Imagined Love

  They laughed and talked for a while but the conversation eventually made its way to Gabrielle and whether Landon had talked to her or not.

  “I screwed up, baby girl. And now I’ve lost everything that matters to me. I know it sounds idiotic but I honestly never meant to hurt her. I just wanted to be happy, so like you said, I only thought about myself.”

  “Please forget what I said. You know how stupid I get when I’m emotional. And I also hope you know I could never hate you. I was just shocked and hurt and I went flying off at the mouth instead of taking my crazy ass home so you and Gabrielle could deal with it. I’m so sorry for making the situation worse. I had no right to interfere and I hope you’ll forgive me. I’m really sorry, Landon.”

  “You don’t have to apologize, baby girl. I have no one to blame but myself. What I did was deplorable and I deserve everything I’m getting. Gabrielle wants to start divorce proceedings immediately and you . . .”

  “I’m here, Landon. I’m right here with you,” Jade said then got up to sit next to him on the couch. “I had no business judging you when I’ve got skeletons in my own closet.” She told him about the abortion and watched as shock registered all over his face.

  “Wow, Jade, I never would have guessed that. I appreciate you telling me but you didn’t have to. You’re entitled to your privacy,” Landon said, as he squeezed her hand. “As far as the vasectomy goes, you may not have needed to

  know but Gabrielle surely did. But the longer I waited to tell her, the harder it got. Now the very thing I didn’t want to happen is about to. I’ve lost my wife.”

  “Gabrielle just needs some time. She’s angry and hurt right now but maybe she’ll come around. And you know I’ll help in any way I can. I love you, Landon,” she said then held him close as he sobbed.

  Being a new wife and mom, doing two weddings, helping Landon get his wife back, and planning Pierce’s 28th birthday party had Jade exhausted. At least that’s what she thought had her exhausted. A few weeks later Jade learned that all of her and Pierce’s trips to the moon on their wedding night left behind a little gift.

  “So we’re really having a baby? Wow! Let me see,” Pierce smiled brightly then lifted her t-shirt to plant kisses on her belly. Tears were in his eyes when he looked up at Jade. Even though he already had Dane, it would be the first time Pierce got to experience a pregnancy. He couldn’t wait to see Jade’s belly grow and get to be there for her every step of the way. “Hi, baby. It’s Daddy and I can’t wait to meet you in, when will we meet?”

  “November . . . and remind me to throw those low dose birth control pills in the garbage, okay?” Jade said. “Clearly they don’t work.”

  Their family and friends were thrilled and couldn’t wait to welcome a new baby to the Jamison clan. Unfortunately, Jade’s excitement didn’t last long because her “morning sickness” lasted all day long and often sent her to the emergency room in need of I.V. fluids. She was miserable and spent most of her days in bed rather than being at the office with Landon or spending time with Pierce and Dane. One of her secrets was revealed during that time as well. Jade was too sick to go for her waxing and Pierce was shocked to see how incredibly hairy she was!

  “I guess I should’ve told you that you married a wolverine,” Jade cried.

  Pierce tried hard not to laugh because he knew she was upset. Instead he carried her to the bathroom to shave her body so she wouldn’t feel bad. Jade cried even more and said she was incredibly embarrassed.

  “Girl, please, I’m your man . . . the same one who put suppositories in your butt to help you stop throwing up. So there’s no need to be embarrassed with me. I love you and I’ll do anything in this world for you.”

  Jade didn’t know how much more of being sick she could take. She had become depressed and Landon came over one afternoon to spend time with and hopefully cheer her up. If nothing else, he had some juicy gossip to share. As it turned out, Jade wasn’t the only one who was pregnant. Gabrielle was too! She had dropped that bombshell on Landon during one of their counseling sessions. She confessed to going out for happy hour with a group of co-workers the same night as Pierce’s birthday party. Supposedly Gabrielle and Dr. Murray Jacobs talked,

  danced, and drank way too much. One thing led to another and they ended up in the backseat of his car. She admitted it was a terrible mistake and apologized to Landon hoping they could put the whole thing behind them and rekindle their marriage. She flew into a rage when he refused to even consider it, especially after what he’d done!

