Julian smirked. “Because I would follow you anywhere.”
“You are such a flirt!” I walked toward him and he scooped me up in his arms.
“With you? Every chance I get.”
My skin tingled where his breath hit the skin on my neck. I sighed happily.
I love this man.
I opened my eyes and found myself facing the ultrasound photo on the refrigerator.
“It feels real now,” I pointed out softly.
I stared at the black and white picture until Julian set my feet on the ground. He turned around so we could both stare at the image. Moving the magnet, I plucked the picture from its position and held it between my fingers. “We’re having a baby.”
I turned my head, looking up at Julian. His smile played on his lips before he gave in and let it stretch across his face. Reaching over, he dropped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. “We’re having a baby.”
The sound of my phone vibrating against marble echoed through the kitchen.
“We should wait until Christmas to tell our families,” I mentioned as I made my way to my phone.
Twenty-three emails.
“Yeah, that’ll be cool.”
“We could do something over the top and surprise them.” I glanced at the text message from my best friend before looking back up. “I can keep this from my family for the next three and a half weeks because they won’t even think to ask if I’m pregnant. If your mom is dropping off pregnancy tests, she may be a little harder to mislead.”
“No misleading necessary. I’m just going to avoid her at all costs.” He grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the counter to watch me. “I might avoid seeing her altogether.”
I laughed as put my cell phone down. “You are not going to be able to avoid her. She’s your mom.”
“They are leaving to go camping next week and won’t be back until just before Christmas. If she’s going to pop up, it’ll be this week, and that means she could catch either one of us. I know I can throw my mom off our scent. What about you? What’s your plan? If she shows up here, you’re going to be asked the same questions.” He crossed his arms and smirked. “How are you going to get out of this one?”
I lifted my eyebrow. “I’m a lawyer. I can bluff.”
“Try me.”
I started giggling instantly. “I can’t bluff you.”
He grinned because he knew it was true. “Yeah, because I can see through your shit.”
My phone vibrated again and my laughter intensified. “Apparently Koko can too.” I looked up at him. “I have to tell her. She’s going to figure it out the moment she sees me and this text she just sent is ridiculous.”
“What does it say?”
“She said, ‘I haven’t heard from you since Wednesday and I swear to God if you ran off and eloped, I will punch you in the stomach. Unless you eloped because you’re pregnant.’”
“For a woman with no muscle, she talks the most shit.”
“Right?” I shook my head. “I miss her.”
As a makeup artist, Koko still worked with world-renowned makeup guru Julia Jones on The One. Each season featured four bachelors on four separate month long sessions. The summer after I appeared on the show, they started having the summer sessions that featured a female bachelorette. Koko worked all six sessions a year, keeping her busy.
“I know I kept you tied up all weekend—”
“Literally,” we said in unison before bursting out laughing.
“So give her a call back,” he continued, still chuckling under his breath. “I’m assuming you’re going to tell her, right?”
I lifted my shoulders and turned up my hands. “I mean… I don’t think I have a choice at this point.”
“Yeah, probably not.” Amusement lingered in his tone as he walked around the island to stand next to me. “Call her back and then meet me upstairs.” He leaned down and put his lips against the shell of my ear. “I have something I want to give you.”
The whispered words were void of all humor, holding a sexual promise that completely shifted the air in the room.
“Julian,” I protested, my voice laced with desire as I leaned into him.
“Don’t be long.” He smacked my ass and walked out of the kitchen, his laughter hanging in the air.
“You’re such a tease!” I yelled after him as I still felt his lips on my collarbone.
I’ll get him back, I thought as I picked up my cell phone and scrolled down to my best friend’s name.
“Zoe Jordan!” Koko shrieked as a greeting. The noise surrounding her sounded more like she was at a night club than at work.
“Kumiko Green,” I returned with a laugh. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Busy, but good. Worried about you.”
I smiled. “I’m sorry I haven’t been at home lately. Have you been staying at the apartment or have you been staying with Bryce?”
“Who?” she asked calmly.
My eyebrows flew up.
Koko and Bryce Wilson had been messing around since my session of The One. After a year of off-and-on casual sex, they made it an official relationship over the summer, but they still kept it under wraps because they worked together. For a solid five months, it seemed like things were going well.
Granted, I’ve been busy for the last three months, but every time I check in with her, she never says anything is wrong.
“Koko, what happened with Bryce?” I repeated.
She sighed. “Are you talking about Bryce Wilson?”
“The only Bryce I know? Yes. That’s the one.” I rolled my eyes though she couldn’t see me. “What’s going on?”
“Well he said some things and I said some things and now we’re not talking.”
“I’m sorry, Koko.” My heart was heavy for her. “What things were said? Start at the beginning.”
“Hold on one second.” The phone sounded muffled as if she slipped it into her pocket, but I could still hear her talking. “Are you new? Yes, take this palette to JJ. Julia Jones is JJ. Julia Jones, JJ. Listen, I don’t care if he’s requesting me. JJ is handling Mr. Wilson’s makeup.”
