by Marie Force
“No, no, definitely not quitting the best job I’ve ever had.”
“Better than running your own business?”
“Much better and far less stressful.”
“So what’s on your mind?”
“Well, you knew when we first talked about the job that I’d been pursuing a rather personal project on the side.”
At first he didn’t know what she was talking about, but then he remembered. “Oh, right.” Did he ask how it was going? Or did he wait for her to offer the information?
“I wanted to tell you that my project has been successful.” She glanced at him with eyes bright with tears. “I’m pregnant.”
For a brief second, Nick’s brain froze as he considered how this news would affect Sam, and then he realized Shelby was waiting for him to say something. “That’s fantastic news, Shelby. I’m really happy for you. When are you due?”
“Around the Fourth of July. I didn’t want to say anything until I was past that critical three-month mark, but so far so good despite my advanced years.”
She was forty-two and had told them she was running out of time so she’d sought out fertility help.
“That baby is going to be very lucky to have such a terrific mom.”
Shelby dabbed at her eyes. “That’s very sweet of you to say. I’ve been stressing out about telling you guys. I know this is a tough subject for Sam—and for you. I don’t want you to think—”
“Shelby, all we’d ever be is happy for you and delighted to know there’ll be a baby around next summer.”
“Oh, I won’t bring him or her to work. That would be too disruptive.”
“Why wouldn’t you bring the baby to work? There’s no reason you couldn’t have him or her here with you.”
She began to cry in earnest. “God, Nick, I mean Mr. Vice President, you kill me.”
“I’ll kill you if you call me that,” he said teasingly. “I’m Nick to you, and I always will be, and of course you’ll bring your child to work with you. There’s nothing you have to do for us that couldn’t include your baby.”
Shelby shook her head as she mopped up the tears. “You really are the nicest guy ever. Thank you so much. You and Sam and Scotty—you have no idea how much I love this job and my new life. And all of you. You’re like family to me.”
“We feel the same way.”
“I have to find a way to tell Sam this news. I want to be sensitive to what she’s been through...”
“I’ll take care of telling her. She’ll be thrilled for you.”
“You think so?”
Truthfully, he had no idea how she’d react, but Shelby didn’t need to know that. “I really do. Don’t worry about a thing. Just take care of you and the baby.”
“Do you mind if I tell Scotty?”
“Of course not. He’ll be so excited for you.”
“I know he will. He’s such a great kid. I want mine to be just like him. I’ll wait to tell him until after Sam knows, though.”
“Sure, whatever you want.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to work. If I don’t see you before you leave tomorrow, I hope your first day at the White House is awesome. We haven’t known each other long, but I’m so proud to be working for the vice president of the United States who also happens to be my very good friend.”
Nick stood and hugged her. “Thank you for that and for all you do for us. Sam and I say all the time that we’d never survive without you.”
“Thank you—for everything. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”
After she left, Nick stared at the door for a long moment pondering how this news would go over with Sam. Sure, she’d be thrilled for Shelby the way she was for her sister Angela, who’d recently had baby Ella. Sam doted on her new niece and her other nieces and nephews. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t heartbroken on the inside.
Despite their frequent efforts over the last few months, they’d had no luck conceiving again. Sam’s thirty-fifth birthday in October had been overshadowed by the realization that time was getting away from her. He’d broached the subject of seeking out fertility treatment, but she’d been through that once before when she was married to Peter and wasn’t at all interested in doing it again. Her feeling was that it had happened naturally for them once before. Maybe it would again.
Nick would give up everything he owned and every ounce of success he’d experienced in his career if he could just give her that one thing she wanted more than anything else. Since Scotty had come to live with them, the topic had seemed less raw and fraught with peril. Scotty more than filled the void for her—for both of them. However, though she rarely spoke of it, he knew Sam still wanted the experience of being pregnant and giving birth.
He would have to find a way to tell her Shelby’s news and hope it didn’t gut her too badly to hear that yet another woman close to them was going to have the experience Sam had thus far been denied. She’d be thrilled for Shelby. Nick was certain of that, but inside she would ache for what might never happen for her. He was equally certain of that.
Chapter Ten
Shelby left Sam and Nick’s home, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Nick had been nothing but supportive and happy for her. Knowing what Sam had been through with her history of miscarriages, Shelby had dreaded telling them about her baby. Thinking about how and when to tell them had taken some of the excitement out of it for her.
Now she felt like she had permission to wallow in the joy that had filled her from the moment she first heard the incredible news from the fertility doctor she’d been working with for more than a year now. With Nick taking care of telling Sam, Shelby had one more person she needed to tell, and she was equally anxious about how her news would go over with Avery Hill.
