Celebration's Baby

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  Oh, boy. As the guy aimed a small video camera at her, Bia knew what was coming next and she looked for an escape route.

  “Hello, Bia. Joey Camps from XYZ Celebrity News. How ya doin’ today?”

  As Joey walked toward her with the camera, Bia glanced around. The only escape route was around the hedge and across the lawn. She turned her back and made her way to the opening in the shrubbery. She heard Joey’s footsteps behind her.

  “Oh, come on. Don’t be that way. I just wanted to ask you to say a few words about Hugh Newman. Tragic loss, isn’t it?”

  Did the guy have no decency?

  Bia knew she was being filmed, but she kept her head down and her sights set on making her way across the lawn to the opening in the hedge that would let her out onto the sidewalk.

  “Nothing to say about your good friend? We’re trying to put together a memorial segment for the show.”

  Bia knew that was a lie. They would probably use the uncut footage or maybe pair it with a clip of Kristin mourning Hugh’s loss. Her heart ached for Kristin. She didn’t want her to be left brokenhearted. Despite everything that had transpired, she hoped that Hugh had known true love with someone.

  “Come on, Bia,” Joey pressed. “Just give us one statement about Hugh Newman and we’ll leave you alone.”

  “I barely knew Hugh. He was only in Celebration for five days. Still, I’m deeply saddened to learn of his accident. It’s a tragic loss.”

  “But, yeah, weren’t you like his girlfriend when he was here?”

  “No. I was his...tour guide.” She lifted her chin defiantly.

  Joey snorted. “I’d like to know what kind of tours you’re offering because my sources tell me you’re pregnant.”

  The previous numbness overtook Bia again. As she skirted the hedge, looking back at Joey in horror, she almost ran headlong into Aiden.

  “Are you pregnant with Hugh Newman’s baby?” Joey asked.

  The world slowed down into a hazy sort of slow motion as Bia watched Aiden put his hand up and block the creep’s camera shot. He put his other arm around Bia to shield her.

  “Get that camera out of her face. Let’s set the record straight once and for all. There was never anything serious between Bia and Hugh Newman because she’s engaged to me.”

  “Engaged? To you? Since when?”

  As Aiden walked Bia back to his place, he put his hand out to block the camera again.

  “It’s none of your business. Get out of here. Leave us alone.”

  “Where’s the ring?” the guy persisted

  “Get out of here.” Aiden’s voice had an edge.

  “Well, at least tell us your name.” Obviously, the guy was a veteran at obtaining the news at all costs. Predators like him gave the media a bad name.

  “At least kiss your fiancée for us. If you do that, we’ll leave you alone.”

  Aiden stopped and turned to the guy. “Then you’ll get that camera out of our faces?”

  “Deal,” said Joey.

  Before she could protest, those lips that she’d contemplated the other day closed over hers. At first, his kiss was surprisingly gentle. He was so tender, tasting like a hint of coffee and something else, something uniquely Aiden. Reflexively, her lips opened under his. As passion overtook her, the gentle kiss morphed into a hard, punishing hunger that consumed her. She wanted the kiss to last forever. She reveled in it, letting it block out all the ugliness of the day. In that moment she wanted this little white lie that Aiden had just told to be true. Right here, right now, she wanted to be Aiden’s fiancée. Because Aiden Woods was nothing like Hugh Newman. He was kind and protective and one heck of a good kisser....

  Then the kiss ended. Breathlessly, Bia pulled away. The spell was broken. She stood for a moment, her vision slightly blurry, her heart racing, her equilibrium thoroughly thrown. She looked at Aiden, then at Joey, who had finally put down the camera. Then back at Aiden, still feeling the weight of his mouth on hers. All she could do was turn and make a beeline for the sanctuary of Aiden’s condo.

  Chapter Five

  “What the heck did you just do, Aiden?”

  When Aiden had first stepped between Bia and the jerk who had been bothering her, her face had been as pale as death. Now, as she collapsed onto the sofa in Aiden’s living room, patches of pink stained her cheeks.

  As she pressed her fingertips to her mouth, Aiden memorized how her lips had felt, the taste of her, the way she’d kissed him back.

  “I got the guy to leave you alone. He stopped asking about Hugh, didn’t he?”

  “Right, but you also just kissed me in front of the whole world. And you went on record saying we’re engaged. What are we supposed to do now? Do we say ‘just kidding’!”

  She had kissed him back, but he knew better than to point that out right now.

  “And how did he know that I’m pregnant?” Bia scooted up to the edge of the chair. “Only two people know. You and Maya.”

  “I sure as hell didn’t say anything to anyone. Really, Bia? Do you think I would betray you? What would I stand to gain besides buying myself a whole lot of grief?”

  Hell. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Despite the fact that it was true.

  He could tell what she was thinking by the way her eyes flashed: the bachelor party. The night that Duane had been unfaithful. The night that she thought Aiden had led her fiancé astray. It had been a test, and Duane had failed. He didn’t deserve a woman like Bia.

  She stiffened, sat up straight. “You kind of have a history of that, don’t you?”