I strained when her voice got lower, but I couldn’t hear anything more. Relocating to the den, I stretched out on the couch.
I really thought Koko and Bryce were going to make it.
“Sorry about that,” Koko apologized when she returned to the phone. It was noticeably quiet on her end. “I’m in the trailer now.”
“Is JJ there?”
“No, but she will probably be back soon so I have like five minutes to tell you this.”
“Start at the beginning. What happened?”
“Well,” she started, dragging the word out. “Long story short, he said he was having dinner with a colleague…but it was Leah. And he knows I don’t fuck with that bitch.”
“Wait, what?” I sat up quickly. “Did you just say Bryce was having dinner with Leah?”
Leah Trotter had been on Julian’s session of The One and she was a manipulative bitch.
I always tried my hardest not to refer to any woman as a bitch, but Leah was a bitch. There was just no way around that accurate of a description.
She wasn’t a bitch because Julian kissed her for the sake of the show. She wasn’t even a bitch because she lied and manipulated her way through the show. And although those things contributed to why I didn’t like her, Leah’s bitch status was earned due to the way she lied about me on live TV when she went on talk shows.
It only took a few rounds on the night show circuit for the viewing public to catch her in her lies and recognize that she was a jealous and petty bitch. In almost two years, I’d let go of everything that had taken place on the show. But Leah took things too far after Julian chose me. She tried to ruin my career, my relationship, and my reputation. The show was over and done with and the fact that she still felt the need to attack me solidified my unrelenting disdain for her.
“He was at dinner wit
h her?” I repeated, my voice rising in confused horror.
“Yes! On a date,” Koko growled. “So I told him it was over.”
I stood up in a daze and started pacing the room. “And it was just the two of them? Having dinner?”
“Yes! I walked into the restaurant and saw them together. And even if I didn’t see it myself, the pictures that were all over the gossip magazines and the show’s website would’ve given them away.”
“What the hell? Why would he…” I exhaled sharply, trying to calm myself down. “This makes no sense. I never got the impression he liked Leah as a human being let alone developed an actual interest in her. There has to be another explanation. Even Bryce isn’t dumb enough to fall for Leah’s bullshit. When did this happen?”
“Friday night.”
I heard her slamming things down in the background. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you call me?” I wrapped my free arm around my waist as I slowed to a stop.
“Because I’m fine and I knew this was your weekend fuck fest with Julian.”
The gasping screeches of Koko’s laughter echoed through the phone and without fail, I joined in.
“Fuck fest? Really?” I giggled, collapsing on the couch again. When the humor passed, I paused. “Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes, you can tell me how you’re doing. I got your text message about you winning the case and I’m so proud of you!”
I smiled. “Thank you, but I’m worried about you. Have you talked to him?”
“Don’t be. I’m fine. I’ve managed to avoid him or be around other people when he comes looking for me on set so I’m not forced to talk to the jackass.”
“You should talk to him. At least let him explain why he was having dinner with her. Even if you decide you’re done with him, you should at least hear him out.”
Koko was quiet for a minute and then she let out a frustrated wail. “I’ll think about it. I hate that you’re the voice of reason.”
“No, you don’t.”
She cackled on the other end of the line, causing me to grin. “Anyway, what’s going on with you? How’s Julian?”
I looked down at the diamond on my ring finger and my stomach flipped. “I have to tell you something, but you have to swear you aren’t going to say anything. We’re not telling anyone else until Christmas.”
“Oh shit! You’re pregnant?”
My mouth fell open. “How did you guess?”
“You are my best friend, we tell each other everything, and you’re swearing me to secrecy. What else could it be? That you tried anal?”
My head fell back and I laughed loudly. “I can’t deal with you right now.” I gasped between bouts of laughter. “Oh my God, you are ridiculous!”
Once we both pulled ourselves together, I told her everything that happened during the appointment with Dr. Nelson.
“You sound so happy and that makes me happy. I know ‘voice of reason’ is usually your title, but I have to ask… how are you feeling about all of this? You’ve always said you wanted to be married before you have a kid. Are you okay?”
My eyes migrated to the flawless diamond Julian had slipped on my finger as the words he’d spoken from his heart to mine ran through my memory. “I’m more than okay and I will be married before we have the baby.”
“What?!”
I had to pull the phone away from my ear because the piercing scream felt like it was going to shatter my eardrum.
“What?!” she repeated.
I stifled a giggle. “Yeah, Julian proposed on Friday night.”
I told her everything that happened, from the home pregnancy test to the poem in the jacket pocket to the urgent care exam room proposal. I was nearly in tears as I summarized some of what Julian had said to me that night.
“He is the perfect man for you. I knew it. I sat in our apartment and I told you he would be perfect for you, didn’t I? And the fact that I pretty much hooked you two up will be highlighted in my maid of honor speech.”
I laughed. “Deal.”