  “Baby girl, what planet is this heifer from to think I would ever go for something like that! I don’t want kids of my own so why would I raise somebody else’s? Plus, she must think I’m stupid. How in the hell is she eight weeks pregnant like you when Pierce’s party was only five weeks ago? Gabrielle swore up and down it was just the one time and she and the doctor never had a relationship. But what she doesn’t know is that one of our former client’s sister works at Kaiser on her floor and was more than happy to tell me about all the lunch dates and happy hours between Gabrielle and the good doctor.

  “Now she’s sitting up pregnant by a married man that has no intention of leaving his wife and kids to be with her! He doesn’t want the hassle and is trying to get her moved to another hospital. So I guess Gabrielle thought she’d run back to me and I would take care of her little bastard out of guilt for not telling her about the vasectomy. And then when I refused to go along with that mess she actually had the nerve to threaten to take everything I’ve got in the divorce! I don’t know why she thinks a judge will rule in her favor when she’s the one who had an affair and got pregnant! Gabrielle was sleeping with the doctor before she even knew about me having a vasectomy!” Landon exclaimed. “But I’ve got a way to make sure she doesn’t get anything even if the judge does side with her.”

  Landon told Jade he wanted to dissolve the business and give her his money to keep so Gabrielle couldn’t get it. Normally he would never have thought to do that, but with an impending divorce and knowing Jade planned to stay home with the baby, it seemed like the perfect time to let go of the business. She was surprised to learn how separate Landon’s and Gabrielle’s lives were. They didn’t have joint bank accounts nor did they own anything together, not even the house. It was only Landon’s. That made Jade wonder if he and Gabrielle had gone into the marriage not really believing it would last.

  “Okay, baby girl, I know you don’t feel well. I’ll let you get some rest. Bye, baby,” Landon said to her tummy. “But think about what I said, okay? Talk to Pierce and let me know what you decide. And I’m not trying to rush you, but keep in mind I do need to move quickly. Alright, get some sleep. I love you. I love you little baby.”

  Thankfully by her fourth month Jade’s “all day” sickness subsided and she was actually happy and enjoying her pregnancy. On June 16th, which was Father’s Day, she decided to host a party to celebrate all the dads in the family. That was

  the plan at least but none of her in-laws would let Jade do anything. They thought she looked so cute with her little potbelly and spoiled her rotten. Pierce was the worst, though. He thought Jade was even more beautiful and sensual and was thrilled when she felt well enough to make love again. Jade had always made herself available to him but Pierce couldn’t bring himself to do it when he knew she felt awful.

  “I love that you love me that much, but it would make me feel like a predator, like I was taking advantage of you. So I can wait,” Pierce had said, as they lay in bed. “Besides, I like it when you want it as much as I do, so I’ll wait,” he kissed the back of her neck. Though the more he kissed and touched her, the more aroused they both became and made love for the first time in weeks.

  Tony and Marcus were glad when Jade started feeling better too because it meant Pierce would start feeling better. They teased him for months saying he was the one who was pregnant with all of his crazy cravings and mood swings. Pierce cried at the drop of a hat and was irrational and overl
y emotional about everything. It was unlike anything Marcus and Tony had ever seen and he knew they would never let him live it down . . . ever!

  Some of the sweetest times, however, were when Pierce and Dane put their mouths next to Jade’s growing belly to talk and sing to the baby. Dane had decided it was a girl who he affectionately called Pooh. At first the family thought it was cute and funny but before long everyone was calling the baby Pooh. Thankfully, the ultrasound confirmed it was in fact a girl and Pierce’s family was ecstatic. They were dying to add a baby girl to the clan. It was a good thing Pierce and Jade had purchased a new house because there was no way all the things his folks bought would have fit in the townhouse. Two weeks before Thanksgiving Jade’s baby shower was packed with pink boxes and bags filled with every possible thing a baby could need or want!

  On Wednesday, November 20th at three o’clock in the morning, Jade awoke to the worst pain she’d ever felt in her life! When she stood, a gush of fluid saturated her legs and the carpet beneath her.

