I shake my head once again in denial. “There’s no way, man. She said it’d be an absolute miracle if she ever got pregnant again. This can’t be that. She’s gotta have a bug or something.” But even as I say the words, something niggles the back of my mind and my heart gives an exaggerated thump at the possibility.
What was it I read when I researched Erin’s condition? Something about the surgery she had seven months ago now. I can’t remember.
I meet Dean’s eyes. “But it can’t hurt to find out for sure, right?”
He gives me a tentative smile. “Right, bro. I’ll hold down the fort,” he tells me, sensing exactly what I want to do.
“Thanks, man!” I call over my shoulder, jogging to the front door and waving over at him. And then I hop in my truck, trying not to speed as I drive to the nearest drugstore.
Chapter 23
Erin
“WHY AM I dyiiing?” I whine, snuggling into my best friend, where I have my head on her soft tummy as she rubs my back. “I finally get a long weekend with that fine piece of ass, and I can’t stop puking my brains out. What’s wrong with me?”
“Well, we’ve already established what it’s not. You don’t get motion sickness. You feel relatively fine one minute, and then vomit the next. You didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary, did you?” she asks.
“No. I just had a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit before my flight. Nothing tasted off about it.” I think for a moment. “It felt almost like an anxiety attack, so I thought I was just nervous about seeing Curtis again.”
“Maybe,” she replies, but she sounds doubtful.
“And then all the excitement of seeing you,” I add.
And she placates, “Maybe.”
I sit up, narrowing my eyes on her. “All right, spit it out. Quit babying me with all the maybes and tell me what you think.”
Her nostrils flare as she takes a deep inhale, and I brace myself for her response. “Okay, so don’t freak out,” she tells me.
I close my eyes, already knowing what she’s going to say. And somehow, in my heart, I know she’s right.
“It’s possible, Rin. Y’all didn’t use a condom.”
But I shake my head, wanting to be in denial for a little longer before I have my heart broken once more, knowing I’ll soon have two angel babies in heaven instead of one. One is more than enough.
“No.” My lip trembles, my eyes filling with tears. “The doctor said it’d be a miracle if it ever happened again.”
She tucks my hair behind my ear, giving me a small smile. “Miracles happen, babe.”
“But… but I’m going to lose—” My voice hiccups, and my hand presses to my still-flat stomach.
She shakes her head. “You don’t know that, Rin. Remember, you never had morning sickness last time,” she whispers. “Dean always reminded me while I was praying to the porcelain gods, trying to make me feel better, that morning sickness is a sign that everything is all right, that the pregnancy was going how it should. You’ve already been sick twice today.”
And then my eyes meet hers with worry for a different reason. “Oh, God. Curtis. He’s going to think I lied to him, that I trapped him on purpose because he’s a super-hot, rich, famous celebrity!” I cry, and my head whips around at the sound of my favorite voice in the whole world.
“Curtis is not going to think that, even though I appreciate the fact that you think I’m super-hot.” He gives me a smile, although I still see worry in the lines at the corners of his eyes.
I glance down, seeing a Walgreens bag in his hand, and I understand he must have his own suspicion of what’s been going on with me today.
“You want to do it alone, sugar?” he asks, stepping up to the side of his bed, and I shake my head.
“No. I mean, yes, for the peeing part. But I want y’all here for the test part,” I murmur.
He reaches across Emmy and scoops me up, and she slaps my ass when I’m midair above her right before he holds me against his body.
“You got this, babe. Remember, miracles happen. And everything will be fine,” she tells me as he carries me to the bathroom, setting me on my feet before handing me the plastic bag.
Before I turn away to head toward the toilet, he yanks me to him, his arms engulfing me before he kisses me like his life depends on it. When he finally pulls away, I’m wobbly on my feet and love drunk.
“I love you,” he whispers. “No matter what happens, no matter how everything turns out. Whether everything goes smoothly or whether it’s not meant to be, I love you with everything in me. You will always be the one I want. Only you, sugar.”