  “Once. You’re still blaming me for something that happened once. And, by the way, did I ever mention that I wasn’t the one in charge of Duane’s actions that night? I thought we agreed to not talk about this again. What I inferred from that agreement was that you accepted that Duane had a will of his own and you had acquitted me. You can’t randomly pull this out and use it when you want to skewer me.”

  She closed her eyes and held up a hand, waving off his words.

  A moment later she said, “It’s the same guy that was harassing me two months ago, when Hugh was here the first time. Obviously, he has a source who feeds him information.”

  “So, did this scumbag fly in from L.A.—or wherever the XYZ offices are—just to get this film clip?”

  “I don’t think so. Sometimes the media contracts stringers. They’re freelancers who work on an as-needed basis. I’ll bet the guy is local. Someone tipped him off the first time Hugh was here a couple months ago, and now he’s back at it because of Hugh’s accident.”

  Bia squeezed her eyes shut, the pain evident on her pretty face. It was too bad that this had happened to Hugh. He wasn’t exactly an honorable guy, but this...No, not this. Aiden stood and went into the kitchen. He poured two glasses of ice water and brought them back into the living room. He handed one to Bia.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Putting everything into perspective, I think the news of our engagement is going to get lost among the hysteria over Hugh’s death. So, I guess it’s not the world I’m worried about as much as I’m worried about how we’re going to explain this to your mom and our friends and coworkers.”

  They both sat in silence for a moment.

  “I mean, what? Will we break up and be one of those couples who remain good friends?”

  “Why does everyone’s opinion matter, Bia?”

  She raked her hands through her hair and continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “Just when I think things can’t get worse, they do.”

  “Was kissing me that bad?”

  She wouldn’t look at him. For a fraction of a second he thought about telling her how he’d wanted to do that a long time ago. How he should’ve done it. Maybe then the situation would be di
fferent.

  “Why are you doing this, Aiden?” Bia asked.

  “I guess I was channeling my inner Prince Valiant,” he said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. She’d kissed him back. He’d felt it as sure as he could feel his heartbeat speed up thinking about the way she’d felt in his arms. The way her lips tasted. “I did it to save you. You’re welcome, Princess. Let’s just ride this out until the media move on. Okay? There could be worse things.”

  “Aiden, I don’t need to be saved.”

  “Then why did you call me?”

  She was staring at her hands resting in her lap and she gave a quick, one-shoulder shrug.

  “I can’t have a fake engagement,” she said.

  “Then I guess we can simply tell everyone the truth, that I did it to save you from the paparazzi.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. He gritted his teeth and looked away, waiting for his mounting irritation to dissipate. When he looked back, she was staring at him with the most heartrending tenderness he’d ever seen. But it only lasted a moment.

  “Do you really think you can fix the engagement you broke up with a fake one?”

  “That I broke? That’s a low blow, B. Do you really want to go there again? I didn’t force Duane to cheat on you. If he was any kind of man, he wouldn’t have done what he did.”

  And if he was going to cheat, it would’ve happened with or without the bachelor party. He didn’t say it, but it was hanging in the air, as palpable as if he’d written the words in black marker on the living room wall.

  He softened his tone. “Bia, I’m really not a bad guy.”

  Bia stared out the window a few moments longer before she looked at him. “I know you’re not, and I know I have to stop bringing that up. I’m sorry. I appreciate what you did for me out there.”

  He nodded, feeling as if they’d just made some kind of breakthrough but trying to keep his face neutral. She’d never admitted that before now. It felt like a small victory.

  “It’s just that...what are we supposed to tell everyone? Your mom, for example? How are we supposed to explain it when we don’t get married?”

  “Don’t worry about that now.”

  “Of course I’m going to worry about it. Are we going to tell your mom that you’re the father of my baby? The one the XYZ scumbag asked me about on film? Because if we—or I—deny the pregnancy, she and everyone else are going to find out I was lying sooner or later.”

  She fisted her hands and dug the heels of her palms into her eyes.

  “Aiden, this is so messed up. I’m not ready for everyone to know I’m pregnant. I haven’t even come to terms with it myself.”

  “They were going to find out sooner or later,” Aiden said.

  “Yes, but before this, I was able to deal with it on my terms. Now, it’s ready or not.”

  Aiden moved from the chair to the couch. He took her hand, and she let him. “We’ll figure something out, but for now, don’t you think it’s better to have someone to lean on through this? At least until the pressure is off?”

  She didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

  “Bia, let me be that person.”

  Again, she didn’t say anything, just stared at him for a long intense moment. Finally, she fell back against the couch and the right corner of her mouth quirked up. “You should know me well enough to know I’d never get engaged without a ring.”

  “I can take care of that. What kind of a man doesn’t give his fiancée a ring?”

  He fell back next to her and nudged her with his elbow, a playful gesture to make her smile. She did, even if it was just a half smile, a Mona Lisa smile. He was suddenly aware that their faces were so close that if they each just leaned a little bit he could kiss her again. But she’d have to meet him halfway. He wasn’t going to do this by himself.

  Right now, it felt as if she wasn’t budging. She wasn’t even moving her gaze from his. His fingers flexed with the need to reach out and touch her, to trace the line of her jaw from her chin to back to where the bone disappeared behind her ear. He wanted to kiss her there and see if she’d budge then...budge right into his bed.