  “Pierce . . . Pierce, babe, I think it’s time,” Jade said as calmly as she could. “We need to go to the hospital.”

  “What? What!” he yelled then shot straight up.

  “Well, I’m assuming my water just broke or else I just peed all over the place. Ugh, Pierce, this is so gross!”

  “It’s okay, baby. Let me help you to the bathroom,” he said, right before he fell out of the bed. His foot got caught in the sheets.

  Jade burst out laughing then told Pierce to calm down. It wouldn’t help for both of them to be nervous wrecks. So he took a few deep breaths then led her to

  the bathroom. Pierce was helping Jade get cleaned up when another contraction ripped through her and she gripped the sink and started crying.

  “Something’s wrong, Pierce. I don’t feel right. Pooh’s head feels like it’s up here instead of down there,” Jade pointed, “and I feel sick like I’m gonna throw up. Something’s not right.”

  “Everything is fine, babe. Just let me help you get cleaned up and then we’ll go to the hospital, okay? Everything’s fine, baby, now lift your leg up.”

  Pierce helped her change then made a few phone calls and awoke Dane so they could go.

  “Pierce!” Jade screamed from the bathroom. “Look at this! I don’t think that’s normal,” she said, pointing inside the toilet.

  “What is that? And why is it green?”

  “I don’t know,” she cried out as another contraction felt like it was ripping her in half! “Ooh, I can’t take this! I’m gonna die, Pierce!”

  An hour later Jade was being rolled down to the operating room for an emergency C-section. Pooh had turned and was in a breach position. She had also gone into distress. The green stuff Pierce and Jade saw in the toilet was meconium and it meant the baby had a bowel movement inside the womb and they needed to get her out immediately.

  It seemed as if everyone he knew was in the waiting room when Pierce came downstairs to tell them what was happening. He was upset and scared but didn’t have time to think about it. He had to go back to be with his wife. Everyone encouraged Pierce and told him Jade and Pooh would be just fine. It wasn’t until he left to get cleaned and put into scrubs that most of them started to cry.

  Pierce almost hit the ground when the doctor began pulling Jade’s abdomen apart to reach in to get the baby. He knelt behind the blue drape to regain his composure and to make sure he couldn’t see anything else the doctor and nurses were doing. Unfortunately, Jade had to be put under anesthesia. The epidural didn’t work and she was able to feel the first two cuts the doctor made. Nothing had gone according to plan and Pierce was beside himself with worry and panic.

  Then, at nearly sixty-thirty in the morning, he heard the first cries of his baby girl and cried too. “She’s so beautiful, babe,” Pierce whispered near Jade’s ear. He thought he’d be able to hold Pooh but once they weighed and measured her, she was rushed to the Neo-natal intensive care unit. She wasn’t doing well and they needed to tend to her quickly. Pierce didn’t want to leave Jade but something was urging him to follow the nurses to find out what they were doing to his baby.

  It was almost six hours later before Jade was fully awake and alert. She became hysterical when Pierce handed her a picture of Pooh instead of giving her the baby! She thought her baby was dead! One of the nurses heard Jade screaming and crying and brought Pooh into the room. She warned her that it could be

  difficult for the baby to latch on to nurse since so many hours had passed without them having a chance to bond. However, Pooh took right to it and seemed to know exactly who her mommy was.

  “Hi, little girl,” Jade smiled with tears rolling down her face. “You look just like your daddy. It’s like I didn’t have anything to do with this,” she laughed.

  At seven pounds, twelve ounces, and twenty inches long, Dana LaShawn Jamison was a little female version of Pierce! Her eyes, hair, and even the deep smile lines that resembled dimples were just like his. She was beautiful and Jade couldn’t take her eyes off their little bundle of joy.

