by Emma Nichols
“You’ve got to make a choice. You need to slow down. At least for the rest of this trimester.” The doctor was stern.
I remembered. I knew what happened now. I’d turned in my two week notice the next day without telling Tradd. And then I worked and made arrangements to leave while he was performing two weeks later. The flight from Austin to Charlotte wasn’t cheap. I’d been living with Tradd in his condo, so I had to pack up and find my own place. The whole time, I was miserable. The worst part was I had to get a new number, block him on social media. Tears filled my eyes as I experienced the pain of the experience all over again. My insurance was based in North Carolina, so I was stuck until the baby was born. I actually ran into Tradd on my way up to deliver Ripley. I wanted to talk to him. I was feeling weak and scared, but then I saw his saucer eyes and closed the elevator doors before he could speak to me.
Slapping a hand over my mouth, I tried to hold back the sobs. We weren’t together. Why were we together now? Pity? No. I shook my head. “The wedding,” I whispered. I remembered seeing him. We’d had sex on my desk. Then I drove off. “The accident,” I muttered as I held my pounding head.
“Babe?” Tradd appeared, his eyes wide with fear when he found me on the floor, tears streaming down my face. “What’s going on?” He squatted in front of me.
“I remember,” I whispered. “I found out I was pregnant with Ripley here.” I swallowed hard.
He glanced up at the vanity and grabbed the pregnancy test. “I see. You found a souvenir, huh?”
My brow furrowed. “No. That’s from today.”
He tilted his head. “But it says ‘pregnant.’ See?” He turned it to face me.
“The desk.” I groaned and sank down against the wooden cabinet.
“We’re having a baby?” Tradd beamed. Then his smile faded. “And you remember.”
“Everything,” I grumbled. “Now get out.”
* * *
Tradd
“No.” I inhaled sharply.
Her face scrunched up. “Yes. Leave me alone.”
I sat on the floor in front of her and shook my head. “No. Never again. I learned my lesson. I’m in this with you.”
She sighed. “Fine. Let’s not have this discussion on a bathroom floor. We’ll go out to the tiki hut, away from Ripley. Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay.” I stood and held out my hands to her.
Finding her footing, soon Lauryn stood before me, her chin jutted out in determination. “Go on. I’m right behind you.”
Even though the gentleman in me wanted to have her go first, I also didn’t want to push the issue. I would be satisfied that she was reasonable and ready to talk. As soon as I walked through the bedroom door, I realized my mistake. She quickly shut it behind me and turned the lock. The moment I heard the click, my heart sank. Then I raced through the house, down the stairs, through the pool area, and came up the balcony steps in time for her to finish closing all the glass doors.
“Seriously, Lauryn? Dammit. Can’t we talk?” I sank down on the top step and stared at her through the glass. I knew my voice would be muffled, but she should still hear me.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I live in Reno now. You…live all over.” She shook her head. “I should leave.”
“No. For once in your life, you should stay.” I frowned.
“That’s rich, coming from you.” She huffed. “Since when do you stay anywhere?”
“Staying isn’t about a place, babe. It’s about being together. We can do that anywhere. We can do it in LA while I’m recording the next album. We can do it in Charlotte when I’m not. We can do it on vacation here.” I groaned when I could see she hadn’t softened in the least. “If you’re asking me to choose between our family and my career, it’ll be you every time.” I rubbed my face. “I’ll have to figure out what else to do to earn money, but I have enough for quite a while. More than enough to support all of us. Even if we keep growing.” I grinned. “I don’t want to miss another minute, Lauryn. Not with you. Not with Ripley. Not with Turtle.”
She smirked. “We can’t call a baby Turtle.”
“As a former rock star, we can call a baby whatever we want.” I chuckled. “Would you prefer Breeze, or maybe Turk?”
“Stop it. I don’t know why you’re talking like this. You never wanted us. Never. And my heart…” Lauryn looked away.
Suddenly, everything seemed clear to me. “You didn’t leave me because you didn’t want to be with me. For some crazy reason, you didn’t think I wanted to be with you. Fear fucked everything up back then, and you’re trying to do it again.” I pressed my hands to the glass. “Not this time.” I took a breath. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. There should be grand gestures and huge romance. We should be in the same fucking room at least. “Go in my closet. Grab the gift bag. And come back here so I can talk to you while you open it,” I urged.
Her head tilted. “What’s in the gift bag?”
I sighed. “Well, if you’d go get it, you could find out.” I made a gesture like I was shooing her from the room. To my relief, she finally did as I suggested.
