by Amy Brent
I glanced over at Lila who was glaring at her father. She slapped on a big smile for the doctor when he said goodbye and then when the door was shut, she spun around and flipped out.
“She’s pregnant? How could you not tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” She looked at me. “You could tell me anything, Gemma. We’ve always been friends. And you, when I said to find a nice young woman, well, I didn’t mean Gemma!” She let out a long breath, and I choked up. I was barely producing tears as I cried.
“It happened about as planned as your own, I’d guess.” Her face reddened, and she looked at me and shrugged.
I cleared my throat. “Wait, you just said yours. You’re pregnant too?” I closed my eyes and smiled.
“Yeah, when I said I wanted to grow up and raise our kids together, I didn’t think yours would be my siblings.” She shook her head and then closed the distance between her and my bed.
“I’m sorry, Lila. It just happened. I love him.” I couldn’t expect her to understand or accept it. To her, it probably seemed unnatural.
“I know you do. You’re the most genuine person I know, but.” She looked me in the eyes and shook her head, and I thought that was it, the moment when she’d tell me how horrible I was. How I’d taken advantage of her friendship and that things would never be the same. But she just laughed. “Aren’t we a pair?” She sat on the side of my bed. “We’re going to be mothers. Look out world, here comes our children.”
“You don’t hate me?” I felt the sting of my tears wanting to produce.
“No, I am a little jealous. But only because I’m going to have to vie the little brat for my father’s attention. I mean, I always wanted a brother or sister, but I’d wanted one I could pick on, not one that was young enough to be my kid.” She was pulling a classic Lila; making jokes to lighten the mood.
“You’re always going to be my little girl.” Whitt reached across the bed and touched her shoulder. “It seems our little family is growing by leaps and bounds, and I guess if you can accept all of this with Gemma and me, then the least I can do is accept Daniel.”
“I’m sorry I blurted it out that way in anger, Daddy. I’d wanted to tell you at the gala but then everything happened and just didn’t think it was the right time. I was angry that you couldn’t just accept us, so it really means a lot to me that you’ll give us your blessing.”
Whitt gave his daughter a warm smile. “Anything for the father of my grandchild. Have you set a date?”
“We’re thinking about New Year’s Eve in the Bahamas. Something different. I don’t know though; I don’t want to be huge in my wedding dress. What about you guys?” She looked back and forth between us, and my cheeks burned with a blush at the thought.
He’d never asked me to marry him, and I didn’t expect it. Starting a family didn’t mean we had to be married to be happy and I imagined that marrying a woman so close to his daughter was something that might not look well for his reputation.
“Um, we’re not getting married,” I shrugged. “I mean, we haven’t talked about it.”
“No, it’s all happened too fast to think about it. We’ll talk about it once Gemma’s feeling better, but I’m sure she’ll agree, it’s no rush.” I nodded, and he patted my hand as if to comfort me. I was content with him to care for me, and at that moment, I didn’t need more.
“Well, I know you’ll take good care of her, Daddy. And likewise. We’re going to be big, happy family. Not conventional, but special.” She gave me a nudge and her smile was contagious.
Whitt stood and walked around to hug Lila. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time, honey. Thanks for understanding.”
“Well, it does help that I get my way, and with me being pregnant, it was going to happen, but at least you and Gemma will have the house to yourself.” She giggled. “I’d rather play nice than lose to two of you.”
She hadn’t noticed that Whitt and I were staring deep into each other’s eyes. She’d insinuated that I’d be moving into the house, but that wasn’t set in stone either. The truth was, Whitt and I hadn’t talked anything about living arrangements, and I’d assumed that the two of us would continue seeing each other with the same addresses.
“Speaking of leaving you two alone, I think I’ll step out and call Daniel again. He’s going to flip when he hears the news. Oh, and I’d still like to get together for dinner and nice long discussion soon.” She tiptoed out and pulled the door closed behind her.
Once her footsteps faded down the hall, Whitt leaned in and kissed me. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”
Chapter 25
Whitt
The day had been one of the hardest I’d had in a long time. Seeing Gemma fall out on the floor was a wake-up call, and it let me know how much I cared for her. I was more determined than ever to take care of her and our baby, and with my daughter mentioning marriage and living arrangements I knew we had to get on the same page and fast.
I’d already promised her that I was going to take care of her and the baby, and now that we were alone, I was going to talk to her about how. We had a whole life to plan together, starting with the most obvious stuff.
I kissed her and brushed back a loose strand of hair from her face. “I think we have a lot to talk about.” She smiled and took my hand.
“I don’t want any of the things Lila mentioned to pressure us. I know marriage is a big deal, Whitt. I’m not asking for that. It’s too much too soon.” She wasn’t too convincing. I had a feeling about the way she hadn’t looked me in the eyes, that she was just telling me what she thought I wanted to hear.
