice cream. The fact that it was chilly outside didn’t matter. She wanted a hot fudge sundae with whipped…
“Oh, no!”
When she’d finally stopped paying attention, her body had responded. She did her thing with the stick, set it on a tissue, then got up, flushed and pulled up her pants. After washing her hands, she walked out to get Raoul.
“Finally,” he said when she opened the door. “Success?”
“I have peed.”
“I’m so proud.”
“Be nice or I’ll make you touch it.”
She went back into the bathroom and carefully carried out the stick on the tissue and set it on a paper towel on the kitchen counter.
“How long?”
“Just a few minutes.”
They stared at the little screen, which showed an hourglass. She could hear the faint ticking of a clock and feel the rapid thudding of her heart. According to the test, the result would announce her condition. Pregnant or not pregnant. As simple as that.
She didn’t allow herself to speculate. Part of her was afraid that she’d lost Crystal’s babies—that they hadn’t been able to hang on. But another part of her was terrified they had.
Raoul put his arm around her. She leaned into him and hung on.
The screen changed and she saw a single word.
Pregnant.
There was no misunderstanding that.
Her body went cold, then seemed to heat from the inside. Her stomach flopped over, making her wonder if she was going to throw up. Reality loomed, like a really big storm, but she couldn’t take it all in. Pregnant. She was pregnant.
“You did it!” Raoul crowed, then grabbed her arou
nd the waist and spun her in the center of the room. “You’re going to be a mom.”
He sounded delighted. She felt like she was going to pass out, although that could have been from the world blurring around her.
A mom? Her? “I can’t,” she whispered.
He set her down. “Sure you can. This is great, Pia. The embryos implanted. This is great news.”
Intellectually, she could agree. This is what Crystal wanted. But in her gut, she was deathly afraid of screwing up.
“I have to sit down,” she said, making her way over to a kitchen chair and dropping onto it. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing.
Pregnant. Right now there were babies growing inside of her. Babies who would be born and become actual children, then real people. Babies who would depend on her and expect her to take care of them.
Raoul pulled up a chair and sat across from her. He took her hand in his. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I can do this. I can’t have children. I don’t know how.”
“Don’t they do all the hard work themselves?”
“The forming and growing, maybe, but then what? They’re going to have expectations. I’m not prepared for this.”
He leaned toward her. “You have eight and a half months and I’ll help.”
“You’re going to be my pregnancy buddy.” She pulled her hand free and stood. “Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate the support. But I’m less concerned about being pregnant than what comes after. I’m going to have to buy stuff. I haven’t got a clue what. There must be a list somewhere, right? On the Internet?”
He rose. “I’m sure there is.”
“And I’ll need to move. This place is too small. I’ll need a house.” She made okay money, but it wasn’t a fortune. Could she afford a house? “And there’s college. I should start saving, but I don’t know what to invest in. I don’t understand the stock market.”
He moved close and put his hands on her shoulders. “One thing at a time,” he told her. “Relax. Breathe. I can help with all this. We’ll find you a great place, and I can get you the best investment advice available. It’s going to be okay, Pia. I promise.”
She nodded, because that was the expected thing to do. And sure, he would help and she would appreciate it. But when the babies were born, his work was done. He would walk away and she would be left on her own. With triplets.
* * *
“THIS IS FUN,” JENNY SAID as she ran the wand over Pia’s belly. “I don’t usually do ultrasounds this early.” She kept her gaze on the monitor. “You know we won’t be able to see anything specific. Just whether the embryos have implanted.”
“I know,” Pia whispered, hanging on to Raoul’s hand with all her strength. Under normal circumstances she would worry about hurting him, but he was a tough football player. She was sure he could take it.
Besides, he’d offered to come with her to the doctor’s office. If any part of this freaked him out, he would have to deal with it himself.
She’d had less than forty-eight hours to get used to the idea of being pregnant. So far the information hadn’t become any more real. She alternated between shock and panic. Neither was especially comfortable.
She’d tried a little reading from the pregnancy books she’d bought, but that only made things worse. Knowing the statistical odds of getting hemorrhoids by the end of term wasn’t exactly the sort of information she was looking for.
“Okay,” Jenny said cheerfully. “Let me get the doctor.”
Pia waited until the tech left, then turned to Raoul. “Did we know she was going to do that? Is it okay she’s getting Dr. Galloway?”
He bent over her, smoothing her hair back with his free hand. “It’s fine. She said she would be getting the doctor before she started. This is all routine, Pia. You’re doing great.”
Did all mothers-to-be feel such a numbing sense of responsibility? Because whatever happened wasn’t just about her—it was also about Crystal and Keith.
“I want them to be all right. The babies. I hate being scared all the time.”
“You need to relax. Keep breathing.”
She did her best. Fortunately, Dr. Galloway returned quickly and stood by the monitor as Jenny moved the wand.
“There they are,” the doctor said, pointing at the screen. “We have three implantations.” The older woman smiled. “Good for you, Pia. They’re all in place.”
