by Milly Taiden
“Are you going alone?” She wondered out loud. Worried about his co-worker. The one she had a feeling wanted to be more than friends with Nick.
“No, Kris is my backup. She does a couple of things when I visit a site.”
“Oh.” Yep. Not feeling good about him going anywhere with her.
“This isn’t weird for you, is it?” He asked after a moment of silence.
“No. I mean, you’ve been working with her forever so it’s fine. I just find it a little strange that she’s the person Grace referred to as you seeing and you work so close together.”
Dammit. She’d never been the jealous or insecure type. Ever. Here she was wondering why he couldn’t leave Kris behind and go on the trip alone.
“It won’t be so long. And we’ll talk daily. Kris is only a friend and a colleague. Nothing more,” he reiterated. “I hate to leave like this, but I have to.”
She moved closer until she was sitting on his lap and dropped her head on the curve of his neck. “It’s okay. My difficult client changed the campaign, and I have to work double time to make sure we still make deadline in a few months.”
He slid his fingers into her hair and lifted her head so he could meet her gaze. “Promise you won’t overdo it. You can’t get sick over this.”
She nodded and hugged him hard. Her thoughts were along the same line as his. She would definitely be careful with her health now.
*
Nick sat down at his hotel suite desk to fill out some papers. A tap on the door made him glance up. He needed to call Ari soon. He missed her most when the night drew near and he couldn’t get into his car to go see her.
“Come in,” he said, knowing it was probably Kris coming to continue their earlier meeting.
Kris walked in, followed by the room service person. He watched her motion for the man to leave the trays on the coffee table and then leave. She turned to him with a wide smile. Her long blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and she’d given up her suit for some yoga pants and a T-shirt.
“Well, we’re good to go here. Mark can take over when he gets back, and you can go home,” she said sitting down on a sofa and grabbing a plate filled with fruit.
“Thank goodness,” he mumbled. Putting the documents down, he made his way to the food and sat across from her.
“So, wanna tell me what’s going on with you and the wife?” She bit down on a piece of pineapple.
“Kris…”
“Look, I know it’s not really my business. You’re my friend. And your mom is being really strange. Talking about how your marriage is at a difficult point. That your wife refuses to try harder.” She put the plate down and crossed her legs on the sofa. “I’m worried about you. As a friend.”
He sighed. He knew Kris was a nice person. She’d always been a great friend. “My mother told Ari you and I were seeing each other.”
Kris choked on the water she was swallowing down. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah. Join the crowd. Apparently neither one of us knew about this so called romance.” He picked up a half sandwich and took a bite.
“So wait. Your wife, the woman who you’ve been pining for since she left you, is under the impression you’ve been seeing me?” She giggled.
“It’s not funny. Ari and I have never had any jealousy between us. This isn’t something we need when our relationship is still so fresh.”
“I’m sorry.” She chuckled. “That’s just so crazy. I mean you and I both know we’re nothing more than friends.” She scrunched her nose. “And no offense to you, but you’re not my type.”
“And what type is that?” He asked as she continued to grin.
“You’re married. If that’s not enough, you’re in love with your wife. That type is not my type.”
“Try telling that to a woman who has been out of the loop for two years. And more than that, she thought when our relationship started going downhill it was because I was having an affair.” His chest compressed. He hated that his actions had created those doubts in Ari’s mind when they’d been having problems.
“Oh, no.” Kris’ smile slid off her face to be replaced with a frown. “Do you want me to talk to her?”
He sighed. “No. I think she understands that you and I are colleagues. At least I hope she does.”
Kris nodded. “I’m really happy you’re working things out with her. You were so sad for the time you were separated. I am glad to see you smiling again.”
It would take time, but he knew he and Ari could have the happiness they once knew. Maybe even a deeper bond between them. “We’ll be okay.”
“If you ever do need me to tell her we’re just friends, let me know. I am not trying to get in your business, but you know I’ll do it. Trust is important when you’re repairing a relationship,” she said the last words with a hint of sadness.
“I know. Our time trying to conceive took a toll on us, but I think I’ve gotten Ari to understand that I love her. Even if we never have kids, she’s more important to me than anything.”
“Aw, Nick. Call the woman and tell her that. You are such a romantic.” She grinned and headed for the bathroom.
He hoped the trust he and Ari always had for each other was still there. That the bridge they were building to communicate would only strengthen that trust. If not, they had more problem than he cared to admit.
***
CHAPTER NINE
Nick ended up travelling for longer than he would have wanted. It was almost four weeks when he finally returned home exhausted and dying to see Ari. While he’d tried to speak to her multiple times a day, his and her schedules had been packed. They’d traded texts, emails, and had the nightly video conference, but nothing compared to being near her. He’d missed her like crazy and couldn’t wait to hold her. Not to mention he was worried about her. She appeared more and more exhausted with each day that passed. He couldn’t wait for her to finish that project so she could relax.