At the same time, I was relieved that she’d tried to be understanding. I let out a long breath and rested my hands behind my head, entwining my fingers. “I want you to know that it’s not out of the question, though. I mean, I don’t think it’s something we have to do right away or even being engaged, but when we both feel the time is right, I’m not opposed to the idea.” I placed my hand on hers. “What do you feel about that?”
“I’m a bit surprised, I guess. I didn’t think you’d want to.” She tucked her chin and stared down to her lap where our hands were joined. I stroked hers with my thumb.
“You’re my girl, Gemma, and I love you.” She raised her head, and the surprise on her face was enough to make me smile. “Does that surprise you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’m sorry I haven’t made you at least a little suspicious.” I’d done a horrible job trying to end things and even worse showing her how much I cared about her. No more. “There’s something else we need to talk about. Living arrangements. I don’t want you at your place alone anymore. I’d like you to move in. If you want your own space, I won’t argue, but I’d really like to know you’re at least under the same roof with the baby; safe and sound, the both of you.”
“What if I want to stay with you in your room?” She gave me a burning look of desire, and I felt my cock twitch with approval as she smiled.
I gave her a sly smile. “I’d prefer it, actually. I want us to be together as much as we can, and not just in bed. I want us to get to know one another on this level. I want to talk about how to raise our child and make decisions together.”
Gemma gave me a sidelong glance and closed her eyes a moment. “I’d love that. It’s not like I’ve ever had a family of my own and honestly, the only time I ever felt like I had a family was when I was with Lila at your home. I guess a normal girl would have fantasized about being a part of the family in a slightly different way,” We share a laugh, and I continued. “But, I’ve never regretted wanting to be with you. Or saving myself for you.”
“I’m just glad I’m worthy.” I leaned down and kissed her, and she brought her arms around me and held me tight, and we sat that way a moment until I pulled away. “You’re going to make me want to misbehave in this hospital if you’re not careful.” My dick swelled in my pants, tenting the front so badly I hoped one of the nurses didn’t come in and see it.
She put the cup to her lips and took a sip. “Thanks. So now that we’ve established where we’re going to live, I want to design a nursery. I thought about it this morning and was going to turn my guest room, but now I’ll just choose one of the guest rooms if it’s okay with you? You can choose which one.”
“Of course, that would be great, and I’ll give you full reign over the project too, but speaking of your designs, I’ve been thinking.” I closed my eyes as I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. I realized that Ashley was probably at my office leaving her letter of resignation on my desk. I’d failed to meet with her, which probably told her where she stood with me, but Gemma was more important. Accidents happened, even though I did feel bad for Ashley. I’d have to give her a call. If she only knew the bullet she’d dodged getting involved with me and my current situation. I would have broken her heart for Gemma regardless.
I looked up, and she was patiently waiting for me to continue. “What is it, Whitt?”
I waved a dismissive gesture and shook my head so she wouldn’t worry. “I don’t think that you should work in the office.”
“You’re firing me?” Her eyes widened, and she clawed at my sleeve. “Whitt, I know you want to take care of the baby and me, but having a job and providing a bit of my own income is really important to me. I need that job, and it means more than a paycheck, please reconsider.” I admired the fact that she was fighting to be a provider.
I held up a hand. “Calm down; I’m not firing you, Gemma. I’m offering you a job as a designer for the upcoming renovations at the St. Croix resort.” Her smile widened with her smile, and she leaned forward and pulled me closer into her embrace.
“I’ve always dreamed I’d work for you doing my designs, Whitt. Are you sure? What happened to Ashley?”
“Well, she wasn’t too happy about the day in the pool house, and I should have never led her on when what I really wanted was to be with you. I let my worry over Lila sabotage us, and I’m sorry.”
“Sh. I don’t want sorry. I want us to move forward, together with our baby. And my new job!” She squealed with delight and then lay back against her pillows.
“We’ll need some plans on the nursery soon, and I’ll have my builders come in and overhaul if needed. We’ll have the nicest nursery anywhere by the time you’re done.” I couldn’t wait to see what she came up with.
“It’s so exciting, Whitt, but I really a terrified.” The worry set in her brow and I leaned over and kissed her.
“I know you’re not ready for this, that’s why I want to make everything perfect for you and the baby. You and Lila can’t be too far apart, so you’ll have each other. You two have always leaned on each other before, so remember that now. I’ll give you my credit card, and you can take Lila shopping for maternity clothes.”
She let out a deep breath and frowned. “Don’t remind me. I’ll be huge.”
“It’s going to turn me on.”
“You’re just saying that.” She searched my eyes as if to see if I was kidding.
