She shook her head. “No. He set up the appointment for me, so he knows I have some medical issue. But he has no idea what the issue is. I suspect he thinks I’m seriously ill, which is why he’s been so worried about me. I was afraid you’d be angry that he knew something before you did. Even if he didn’t know the whole story, I was scared that I was betraying you.”
“That’s why he’s been looking at you like that,” he said. “I thought it was because he had a crush on you or something. Allyson, it wasn’t a betrayal. You were just trying to do what you thought was right.”
Her eyes widened. “You really think Cameron has a crush? On me? I’m pretty sure everyone at Prescott knows that Cameron has a thing for Nadia Nakamura, not me.”
He laughed. “So, Cameron has a crush on our star snowboarder. That’s why he was so enthusiastic about the winter sports show. I thought it was because he had a crush on you, when the whole time he wanted to get closer to Nadia.”
“Nadia has a thing for him, too,” she said. “She’s been trying to work up the courage to give him her number.”
“But why are you still so focused on getting home for Christmas Day?” Dane asked. “You’ve already missed your appointment. Without your appointment, you couldn’t have given me the news as a Christmas gift.”
Allyson sighed. All the weeks of building tension were weighing on her shoulders. “I wanted to prove that I could be a good mom. If I could handle having a job, being a wife, and being a good hostess this Christmas, then that meant I had what it took to be a mother. I really wanted to prove that I could do it all on my own. Prove that I could be there for my family. If we’re going to be adding to our family, I need to be ready. And it looks like I’m not. I can’t even pull off a Christmas dinner.”
Pain shot through her heart. The thought of failing their unborn child frightened her.
“You’re scared.”
There wasn’t accusation in her husband’s tone. If anything, he sounded sympathetic. Like he understood what she had been feeling all these weeks.
For weeks there had been sleepless nights while she obsessed over potential motherhood. What if she wasn’t a good mom? What if she screwed up? Nothing scared her more than being a bad parent. And worst of all, she had no clue how to parent a child who stood to inherit so much wealth.
“I am scared,” she admitted finally. “Scared that I’m going to be a terrible mother.”
“I can’t imagine you being anything other than a wonderful mother. Besides, you won’t be raising our child alone,” he said gently. “You’ve been running yourself ragged all these weeks because you’ve been trying to be there for your family. Why don’t you try letting your family be there for you for a change?”
She paused. Tried to gather her thoughts. “I guess I got so wrapped up in my own fears that I didn’t think about anyone else. Not to mention, all this high society stuff comes so easy for you, Dane. I’m still learning. I don’t want to embarrass our child in front of all the wealthy people you grew up with.”
“You’ve been going through all this alone.” Remorse flashed in his eyes. “This must have been so difficult for you, and this whole time I’ve made accusations and haven’t trusted you. I’ve treated you badly. I don’t have the right to ask you for forgiveness, but—”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” she assured him. “This has been a trying time for both of us. But all I could think about was myself; I put you through all this. I made you second-guess yourself.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just want you to know that we’re in this together.”
She gazed at him, trying to see how he was really feeling. “Aren’t you scared? About being a parent, I mean.”
“I’m scared out of my mind.” Suddenly he released her hand and stared at her. His entire body went rigid. “Oh shit. I think it just hit me. I’m going to be a father.”