  But, instead, he asked, “Hypothetically, if you were getting engaged, what kind of ring would you want?”

  “Hypothetically?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ll show you. Hold on a sec.” She pulled her smartphone out of her pocket and pulled up something on the internet.

  “Hypothetically, if I were to get engaged, I’d like this one.” She handed him the phone, and he saw a picture of a ring with a deep-set round diamond surrounded by smaller stones. He noticed that there were also thumbnail shots of wedding dresses, flowers, wedding decorations, what looked like ceremony venues.

  “What is all this?” he asked. “Is this the wedding you planned with Duane?”

  “Absolutely not. It’s completely different.”

  At the risk of rehashing the past, he asked, “So, what happened in the past didn’t poison you against marriage?”

  “No, if it didn’t poison me against you, why should it poison me against marriage? I mean, it certainly made me not want to marry Duane, but I’d love to get married someday. I want a family—and I’m obviously getting that sooner than I thought.”

  The faraway look in her eyes changed to one of sorrow. She clasped her hands over her stomach. “But I guess this might be a game changer.”

  “Not with the right guy.” He continued scrolling through her wedding photo gallery. “So, women do this in their spare time? They plan weddings?”

  “For the record, a girl can dream.”

  “For the record, I get that. I guess. The princess is a hopeless romantic. I’ve never seen this side of you before.”

  Their gazes locked again, and the way she was looking at him almost made him want to bridge the distance—cover the ground for both of them—and kiss her again. If she hadn’t looked away, he would’ve done it.

  But the sea change reminded him that being fast and reckless with Bia wasn’t the way to go. The chemistry was there. It always had been, but now it was starting to age into something viable.

  Patience, Grasshopper. Patience.

  “I think I have a pretty good idea who is leaking this personal information to the paparazzi,” she said. “I’m going to find out today.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Bia pulled into the Maya’s Chocolates parking lot. She hadn’t even called ahead to say she was coming because she wanted to look Maya in the eyes when she asked her the question. If Aiden wasn’t the one who had leaked the news about the pregnancy, it had to be Maya or Nurse Flirty. Somehow her gut was telling her that despite Flirty’s wandering eye, she didn’t seem the type who would break laws and betray a patient’s confidentiality.

  But God, who could you trust these days? Someone had alerted the media. Bia would be able to tell by Maya’s reaction if she was the guilty one.

  Bia was relieved that Maya’s car, a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle, was in the lot. She steered her navy blue Volvo into the parking space next to Maya’s car. The parking lot ran alongside the bungalow. It probably used to be a side yard years ago, when the place was a single-family home. A couple of men were working at the far end of the small parking lot. It looked as if they were doing some carpentry work. Probably something last-minute for the grand opening.

  Bia sat in her car for a moment, replaying in her head the last conversation she’d had with Maya, trying to remember if she’d said anything that should’ve been a tip-off that she was going to talk to the media. Bia couldn’t recall anything. In fact, Maya had been warm and sympathetic. She’d been a friend. It was strange this so-called friendship she’d formed with this woman who’d seemingly come out of nowhere to open a business in the middle of nowhere. What was e
ven more peculiar was that each time Bia had doubted Maya, something had reeled her back in. Which was why she was there right now. Rather than just writing her off and avoiding her.

  No, she had to see Maya’s eyes when she asked her the question.

  Maya was all smiles when she answered the door and let Bia in.

  “Bonjour! What a wonderful surprise.” Maya leaned in and planted a kiss on Bia’s cheek. “And your timing is perfect. I just got back from lunch and running some errands. Come in. Have you had your calcium today? Shall I make us some drinking chocolate?”

  Oh. At first glance things seemed to be okay. Normal. Maybe she was good at bluffing? If she was, then it meant things like right and wrong didn’t matter to her. But it wasn’t fair to judge Maya guilty until she asked her straight-out.

  Maya was already walking ahead of Bia, gesturing her to follow her to the kitchen. Bia did.

  Right away, Maya busied herself gathering the items for the hot chocolate. “Did you need some more information for the article?”

  “No, actually, I came to ask you a personal question.”

  Maya stopped pouring milk into the copper pot, set down the milk carton and turned her full attention to Bia.

  “Sure,” she said, her eyes sparkling, actually looking a little hopeful. “Ask me anything.”

  Rarely at a loss for words, Bia was unsure how to start. So she decided to begin gently, from the beginning.

  “Did you hear the news about Hugh?”

  The smile faded from Maya’s face. “I’m sorry to say I did. It’s such a tragedy. I didn’t want to say anything in case you didn’t know.”

  “Yes, it is a tragedy,” Bia said, keeping her gaze trained on Maya’s face. “I was at work when I heard the news. I was pretty shocked.”

  “I can imagine. Did you ever get a chance to talk to him?”

  “No, I didn’t get to talk to him personally. But when I heard, I decided to walk over to a friend’s place that is only a couple of blocks away from my office. On the way, the same guy who accosted me the last time Hugh was in town was waiting for me outside. He and his driver followed me to my friend Aiden’s.”