The sexy FBI agent was a big part of her exciting new life as the personal assistant to the vice president and his amazing and accomplished wife. She’d met Avery through Sam and had been immediately attracted to him. Thinking about the day he’d come to interview her fertility doctor as part of a homicide investigation and found her in the waiting room could still make Shelby cringe all this time later.
The way she’d gone after him and asked him out for coffee was mortifying. She’d blamed it then on the hormones and the emotional wallop of pursuing her goal of having a baby for the out-of-character pursuit of a man who seemed well out of her league. Or so she’d thought until she got to know him better and found that he suited her in many of the most important ways.
He’d known from that day forward that she was trying to have a baby. They’d talked infrequently about her side “project” while they continued to spend more and more time together, so she honestly had no idea what to expect from him when she finally shared her news.
She drove to the Adams Morgan neighborhood where he lived and spent fifteen minutes trying to find a parking space. Everyone was home today with it being a holiday, and parking spots were in short supply. Luckily, her tiny pink Mini Cooper fit into the one spot she was able to find. The three-block walk to Avery’s place gave her time to collect herself and prepare for whatever might happen during this long overdue conversation.
Since she’d texted him to ask if it was okay to stop by, she wasn’t surprised when the door swung open as she came up the stone steps to his townhouse.
“Come in.” He swooped her into the heated warmth of his gorgeous home. Everything about this guy reeked of style and class, two things Shelby appreciated tremendously. “What’re you doing out in this freezing cold weather?”
“Coming to see you,” she said, smiling at him even as her nerves went wild when she thought about what she’d come to tell him. At some point over the last few months, she’d become rather attached to the sexy devil and would hate to lose him. Shelby foll
owed him into the cozy den where he spent most of his time at home. She went straight to the fireplace to warm her hands over the flame. “I love this room.”
“So do I. The rest of the house is sort of wasted space. As you know, I use this, the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. That’s about it.”
“Still, it was a good investment that you’ll never regret.” She’d helped him shop for a place to live when he’d been made the director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigation Unit. This had been their favorite of all the places they’d looked at.
“Come sit,” he said, extending his hand to her.
Shelby crossed the room to join him on the soft leather sofa that she’d also helped him to pick out. His e-reader sat on the coffee table, open to the biography on J. Edgar Hoover that he’d been reading lately.
He put his arm around her and brought her in for a lingering kiss. “Hi there,” he said.
“Hey there.” She never got tired of looking at that face with the amazing cheekbones, the sensual lips, the golden eyes. Don’t even get her started on that South Carolina accent.
“This is a nice surprise.”
“I’m glad you think so.” She’d wanted some time to herself so she’d gone home after their midnight celebration last night, and they hadn’t made plans for today. “You’re enjoying your day off?”
“For the moment. I’m waiting for a call from our favorite lieutenant to consult on a case, but as usual, she’s dragging her feet where I’m concerned.”
“You’ll hear from her if she’s supposed to call you.”
“I’m sure I’m dead last on her to-do list, but she’s got a hot one that’s getting hotter by the minute.”
“What happened?”
“The mother of Gonzo’s child was murdered.”
“Oh my God. They don’t think he had anything to do with it, do they?”
“No, but the media is reporting that he’s the primary suspect and quoting MPD sources.”
“Come on,” Shelby said. “They can’t honestly think he’d do that.”
“They don’t, but a ‘well-placed MPD source’ apparently does.”
“Wow. That’s crazy. Sam must be furious.”
“I can only imagine, but something tells me you didn’t come here to talk about Sam.”
“No, not really.”
“Is something wrong, Shelby?”
“Not at all. Something is actually really right, and I’m so excited to tell you about it.”
“What is it?”
“You know that ‘project’ I’ve been working on since we met?”
“The baby project?”
“That’s the one. It seems that it’s been successful.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“That’s great news. Congratulations. I know how much you’ve wanted that.”
“What does this mean for us, Avery?”
“I don’t know. What do you think it means?”
“I fear that it means you’ll be running for the hills, since you didn’t sign on for a package deal.”
“Didn’t I?”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t I know from the beginning that this was a possibility?”
“Well, yeah, I guess so, but that doesn’t mean I expect you to be part of it. Unless you want to be, that is.”
“Is there any chance this baby is mine, Shelby?”
“I...I suppose there’s a chance.”
“Then I’d say I’m part of it.”
“And if it isn’t yours?”
“I’m still part of it if you want me to be.”
“I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“I don’t feel obligated. I feel...sort of excited actually.”
“You do?” Despite her fervent desire to get through this without them, tears filled her eyes anyway. “You’re not just saying that?”
“Shelby,” he said with a chuckle as he drew her in closer to him, “I’m not just saying that.” With his lips close to her ear, he said, “Every time we made love without protection, I knew what could happen. I’ve known all along what you wanted, and I hoped maybe I could be the one to give it to you.”