When she returned, she had a small lavender-colored gift bag dangling from one finger. Lauryn loved presents and surprises. I could see a new sparkle in her eyes. The best part was that they didn’t even have to be big. That day in Margaritaville, I surprised her with a glass commemorating our visit and she acted like I’d given her the Hope Diamond. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction to this.
“Open it.” I took a deep breath as she sat down on the floor in front of the glass. Slowly, she pulled the tissue paper out and then her eyes widened when she reached the silver ring box.
“What’s this?” Her hand shook as she held it up.
“Push back the lid and let me tell you a little story about all the stuff you don’t know since you ran away.” I moved closer to the glass. If it weren’t in the way, I could touch her.
Lauryn pushed the top on the box and the lid popped open. At the sight of the custom engagement ring, she gasped. “What? When?” Her eyes filled with tears.
“The ring and the house went together,” I began. “As soon as we left, I worked on procuring both. Even as you grew more distant, I was determined to show you the depth of my devotion.”
“Me? Distant?” She frowned.
“Yes. It started on our trip here. By the time you actually left, you’d been gone for weeks.” I pressed my forehead to the glass.
“You would disappear here and there. You had nothing on your schedule, yet you were gone. And I figured…” She blinked a few times, but it did nothing to hold back the tears.
“You thought I was cheating?” My voice rose. “How could you think that?”
“I worked with you a solid six months before we started dating. How do you think?” She stared at the ring. “It just cemented my resolve to leave.”
“Which is ironic, since I was sneaking off to ensure we’d never be apart again.” I leaned back against the railing. “The diamond is one of a kind. It has the slightest blueish-green hue and reminded me of the water here. I had it put into this double halo setting because I was determined the two of us would become one.” I chuckled. “Maybe I should’ve added more diamonds.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked with a sniffle.
I laid my hand flat against the glass. “Because the two of us have become four.”
Lauryn snickered. “So this is all my fault? Our time apart?”
I shook my head. “No, I share the blame. You’re a runner, but I was shut up when I should’ve spoken up.” I knocked on the glass. “Let me in, Lauryn. Let me propose the right way.”
She bit her lower lip and I could tell she was considering it. “And our future is negotiable?”
“Every part except for us being together. I don’t want you away from me ever again, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make this work.” I nodded. “I mean it.”
Her cheeks burned and I knew she felt gui
lty for being dramatic. Finally, she pulled back the glass door. I waited until she was done to enter the room. “So, there’s something you wanted to say?” She smirked.
I got down on one knee before her. “Lauryn, love of my life, mother of my child…or should I say children?”
She rolled her eyes. “God, help us.”
“Will you please do me the honor of being my wife? A life without you is no life at all. You make everywhere our home. You’re my reason for being, for breathing, the inspiration behind every song.” I stared up at her, my heart racing, convinced she would still find some reason to say no.
“I don’t want to miss another moment we could be together,” she murmured. “I’ll marry you. Let’s build a life together.”
Somehow, even though this was what I wanted, I didn’t believe her. “You mean it?”
She nodded and giggled.
“Good. Then let’s try this on for size.” I pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. “Look at that. A perfect fit.”
Epilogue
Tradd
“I’m the worst father ever.” I groaned. “If she’d married me, I’d be the worst husband ever, too.” I sank down in the seat.
“Because you went to a meeting on the other side of town and her water broke? You’re some kind of drama queen,” DeSean grumbled as he drove me to the hospital. “And she didn’t say she wouldn’t marry you. She’s wearing the ring.”
“Yeah, but she keeps putting off the wedding. I’ve thought of no less than fifteen options. I brought up Vegas…” I started to count them off on my fingers.
“And what woman wouldn’t want her first wedding in a stale chapel run by some Elvis impersonator?” He rolled his eyes.
“Hey, I didn’t say we had to use Elvis. And there was always the gardens at the Bellagio,” I complained.
“She didn’t want to get married in Vegas,” DeSean reminded me.
“I don’t know why she didn’t want to marry at one of our spots. I offered to rent Ripley’s Aquarium. I suggested our island house.” I threw my hands up in the air.
“You know where she wants to marry. She wants to make a new special place with you. It’s not like she’s being coy. She told you!” DeSean glared at me.
“Well, our dock isn’t going to be ready in time.” I huffed. “Obviously. They barely finished the house in time. I don’t know why we couldn’t stay in the condo.”
“If Lauryn didn’t need you conscious for the birth, I’d pop you so hard right now.” He shook his head. “Kids need room to play. And by moving to The Sanctuary with the rest of us, the kids all get to grow up together. It’s a good life and you know it.”