Pia stared at the screen, trying to see what they were pointing at. It all looked blurry to her, but she didn’t care. It was enough to know that for now, everything was going the way it was supposed to.
Although, honestly, the thought of triplets was enough to send anyone over the edge. Two months ago, she’d had a cat who didn’t like her. Now she was carrying triplets.
Dr. Galloway wiped off her stomach. “Go ahead and get dressed, Pia. We’ll meet in my office and discuss what happens next.”
Pia nodded.
Raoul helped her to sit up, then waited as she got to her feet.
“I’m right here,” he told her.
She nodded because speaking seemed impossible.
After dressing, she went out into the hall. Raoul was waiting. He took her hand in his and led the way to the doctor’s office.
She went in first, trying to smile at Dr. Galloway.
“You’ve begun the journey,” the other woman told her. “I’m so proud of you, Pia. Not many people would do what you’re doing.”
Probably because they were sane, she thought as she took a seat. Raoul settled next to her.
“What’s next?” he asked.
“Many things,” Dr. Galloway said, pulling out papers and brochures. “A multiple birth brings much joy but also a few challenges. We know early and can make the preparations. Pia, you need to focus on good food and good sleep. You’re healthy and I don’t foresee any problems, but we will take a few precautions.”
She passed over the papers. “I want to see you in a month. I’ll be monitoring you more closely than if you were carrying only one baby. Between now and then, do the reading I’ve highlighted. You can call the office with any questions. Everything will be fine.”
Pia thought about pointing out there was no way the doctor could actually know that, but why state the obvious? She and Raoul said their goodbyes and somehow made it to the parking lot. She knew, because suddenly they were standing by his sleek, red car. She stared at him across the low roof and saw he looked as stunned as she felt.
“So it’s not just me,” she said. “That makes me feel better.”
“I was faking it,” he admitted, then swore. “Triplets. Did you see them on the screen?”
“No, but I wasn’t looking too hard. I’m already weirded out by the whole thing.”
“They’re real,” he said slowly. “The babies were just an idea before, but they’re going to be born. You’re having triplets.”
She nodded, wishing people would stop saying that. She didn’t need the pressure. Then she looked more closely at him. There was something odd in his eyes. A tightness.
He was going to tell her he couldn’t do it, she thought sadly. That this was more than he’d signed on for. Not that she blamed him. She was living in stunned disbelief, as well. But for her, there was no going back. The babies were in her body, doing their thing.
Even though a part of her wanted to beg him not to abandon her, she knew that wasn’t fair. He’d already been more than generous. The right thing, the honorable thing, was to release him. Sort of a “Go with God” moment.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I understand. I’m going into a place that makes me uncomfortable. I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling. You’ve been great and I thank you for everything. Please don’t feel obligated to do anything more.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m giving you an out. You don’t have to be my pregnancy buddy anymore.”
“Why would you do that?”
&nb
sp; “You look like you want to bolt. I get that.”
He walked around the car and stood in front of her. Despite her heels, the man still loomed over her. He was close enough that she had to tilt her head to meet his gaze.
“I’m not running,” he said. “But you’re right about one thing. I don’t want to be your pregnancy buddy anymore.”
She hoped her disappointment didn’t show. She refused to think about going through the pregnancy by herself. Once she got home, she would have a big hissy fit, followed by a breakdown. But for now, she would stay in control. “I understand.”
He took her hand again. He seemed to do that a lot. The problem was she liked it—too much. And now she was going to lose the hand-holding and pretty much everything else when it came to him.
“No,” he said. “You don’t. Pia, I want more. I want to marry you.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
RAOUL HADN’T PLANNED TO PROPOSE, but he wasn’t completely surprised by what he’d said. He’d been thinking about her a lot lately, about the babies she carried and their future. He admired her and respected her. Despite her fear and worry, she’d plowed ahead, taking each next logical step. His desire to help was something he’d learned from Hawk—to step in and make a difference.
He also hadn’t been able to get Keith out of his mind. The man had died fighting for his country. He would have assumed that Crystal would go ahead and have their children. He would have believed his family would go on. Thanks to Pia—it would. But it wasn’t right that she do all this alone.
Pia stared at him, her eyes wide, her mouth open. She tried to speak, swallowed, then said, “Excuse me? What?”
“I want to marry you.”
She shook her head slightly, as if not sure of her hearing. She looked stunned and a little dizzy. He wondered if he should get her into the car so she could sit. She solved the problem by opening the door herself and slumping into the seat.
He went around to the other side and got in, then he angled toward her.
“I mean it, Pia. Marry me.”
“Why?”
A reasonable question, he thought. “I admire what you’re doing. Most people would have run in the opposite direction, but you didn’t. And don’t say you had doubts and questions. If you didn’t you wouldn’t be competent to have the children.”
Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing PerfectAlmost PerfectSister of the BrideFinding Perfect Page 75