She rested her hand on her chest. “I think my heart just stopped for a second there.”
“What do you think this has been about all this time?”
“I wasn’t sure. We don’t really talk about it.”
“No,” he said with a sigh, “we don’t, and that’s my fault mostly.”
“How so?”
He hesitated, sighed and sat up straighter. “If I tell you, you might not want to be with me anymore.”
“I’ll still want to be with you.”
“You should wait until you hear what I have to say.”
“Are you married? Gay? Really a woman?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No to all of the above.”
“Then what could be so bad?”
After another long pause during which she wanted to beg him to just tell her what was on his mind so they could move forward, he said, “Long before I ever met you and before I knew she was married, I sort of had a thing for Sam.”
“Sam, my Sam?”
“Yeah.”
Shelby pulled back from him as a thousand disturbing thoughts riffled through her mind one right after the other. “Is that why you started seeing me? To stay close to her?”
“Had nothing to do with it. I just happened to meet you through her. That was the full extent of it.” He took hold of her hand. “Think about all the time we’ve spent alone together. Think about the hours we’ve spent in bed together, the nights you’ve slept in my arms, the time we’ve spent watching TV, making dinner, hanging with Scotty. What did any of that have to do with her?”
“Were you ever going to tell me you’d had feelings for her?”
“I’m telling you now.”
Filled with disbelief, Shelby blew out a breath. “Now, months after this started, you tell me you had a thing for my boss and close friend. That’s kind of a sin of omission, Avery.”
“When would’ve been a good time to tell you? When could I have told you when you wouldn’t have thought exactly what you’re thinking right now, that I used you to get closer to her?”
“Did you?”
“No! You and I have nothing to do with her other than the fact that we both work with her.”
“This is why Nick doesn’t like you.” So many things came into sharp focus in the span of a few seconds. “They know, don’t they? They both know this, and no one told me. God, how big of a fool could I possibly be?” She pulled free of his grasp and got up, her legs wobbling under her until she recovered her bearings. “I...I have to go.”
“Shelby, come on. Stay here and let’s talk about this.” As he spoke, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and swore under his breath. “Please don’t go.”
“Take the call. I can see myself out.”
“Shelby, honey, please. Stay and talk to me.”
She wanted to tell him not to call her that, but the words got stuck on the huge lump in her throat. Blinded by tears, she rushed out of his house and tripped on the last stair, falling to her hands and knees on the sidewalk.
The impact took her breath away as searing pain from her knees and palms tore sobs from her chest.
Avery came running down the stairs. “Shelby! Are you okay?”
She wanted to fight him off, to tell him to go to hell, but he scooped her up as if she were weightless and carried her back into the house. “God, honey, you’re bleeding.”
She was also crying too hard to speak. Her heart ached almost as badly as her knees did.
Aver
y deposited her on one of the stools in his kitchen, carefully placing her legs on the next stool. “Hang on just a second. Let me get the first aid kit.” He went into another room and when he returned, he was on the phone, speaking in a clipped tone.
“Get to HQ and see what’s needed.” After a pause he said, “I was going to handle it, but now I can’t. I’m giving you an order, George.” He put his phone on the counter and got busy cleaning up her cuts. Of all days to wear a skirt with her favorite pale pink tights. They were now a shredded mess, just like her knees.
The pain was ridiculous and reminded her of the time she’d fallen on the street in front of her house when she and her sister were trying out Rollerblades they’d gotten for Christmas. She’d never gone near the Rollerblades again.
He dabbed antibiotic ointment on the wounds, and Shelby gasped from the shocking pain.
“Sorry, honey.”
His use of that word caused shocking pain in the vicinity of her heart. She’d loved the way that endearment had sounded coming from him. “Don’t call me that. I’m not your honey. Not anymore.”
“Yes, you are.”
She pushed his hand away from her leg. “No, I’m not. You lied to me and used me and God knows what else.”
“I didn’t do any of those things.”
“You wanted my friend and settled for second best when she wouldn’t have you.”
“That’s not true.” He took her by the chin and forced her to meet the steely gaze he directed her way. As always those honey-golden eyes made her melt until she remembered why she was so upset. “Nothing about you is second best. You’re first-class all the way, and every minute I’ve spent with you was because of you and no one else but you.”
“I don’t believe you. The only reason you’re saying those things is because I might be carrying your baby.” She wiped angrily at the tears that continued to fall from her eyes even though she’d moved from hurt to fury. “I wish I’d never told you that.”
“Well, you did, and now I know.” His movements were jerky as he cleaned up her other knee. “I’m taking you to the ER to make sure you didn’t hurt more than your knees when you fell. After that, we’re coming back here and we’re going to talk this through.”