I rubbed my face with both hands. “It is. I know it.” I blew out a breath. “I just don’t want to miss the birth of my daughter. I haven’t missed a minute of the pregnancy. I sang to her every night. I felt her kick. We even finally agreed on a name.”
“So, not Turtle?” DeSean teased.
I chuckled. “No. Grace. The house in the Caribbean is on Grand Turk in Grace Bay.”
“That’s a nice name. I’m surprised you didn’t suggest Peppermill, since she was conceived there.” He snickered.
“I may have offered up Pepper.” I laughed. “Also I offered Mahogany…”
“Because of the desk? You nasty.” DeSean snorted.
I turned toward him. “I love this woman like crazy. Please don’t let me miss this.”
“Listen, Tegyn is driving Lauryn and the kids to the hospital. Also, you owe me a car.” He wagged a finger in my face.
“Done. Tegyn’s choice.” I laid a hand over my heart for emphasis.
DeSean slapped his knee. “Not Tegyn’s choice! She’ll pick something cheap.”
“You want a Land Rover? A Hummer? Get me to the hospital on time. I’ll buy whatever you want. Got it?” I gripped the seat nervously.
“You have no idea how this birthing a baby works, do you? All your knowledge comes from these damn television shows and movies, where it’s all over in minutes. We’ll be fine.” He sighed like I was an idiot.
Five minutes later, we pulled up at the emergency room, as Tegyn requested, and found the car right there with two nurses working on getting Lauryn out of the vehicle. She was breathing, like they’d taught her in class. I jumped out of the vehicle as it came to a stop.
“Tegyn and I will take care of Ripley,” DeSean called after me.
“Thank you!” I shouted as I rushed toward my girl.
“You made it,” she murmured. “The head is crowning already.”
I turned to DeSean’s car, which had pulled up beside us and raised both hands. “See!”
“Shut the fuck up and go have that baby,” he replied with a laugh.
I grinned as I rushed into the hospital with Lauryn on a gurney. We were immediately taken up to labor and delivery. As I strode beside her, I murmured, “I made it.”
“You did.” She smiled at me through the pain.
Minutes later, we were moved into a delivery room. When we were alone, she murmured, “In other news, I’m not going to be able to have an epidural.”
“What’s that mean?” I frowned.
“We’re doing this natural. I’ll leave with stitches and you’ll probably be wearing a cast.” Another contraction must’ve hit because she started squeezing my hand.
“No. This one.” I pried her fingers from my left and switched to my right. “I strum with this one.”
“Tradd,” Lauryn whispered. “You’re a wonderful dad, you’re an incredible fiancé, and you’re going to make an awesome husband.”
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Only you would be comforting me at a time like this.”
She shrugged. “What do I need comforting for? With you in my life, I have everything I’ve ever wanted and then some.”
About Emma Nichols
What made her decide to be a romance author?
Simple.
How else was she going to parlay her two favorite past times into a career?
Emma is single and loving it. Like her first character, Alysin, Sin for short, she doesn't believe in settling or in settling down. She loves to indulge in her passions whenever the mood strikes and enjoys keeping all of life's cliché moments spicy.
Known for her sense of humor, Emma surrounds herself with friends whose antics often become the source of book fodder. Her ideal situation would be to explore the Caribbean while writing. She pursues that dream daily.
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Books by Emma Nichols:
Series:
Sin at Sea (The Sinful Series, 1)
Vixen in Vegas (The Sinful Series, 2)
Heaven in Hedonism (The Sinful Series, 3)
The Sinful Series Boxed Set
Hard to Get (The Davenport Billionaires, 1)
Hard to Keep (The Davenport Billionaires, 2)
The Davenport Billionaires Boxed Set
Under Umbrellas (New Hope, 1)
Tempest Torn (New Hope, 2)
Stormy Surrender (New Hope 3)
New Hope Boxed Set
First A Dream (Dreams Come True, 1)
Second Chances (Dreams Come True, 2)
Three Wishes (Dreams Come True, 3)
Dreams Come True Boxed Set
The Bet (The Players Series, 1)
&nbs
p; The Mark (The Players Series, 2)
The Gamble (The Players Series, 3)
The Players Series Boxed Set
Sports & The Single Dad (Single Dads Club, 1)
Law & The Single Dad (Single Dads Club, 2)
Sex & The Single Dad (Single Dads Club, 3)
Single Dads Club Boxed Set
Standalones:
A Modern Proposal
The Wait
The Truth About Love
Terms of Service
The Souvenir
Love & Other Phobias
Sweet Taboo