“No, I’m not. You’ll see.” I leaned forward and cupped her breasts. “These are going to get so nice and full, and here.” I pressed my hand to her tummy.” You’ll like it too. It will be so intense for both of us.”
“I can’t wait to wake up to you each and every morning. I won’t want to get out of bed.”
“And some days, I might not let you.” She giggled, and I kissed her again, and it was then I realized we had our game plan and I couldn’t wait to live with her.
“You should go check on Lila. I’m worried this has all been a bit too much for her.”
She had a point; my poor daughter had arrived to help her friend and been blindsided by our relationship and then hauled to the hospital. Being pregnant herself, I needed to make sure she was okay. I leaned over and gave her one last kiss before heading out of the room.
I looked down the hall and found Lila sitting in a small waiting room which was quiet and empty except for the TV in the corner which was on the news station.
“I love you too. I’ll be home soon.” She hung up her phone and lifted her head to see me standing there. “Oh, hi, Daddy. Daniel is excited for you. He’s on cloud nine about the baby, and he’s already bought a crib.”
“Gemma and I are going to redecorate one of the guest rooms on our floor for the baby. I’ll leave yours alone for now but how about we make it into a guest suite with a playroom and some new furniture that is more family friendly for when you come home for Christmas.”
She stood and fell into my arms. “Thank you, Daddy. That would be amazing, and I know Gemma can help design it too.”
“Oh, about that. I’ve made a decision about Gemma’s career and hired her as my new designer.”
“Daddy! That’s awesome! I have to go see her. Is she feeling better?” She locked her arm with mine, and we headed back.
“She’s okay, it’s taking some time getting her rehydrated, but we should be home tonight.”
“Home? Does that mean—
“We’re going to move her in. I want her close.”
She squeezed my hand and gave me a smile. “I’m glad she has you. She’s a very lucky girl. And I’m the luckiest of all.”
We rounded the corner into the room, and the nurse was checking on Gemma’s IV bag. “One more to go and then I think we can slow it down. You’ll have to stay the night, but I think we’ll get you home by noon tomorrow.” She hung the bag and tossed the old one in the trash.
“Thank you.” Gemma seemed relieved and reached for my hand.
“I’ll send out for your things, and Lila can get back on the road before it’s too late. I’ll stay here with you.” I looked around the room and tried to figure out where I was going to sleep. And I pulled the nurse aside and asked for a cot to be brought in later.
Lila stepped up to Gemma’s bed. “I hear that you’ll be doing a lot of design for Daddy’s resort and the house. We have major things to discuss about my suite.”
Gemma’s eyes lit with surprise. “Oh? Well, we’ll have plenty of time while we’re maternity shopping.” Gemma gave her a wink, and the two sat on the bed together chatting about clothes and what to do about their nails.
I had a feeling Lila was going to be spending more time around just because she and Gemma were in the same boat. So, in a strange way, I got my daughter back. It was nice to mend things with her, and I hoped all the past issues would be buried for good.
Chapter 26
Gemma
Whitt was going to be an amazing father and a protective one too. I wondered if he’d been the same way with Lila when she was born and if he’d been the same to her mother during her pregnancy.
Being released from the hospital the day before, Whitt had the idea that I should stay in bed and rest, but I could only entertain that request for so long. Since he wouldn’t let me go to work, I had little to do but recover and think about the nursery, so I grabbed my electronic tablet from my bag and headed off down the hall to the back two guest rooms on Walt’s suite.
His bedroom and office were so close and took up half of the front area, but the guest rooms were crammed at the end of the hallway and from what I knew, they were barely used. I opened one door across from them, and it was the space Whitt used as a private home gym. I stepped back to the middle of the hall and let out a long breath. I didn’t want to stick my little one at the end of a hallway, across from a room where Whitt would be making noise with this workout music and clanking weights. I walked back to the other end near our bedroom and the office and put my hand on my hip. Whitt’s office would make the perfect nursery space, bu
t he’d never go for it. Besides, I couldn’t ask the man for his home office, which he used quite a bit.
My wheels were turning, and I was lost in deep thought when a hand snaked around my waist, and Whitt kissed my neck. “You’re supposed to be in bed, little mama.”
I turned and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. “I’m thinking about the nursery.”
“We have months still for that, and you can sketch plans while in bed.”
“Whitt, I’m sore from laying around, and you know better than I do, to build strength you have to move around. Besides, I’ve got a real dilemma.”
He chuckled softly and stroked my arms. “What’s the matter?”
“Well, I was looking at the spare rooms, but the gym is just across the hall, and I’m concerned the noise will be too much for the baby, with the way things echo in there. And I don’t like the idea of he or she being that far away.”