After the last night together, she’d given him a key to come and go into her house. He decided to show up with her favorite dessert and surprise her. The house was quiet, which meant she was either still at the office or she was taking a nap. He hoped for the latter.
His heart stopped when he reached the hallway. Ariana was on the floor, passed out. He rushed forward, checking her pulse and looking for blood. She had a bump on her forehead. He listened to her breathe and pulled out his phone.
“Ari?” He shook her, and got no response. He dialed 9-1-1 and waited for an ambulance unsure of what type of injury she may have suffered and unwilling to make it worse.
It was at the hospital where she finally woke up. He stood by the window, watching a doctor take her vitals and examining her on the other side of the bed. She opened her eyes, confusion clear in her gaze as she stared at the doctor, not realizing Nick was in the room with her yet.
“Mrs. Parker, how are you feeling?”
“Ugh.” She rubbed her temple. “My head hurts. What happened?”
“You fainted.”
She gasped. “I’ve never fainted.”
“Mrs. Parker have you been eating properly? Resting? We connected with your doctor’s office and were informed you’re pregnant. You haven’t been skipping meals, have you?”
Nick’s heartbeat increased in speed. A sharp throbbing took hold with each breath. His gaze jerked to her face, waiting for her to deny the doctor’s claim. She would have told him if she was. He knew she would have. Wouldn’t she?
“No, I’ve been eating and taking care of myself.”
Pain squeezed his lungs in a grip so tight he saw white spots from the lack of oxygen.
“Your blood pressure is high, Mrs. Parker. We’re going to do some tests and check your baby’s heartbeat to ensure all is well.”
He curled his hands into fists, hoping against hope that things weren’t as they seemed, but how could they not be? Ariana had been keeping the fact she was pregnant from him. How long had she known? Why would she do that?
She widened her eyes. “You can hear it—” her voice wobbled, “already?”
“You’re past eight weeks, and we can do a transvaginal ultrasound and try. Would you like to?”
Eight weeks? Anger churned in his stomach, melting his security that she’d never do that. Deception flashed into his mind. She’d never outright lied to him before. Why had she done it now?
She nodded and sat up. “Yes, please.”
The doctor smiled and swept the strands falling out of her bun behind her ear. “I’ll go make the arrangements. I’ll leave you with your husband in the meantime.”
Ari glanced around the room until her gaze collided with his. Fury expanded in his veins when he saw the guilt in her eyes. She’d lied to him.
“Nick…” She visibly gulped and gripped the stark white sheet.
He stepped forward until he was standing next to the end of the bed.
“Why?” He had trouble getting the word out. Disappointment and pain comingled with anger to create a choking mix burning his throat.
She glanced down at her fisted hands. “I-I’m sorry.”
He heard the grief, along with remorse, in her voice.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
She jerked her head up. Tears streamed down her face, leaving tracks of pain on her cheeks and to her chin. “Because I didn’t think it would last!”
He tried to rein in the hurt and the anger so he could understand why she’d done what she had, because no matter what, she’d never intentionally hurt him before, and he didn’t believe for a moment she’d start now.
Taking slow steps forward, he sat down on the bed next to her and grabbed her fisted hands in his. “Tell me why you kept this from me, Ari.”
She sniffed and licked her lips. Then she glanced at him and his heart lost some of the fight. Raw pain filled her gaze. “When they said I was pregnant, it was like being slapped in the face with the past all over again.” She tugged a hand out of his grasp and wiped her still streaming tears away. “Do you know what that’s like? To know that the possibility of it all happening again existed?” She choked. “I couldn’t do it to me and I couldn’t do it to you.”
“You wouldn’t—”
“They weren’t sure it would last. It was a high probability my body would reject it and then what? We’d both have had our hopes raised with no child in sight. They took blood.” He grabbed a tissue from a dispenser next to the bed and passed it to her. She wiped her nose and face. “They did 3 hCG counts, each a week apart to see how the numbers looked.” She gave a wobbly smile. “They’d been doubling daily, which was a good sign, but by then you’d been gone for two weeks. I wanted to wait to tell you in person when you returned. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to share with you over a video call or even the phone.”
He nodded, knowing how important this was for both of them. He wasn’t happy she’d held the information from him, but he understood her need to tell him face-to-face. After everything they’d been through, the last thing she or he would do is share that type of news in such an impersonal manner.
“How do you feel about this?” He noticed the circles under her eyes had darkened and she appeared even more exhausted.
“I am trying not to let the past rule my actions and my feelings, but it’s hard when I keep thinking of how we went through this before. I…” Her voice broke. “I can’t handle going through that again, Nick. I can’t.”
She threw her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. He held her tight, hating that he could do nothing to make her feel better, more secure. The time she’d been pregnant, they’d been over the moon. Neither expected that when she hit her fourth month, things would have gone awry, but they did. The entire experience left both of them scared to live through that again. She’d been in pain, so much pain. And he hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it.
“It’s going to be fine. I know it is. You won’t have to worry about the past repeating itself because this time it’s going to be different.” He tried to sound reassuring to help ease her pain. The truth was that he could only hope the past didn’t repeat itself.