  Since Jade was still healing and getting adjusted to the new baby, her in-laws brought Thanksgiving dinner to her house so they could all be together. As a way to thank them for all their support, Pierce and Jade decided to host Christmas dinner. Jade had a great time and enjoyed everyone but it broke her heart for Landon not to be there. It was the first time in six years that they hadn’t spent the holidays together. He wanted to be there but said it was just too sad to watch all the happy couples when his life was in shambles. He chose to go to Hawaii for Christmas and New Year’s and Willa and Daniel went with him. Willa was especially worried about how depressed Landon had become and wanted to make sure he was okay.

  The next week seemed to roll around quickly and Jade was nervous about the New Year’s Eve party. To be more accurate, she was nervous about what she was wearing to the party. She had worked really hard to exercise and control her diet in order to lose the baby weight. And even though she still had a little more to shed, Jade wanted to dress up and be a bit sexy again.

  “Woooow!” Pierce smiled big when she walked into the living room to model her little black dress for him. “You look hot!”

  “Do you really think so? I know I still have more to lose and . . .”

  “Babe, you look fantastic just like you are. As a matter of fact,” Pierce said, as he ran his hands around Jade’s waist and kissed her neck, “it’s been six weeks, right? We could be a little late,” he whispered, rubbing her body.

  “Oh no, babe, it took me too long to get into this girdle. I can’t take it off yet, but you can cut me out of it later,” she laughed.

  They actually did end up being late for the party but for a completely different reason. Pierce was strapping Pooh into her carrier when she had a loose bowel movement and it went everywhere! They had to give her another bath and wash her pretty little frilly dress and the carrier cover. It was one of those moments when Jade would have cried if she didn’t have Pierce and Dane helping her.

  “Thank you,” she said and gave each of them a hug and kiss.

  The four of them finally made it to Roland and Alejandra’s house for the party. The food was great and everyone was having a wonderful time. Jade couldn’t stop smiling, though, because she noticed Pierce watching her the whole time. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her and that made her feel so sexy. It had been a while since she’d felt that way and it was nice. So nice, in fact, that Jade gave Pierce the signal for him to meet her in back. She left first as if she were going to the bathroom. Then he acted like he was mingling and slipped through the crowd to get to her. Pierce locked the door to Alejandra’s guestroom and they attacked each other! Jade had to fight the urge to scream out as he took her to the moon almost immediately!

  The two of them tried to be inconspicuous when they returned but it was quite clear their little rendezvous was not a secret.

  “Hey, you know what they say. Whatever you’re doing
at the start of the New Year is what you’ll be doing all year long,” Pierce said and they all broke out into laughter.

  Soon after, they did the count down to welcome 1997 and wish everyone the best. Though, neither Pierce nor Jade could imagine anything better than what they already had.

  For his Valentine’s Day gift Jade surprised Pierce with portraits she and the kids had taken. Dane and Pooh both had on t-shirts that read, “I love my dad” and Jade’s read “I love my man”.

  Pierce smiled as he stared at the pictures. “This is wonderful, babe. Thank you so much,” he said then kissed her. “Does this ever seem unreal to you? I mean, can you believe this is really our life?”

  “What I can’t believe is how you always get what you want.”

  “What do you mean?” he frowned.

  “Well, this was your favorite house so we moved into it. You wanted me to give up the business so I could be home with the kids and I did that. And then, that night we were talking about children, you said you wanted a baby and then the next baby close together. And now you get that too,” Jade beamed. “I’m pregnant. Our New Year’s Eve activity left behind a little gift.”

  Pierce gave Jade that little sly grin she loved before he lifted her blouse to kiss her tummy. “Hi, baby. It’s Daddy and I can’t wait to meet you in, when will we meet?”

  “October,” Jade smiled, realizing things could get better.

  About the Author

  Diamond Drake is the author of three romantic, dramatic works: Imagined Love, For the Love of Jade (the sequel), and Love’s Fool (the 2012 Editor’s Choice Award Nominee). Dubbed “the queen of heartbreak” Drake’s novels embody the human experience and touches hearts beyond the pages. She was born and raised in Gary, IN but now resides in Stockton CA with her husband of seventeen years, two teenage daughters, and two German Shepherds. For more about Diamond Drake visit her at www.diamonddrakebooks.com andwww.goodreads.com/diamondwrites