“Okay so if you are two and a half months pregnant now and you are getting married before the baby comes, when is this wedding supposed to be? We only have six months to work with!”
“We actually haven’t talked about that yet, but it’ll have to be in the next six weeks. I don’t know when I’m going to start showing, but if I want to keep the pregnancy a secret for as long as possible, I should probably not look pregnant in our wedding photos.”
“I agree, and I guarantee you’ll be showing by the end of January.”
“Maybe I can go upstairs and convince him to do a New Year’s wedding.”
“Zoe, that man adores you. You won’t have to convince him to do anything.”
“Bryce feels the same way about you. That’s why you should talk to him.”
“He lied to me and said he was meeting a colleague and he met Lucifer’s sister.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I get it, but there has to be a reason.”
“That bitch talked shit about my best friend and was rude to me every time I had to do her makeup. There’s no reason. If—” Koko stopped talking abruptly.
“Hello?” Concern flooded my system.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Koko’s icy tone immediately alerted me to who had walked into the trailer. “If I send someone to tell you JJ will do your makeup, don’t come looking for me. I’m on the phone. Get away from me. Give me my phone back!”
I tucked my legs underneath my body and hugged myself.
“Hello? Zoe?” Bryce’s tired voice burst onto the phone.
“Oh…hey Bryce,” I greeted him awkwardly.
“Dude, please get Koko to listen to me. I did not go on a date with Leah. Why would I go on a date with Leah? I was meeting with Robert Brady and his guests. He called them my colleagues. What am I supposed to do? Tell the creator of the show that I need to know who his guests are before we can meet? Leah and I got there on time, but Robert was running late. I had no idea she was coming. Please make her understand I would never do anything like that to her.”
I didn’t say a word.
“Zoe?” Bryce questioned the silence.
“Is she still standing in front of you?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then she heard you. Is she glaring at you or is she avoiding eye contact?”
“Glaring. Definitely glaring.”
“Then she’s considering that you might be telling the truth. Tell her to call me back later and talk to her.”
“Thanks Zoe.”
“And Bryce…”
“Yeah?”
“There aren’t many people Koko and I don’t fuck with. Don’t make a habit of dining with people on that short list. Really, don’t make a habit of dining with any woman that isn’t Koko or heads will roll—particularly yours.”
He chuckled. “I know. I apologize to you both. We’ll call you back.”
Once the call was disconnected, I peeled myself off the couch and wandered upstairs. I found Julian in his office at the desk.
“How’s Koko?” Julian asked as he typed.
“She’s well. She’s excited for us.” He looked up and grinned at me.
My heart fluttered.
“That’s good,” he said, with a nod. “I’m excited for us, too.”
“But she said something that got me thinking. Are you busy? Is everything okay?”
“I’m just looking at my calendar.” He turned in his swivel chair and beckoned me over. “Come sit.” He patted his lap.
I slinked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck as I got comfortable. He wrapped one arm around me and turned us so we could face the computer screen.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, scratching my fingernails against his scalp soothingly.
“I have my lawyers looking at the tour dates to see if I can move some dates around. It doesn’t look good though.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think y
ou should adjust the dates. People have already committed those dates to their schedules. It would be different if it was an emergency and you had to cancel a stop or two. It’s a whole other thing to rearrange or cancel. That’s not a good look for you or the hundreds of people who are working on the tour with you.”
“But that means we’d have to get married in the next three months.”
“What do you think about a New Year’s Day wedding?” I blurted out without careful consideration.
Julian’s grey eyes held my brown ones as the question hung in the air.
“That’s soon,” he pointed out, forehead creased with uncertainty. “Is that what you want?”
“I mean…” My disappointment in his lack of enthusiasm dried my mouth. “I just thought it would be better for me since I may not be showing then. If most maternity clothes lack style and ingenuity, I can only imagine the wedding gown selection.”
“I hear you, but you look beautiful in everything.” He kissed my shoulder. “Do you think we could pull off a wedding in a month though? I just don’t want you to regret anything by rushing it. I want to give you your dream wedding.”
My heart swelled. “The wedding isn’t the dream. You are.” I kissed his soft lips and rested my forehead against his. “I love you and I want to marry you. I want to look at the pictures of our wedding and remember the moment I became your wife…in a great dress.”
The deep timber of his chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Well then go grab your laptop and look for your great dress and I’ll contact the lawyers.”
“Your lawyers?”
“They’re going to need to find a wedding planner who can work fast and be discreet.”
I nodded. “Ah, that makes sense.”
I got up and went to find my laptop. I had it when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, but I couldn’t remember the next place I’d had it.
“Fuck!” Julian roared from upstairs. “Fuck!”
I jumped, startled by his outburst. Feeling panic sweep over me, I launched myself upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. My heart thudded against my chest as I skidded into the office.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I sputtered, looking around the room and then back at Julian. “What’s wrong?”
After The One (The One Series Duet) Page 5