Double Danger
Page 26
Nick gaped and a myriad of emotions spun across his face. He looked at Alyssa’s face, then to her belly, then back to her face. A goofy grin spread across his features. Gone was the look of arrogance Alyssa remembered from their first meeting. His face registered a softness she had not seen before.
“A baby?” His voice croaked He cleared his throat. “We’re having a baby?” Nick leaned forward to touch her cheek.
Alyssa nodded. “When I found out I was pregnant, I felt depressed at first. There was no way to get in touch with you. I thought over and over about telling Will –” She glanced at him. “I couldn’t. Then I got a case of idealism and thought I could do it all by myself. I was afraid if you were alive and found out, you might feel sorry for me.”
“I could never feel sorry for you.” He grinned. “Peeved, maybe, if you still think I’m an inconsiderate jerk.” He took her into his arms. She slid her arms around him, melted against him. He pulled her closer. She felt his heart thudding. His breath was warm on her forehead.
“A baby,” he said. “We’re having a baby.” He leaned back and held Alyssa at arm’s length. “So …” He appeared to do some quick calculations in his head. “This would happen in the spring then?”
Alyssa smiled. “March 21. It helped to be able to tell them exactly the day I got pregnant. Of course it’s still a guess.”
Nick spoke over her shoulder. “Do you hear that, Will? A baby. We’re having a baby.”
Will laughed. “I hear, I hear.”
Nick caught Alyssa’s hands in his and kissed them. “Alyssa, will you marry me? Will both of you marry me?”
Alyssa let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, “Yes, yes, yes. I love you, Nick.”
“And I love you.”
“When?” she asked.
“When?” Nick repeated.
“Now. Today,” she said. “Tomorrow. Next week. Before the baby comes. He needs a father.”
“He?” Nick blinked watery eyes, and folded her in a tender embrace.
A sense of well-being suffused Alyssa, sweeping away her loneliness. “It seems,” she said, “like all that happened to us so long ago, like a dream.”
“It was another life,” Nick said. “But this is real. Everything has changed. I think you and I have both put some ghosts to rest.”
Alyssa nodded. “I quit my teaching job.”
“That must have been a tough decision. I know you loved teaching.”
“It was. I learned that running the shop is the right choice.”
“Well, Teacher, you taught me a thing or two.”
Nick’s lips found hers, and she melted against him, lost in the dazzling power of the kiss.
Will cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, Nick, old buddy. You’re forgetting something.”
“Oh, yeah.” Nick freed Alyssa and fumbled in his coat pocket. He pulled out a white envelope and handed it to her. She opened it, withdrew two sheets of paper and unfolded them. “Plane tickets? To Paris?” She gazed at Nick. His face beamed.
“I thought you might like to see Paris. I thought maybe, if you wanted to, I could show you the city. It could be our honeymoon.”
All they had been through, the uncertainty and the fear, vanished. Alyssa’s insides felt watery.
“Yes,” she said. “This is lovely. Yes, I’d like to do this. Yes. But we need to go soon.” She patted her tummy. “Remember, Baby’s due in March.”
Nick reached again into his pocket, and withdrew a small jeweler’s box. He opened it toward Alyssa. It was the ring Martin Frederick had bought the previous day. The Ring. She stared at Nick.
Carl stepped into the shop from the workroom. Alyssa wondered how much of the exchange he had heard. Probably most of it. He leaned against the door frame and said, “So I guess you’re not Martin Frederick.”
Nick shook his head. “It’s the last of my alter egos. The card was still active, so I used it. Sorry to deceive you, Carl. I wasn’t sure if Alyssa would want me. But when you said how much your partner loved this ring, I thought it was worth a chance.”
Carl shrugged, then addressed Alyssa. “So do you want this guy?”
Alyssa looked over at Carl. “Oh, I want him all right.”
Nick’s expression sobered. “Now that I know about the baby, I want you more than ever. We belong together, Alyssa. The three of us. Forever.”
He took The Ring from the box, knelt on one knee and held it up.
“Alyssa Mallory, you are the love of my life. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Alyssa didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Forever.” The word was an affirmation of her feelings for him.
She held out her left hand, and he slipped The Ring on her finger.
“Well, Lady Smythe,” Carl said with a bad British accent, “’tis a ring fit for a duchess.”
Alyssa laughed. “Right now I feel like a duchess.” Then the baby moved. Just a flutter, like a butterfly, but unmistakable. She took Nick’s hand and put it on her abdomen. “Are you ready for this?” she said.
The baby moved again, and the wonderment on Nick’s face confirmed his love for her.
“It’s real,” he said. “He’s real.”
“Oh yes,” Alyssa said, “he’s real. I have a sonogram to prove it.”
Nick wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry you thought you had to do this alone. I’ll make it up to you every day of our lives. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Alyssa said.
Nick’s lips on hers kindled a fire in her that warmed her whole body.
Will cleared his throat. “I think I’ll get a room at a hotel.”
“You can stay with us,” Carl said, leading Will to the back door.
Life was good. The new life inside Alyssa fluttered again. Life was infinitely precious and good.
***
Thank You
Thank you for reading Double Danger. We hope you enjoyed it. Please take a few moments to leave an honest review of this book on Amazon and Goodreads. It’s easy and free. You don’t have to write something long and involved. Just a comment or two about the book will be mightily appreciated. If you received a copy of this book for free you must say that in your review. Thank you.
AmazonGoodreads
About the Authors
Trilby Plants, a Michigan ex-pat, writes for children and adults. She is a proud member of the South Carolina Writers' Association (Formerly Writers’ Workshop), www.myscwa.org. She lives with her sports junkie husband in Murrells Inlet, SC, where she writes, knits and creates video book trailers for authors. She also writes creepy, dark fantasy.
Nancy Tucker, formerly of Flint, Michigan, lives in Northern Michigan with her husband and two dogs. She writes fiction, non-fiction and dabbles in poetry. Her favorite color is purple, or sometimes red.
Double-Danger.com
Facebook