“I don’t know…”
He pulled back and cupped her face, looking into her pain-filled red-rimmed eyes. “I do know. We’re going to get through this, together. You and me. Together.”
Nick watched the sonographer slide a condom over a thin white tube and then coat it with clear jelly.
“This is a transducer,” she said and glanced at Nick. He wondered if she’d interpreted his frown as confusion. He knew what the machine was. They’d done this before.
The woman then proceeded to turn on the sonogram screen and set it up with Ariana’s information. After that, she slid the transducer under the sheet while he and Ariana stared at the screen.
“We’re not looking at images yet because it’s way too soon, but I’m going to turn on the sound to see if we get your baby’s heartbeat.”
He held his breath. And waited. He gripped Ariana’s hand in his. The sonographer pressed a button and the fast heartbeats sounded inside the room. Emotion clogged his throat. Fear. Happiness. Hope.
“Is that mine?”
The sonographer turned to glance at them with a smile. “Nope. That’s your baby. 145 beats per minute. You have a strong one there.”
He glanced at Ariana’s smiling face and couldn’t help smiling himself. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead.
“Now I’m going to measure your cervix, just to make sure all is well since you’ve had a prior miscarriage.”
They watched while the sonographer drew dots and lines on the screen with a ball. It was a few minutes before she finally turned to them.
“The doctor will come in shortly to speak to you about the cervical thickness and any other things you need to know.”
After she left, he held Ariana, noting the fear in her eyes. He was going to take care of her, and there was no way he’d let her client work her into getting sick.
Their friend Bella arrived a short time later.
“Bella?” Ari sounded as surprised as he was. “What are you doing here?”
Bella grinned. “One of my patients had a scheduled C-section. I was told you were here, so I came to see what was wrong.” She glanced down at the file in her hand and then scanned first Ariana’s and then his face, her brows dipping with concern. “I know you’re early in your pregnancy Ariana, but your cervix isn’t as thick as it should be. And to be honest with you, I don’t like it.”
Ariana’s grip on his hand tightened. “What does that mean? The sonographer just said the baby’s heartbeat was strong.”
Bella nodded. “I know. This isn’t the baby. This is you.” She bit her lip and glanced back and forth between Ariana and Nick. “I’m going to have to put you on bed rest.”
“Bed rest?”
Nick’s heart pounded hard in his ears. Fear expanded in his veins, clogging his system with the need to do something. She’d never been put on bed rest the last time.
“Yes. The thing with bed rest,” Bella glanced at him and bit her lip, “is that she’s going to need someone to take care of her.”
“That’s not a concern. I’ll watch over her.”
Ari glanced at him with wide eyes. Anxious eyes. “You will? You have a busy schedule right now.”
“Not busy enough that I can’t move things around and delegate. You’re my priority. I am not going to push you and our child to the side for a contract. You and only you come first.” He twined their fingers together. “Nothing and no one is more important than you and our baby.”
Ariana wasn’t sure how, but she fell in love with Nick all over again right then. His words were precious and she’d never forget them. He was putting her and their baby before the work she knew he had lined up. She needed to stop kidding herself and do the same.
She leaned her body into his, enjoying the feel of his arms holding her, filling her with t
he comfort of knowing he was there and she wasn’t alone.
*
Ari tried for the hundredth time to make herself comfortable on the sofa. She growled and shifted to her side. A dull pain numbed her leg. She kicked at the pillows by her feet.
“If you keep that up, I’m going to get Nick and tell him to come here and carry you to the bed.” Tricia warned from the kitchen.
“No!” She grumbled. “I’m okay.”
“Then stop that. You know he’d gladly put you back in bed.”
“He’d gladly tie me to that damn thing!” She huffed and got on her other side. Finally. A little more comfort.
Tricia laughed and handed her a glass of sugar-free iced tea and a sandwich. “Stop complaining. He’s out back carving wood for you.”
She’d heard the power tools going for the past few hours. He said he was making her a surprise. What that surprise was, she had no idea. “Well what the heck is he carving back there, Noah’s Ark?”
“My, you are a grumpy one. I think the lack of sex is getting to you,” Tricia taunted and sat on the sofa across from her.
She bit down on the sandwich. Her appetite had made an appearance that week. Which was a good thing because Bella’s insistence she eat was stressing her. At least now, she didn’t have to force herself.
“I’ll have you know I went the entire time Nick and I were separated without sex. I can survive just fine without it.” Of course, that didn’t mean that she liked it. Sleeping in his arms every night and feeling him touching her, caressing her body and then pretty much just kissing her and nothing else might be making her just a little grumpy.
A mischievous spark lit in Tricia’s dark eyes. “Yeah, but you didn’t have to see him naked during that time. Or sleep with him.”
Argh! She was right. Sexual frustration and her inability to get up and do what she wanted were starting to make her crazy.
“Talk about something else. The last thing I need to think about is Nick naked. Or wet. Or me and him in bed,” she grumbled.