“How was the nausea this morning?”
“Terrible. I didn’t eat breakfast and inhaled my lunch so I could nap.”
“Want to try and get some dinner after this meeting?” she asked.
“No. I need to go home and sleep. I still have Friday before I can faceplant for the weekend and not move from my bed.”
“So there are no plans in that weekend to talk to Ryan?” she asked.
“I love you, Cat, but I really need you to stop pushing that.”
“You really need to tell him.”
“And I get that, okay? I get that he needs to know. And I’ll get to it in my own time. But right now, I’m kind of trying to find a balance between not starving myself and not sleeping for four years.”
“And not exploding at your friends,” she said.
“You keep on and you’ll see what exploding really is with me.”
Catherine helped me out of my chair and the two of us made our way to the meeting. The principal wanted all of the teachers, staff, and parents to attend. Which meant it was probably about fundraising and yearly donations to the school. I hated meetings like these. It made our school look pathetic. The way we groveled for money in the high hopes that we could raise enough to keep the school open for a couple more years. But really, all that money did was sit in an account until something broke or some new updates to technological software had to happen.
It’s not like any of that money went to the teachers or anything.
I sat down in the corner with Catherine and finished off my coffee. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, but then I felt my friend nudge me. I groaned and opened one eye, peering over at her with a malice I could only describe as palpable.
But when she pointed her finger, I knew it wasn’t good.
I panned my gaze over and there he was. In a beautiful khaki-colored suit with a pale blue button-down underneath. He was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, and his lean figure was accentuated by the colors he was wearing. His long leg was crossed at the ankle and his eyes were trained on the stage.
And suddenly my heart slammed against my chest.
Ryan was beautiful. And the look in his eye told me he didn’t want to be at this meeting. I looked around for the kids but didn’t see them, and I suddenly wondered where they were. Who was watching them if Ryan was here? I looked back at Catherine and suddenly felt sick, so I rushed from my chair and bolted to the bathroom.
I held myself up over a sink and hoped she didn’t follow me in.
My stomach rolled and my heart fluttered. Tears rose in my eyes as my arms shook with the effort it took to keep my body upright. Ryan was here. In an incredible suit that fit his body perfectly and that intense gaze I wish had turned upon me again. Emotion pooled in my chest. It felt like my sternum was going to crack. I wanted to run to him. To pull him into my arms and have him comfort me. I was scared. Tears of fear rushed down my cheeks as my mind swirled with everything and nothing.
At the base of everything, I was scared at the fact that I was pregnant.
And Catherine was right.
He needed to know.
“Emma?”
A small knock came at the bathroom door as a shiver ran down my spine.
That voice.
Oh, my name in that voice.
“Are you all right?”
“Just a minute,” I said as I reached for a paper towel.
I blotted at my tears and tried to make it look as if I was okay. As if I hadn’t just been crying over the man at the door. I tapped my cheeks to fill them with some color before I cleared my throat, then I took a sip of water from the faucet before opening the door.
And there he stood, with all his beauty and grace.