She knew something had changed.
Emma swallowed hard. There was only one way to be certain.
She put on a pair of jean shorts and a comfortable t-shirt, threw her hair up in a ponytail, and grabbed her purse. On a last minute decision, she put on a ball cap and some reflective sunglasses. There was a corner store just a couple of blocks away that would have pregnancy tests.
She thought about just calling for someone to get her one. It would be easy in this apartment, and Jackson had told her she could ask for anything to be delivered. She thought about it, and then decided against it.
First, she’d have to find something to do while she waited for them. If she went to the store herself, she would have something to keep her busy. Second, she didn’t want Jackson to know yet. If it was just a false alarm, she didn’t want him to ask about it.
If it wasn’t a false alarm...
She wasn’t sure what to do.
“He wants the baby,” she said under her breath as she waved to the doorman and headed out into the summer sunshine. It was still early, so the heat was comfortable without being oppressive.
This was the contract. This was what was supposed to happen. Jackson would be thrilled that she was pregnant so easily.
So why was she nervous?
She stood at a streetlight and waited for her turn to cross the street. Why was her stomach in knots and her palms sweating?
She nearly missed the light change as it dawned on her.
She was terrified because it was real now. She really cared about him, and if she was pregnant, then they would be tied together forever. She knew she would always love him. She’d loved him from the moment he’d walked into her coffee shop years ago.
She hurried across the street, ignoring the blare of horns as the light changed. She needed to get to the store as soon as possible. She needed to know for sure.
She felt like sprinting to the store, but that wouldn’t work. For starters, she was still tired, and the other reason was that she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She was the girlfriend of a billionaire about to buy a pregnancy test.
It wouldn’t be a bad thing if it got out, since the baby was part of the master plan, but she wanted to be the one to tell him. She didn’t want him finding out because of some trashy gossip column. She wanted to stick to the plan as much as she could for the moment.
The corner store was quiet. The clerk barely glanced up as Emma walked in. She wandered around the store for a moment, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. She picked up the test, a bottle of water, and a pack of gum. It felt strange to just buy the test.
“This all?” The clerk didn’t even look at her. He just stared at his computer screen, looking incredibly bored.
“Yeah.” She glanced around and saw her face on at least three magazines. They were all the trashy tabloids, but there she was, standing next to Jackson. “And these,” she added.
The clerk shrugged and added on the magazines. Emma knew it was a bad idea to read them. They wouldn’t say anything she didn’t already know, but she couldn’t help herself.
She tugged her hat down lower when the clerk gave her the total. She flipped the magazines over so she wasn’t visible as soon as she could.
“Thank you. Come again.” The clerk sounded like a recording. Emma nodded and gathered her things together and hurried out of the store.
Back out in the sunlight, Emma felt like she’d just pulled off the biggest heist in history. The clerk hadn’t recognized her or even commented on the test. Her hands shook with relief. Step one was done.
Now it was time to take the test.
Emma paused. She didn’t want to take it at his apartment. The maids would see it when they cleaned up. She thought about using her apartment, but the maids cleaned that one too. She didn’t even know where the dumpster was in the building.
Emma stood on the sidewalk and chewed on her cheek.
With a deep breath she turned around and went back inside the shop.
“Where’s the bathroom?” she asked the clerk.
He sighed and pointed toward the back corner. She nodded and headed back there, really hoping that he was still disinterested.
The bathroom was tiny, but at least it looked clean. Emma took the test out of the box and read the directions three times before feeling semi-confident that she could do this properly. It didn’t seem hard- just pee on a stick- but the last thing she wanted to do was mess it up and have to buy another test.