Instead of putting the phone down, she called her best friend in New York. By the time Bianca answered, Katie was walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized it had been hours since she ate something.
She placed a hand on her stomach and spoke to her baby. “Don’t worry. Mummy will get it together soon.”
Herbaby. She had to keep reminding herself it was a reality. She was pregnant with Chase’s baby, and they hadn’t even discussed names. What if he wanted to give their child a stuffy name like Beaumont or Clifford? What if he wanted to name the baby something weird like famous celebrities did?
Or what if he didn’t want to name their child at all?
“What did you say?” Bianca asked.
Katie’s mouth blurted out the news before she had a chance to engage her brain. “I’m pregnant.”
A long pause followed the statement.
Katie held her breath in anticipation of Bianca’s reaction.
Her patience ran out quickly. “Bianca? Are you there? Did you hear me?”
Bianca exhaled loudly. “I just... wow, that is amazing. I am so happy for you, sweetie. I really am.”
Katie breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because I need you. You’ve gone through this, and you can give me pointers. Speaking of which, how is my adorable Tristan?”
“He’s crawling and all over the place, and getting into mischief all day long. Hey! I got a great idea. Come here so I can help you with your pregnancy.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not? Christian will send the jet, and you can be here by morning. I’ll fix the spare bedroom until we can set you up in one of the empty apartments below us. It’ll be great. Say you’ll do it. Say you’ll come.”
Katie smiled, thinking how great it would be to have her best friend beside her during the entire pregnancy. Then she remembered she wasn’t alone. As soon as she told Chase, he would do everything he could to help her through the next seven months. Knowing him, he’d hire an entire staff and a team of doctors to make sure his baby got top-of-the-line care.
“I can’t.” Katie sighed. “Chase and I have an agreement. He’ll want me here at least until the delivery.”
“You told me he’s signing over his rights.”
“Yes, but not until things are settled and he has the CEO position locked in. Then I can live wherever I want, and he won’t demand custody.”
She didn’t totally trust him on that. Chase was a control freak when it came to managing the people in his life. There was no way he would stand back and let her make all the important decisions concerning his child, their child. She’d be surprised if she got a vote. Even though they had a contract, she wasn’t sure it would stand up in court, not with his entire law team hammering at it
Maybe she should tell him she changed her mind and leave town without him knowing anything. If she didn’t tell him about the baby, she could raise him or her however she wanted. Of course, he wasn’t a stupid man. He’d want to make sure she wasn’t pregnant before she left him.
Who am I kidding? I can’t leave him.
The fact was, she didn’t want to leave Chase, and that was a major part of why she hadn’t revealed her pregnancy. Once Chase learned they had succeeding in making a baby, he wouldn’t see any point in them having sex again. She hated to admit it even to herself, but she wasn’t ready to give that up. Chase was an extraordinary lover, and she enjoyed their time together. It wasn’t like she was going to keep her pregnancy a secret forever, just long enough to make sure it was viable.
“How are you and Chase getting along?” Bianca asked.
Katie hesitated as she pondered how much she wanted to share about her relationship. It was hard to open up to Bianca when she wasn’t sure how she felt. At first, the marriage was convenient. She’d wanted a baby, pure and simple, but now that she was pregnant the thought of divorce seemed inconceivable.
“Oh, I’ve got to go. Someone is at the door.”
She disconnected the call and took a moment to breathe. Maybe Chase had already changed his mind about letting her walk away with their child. She could feel him out on the subject before admitting she was pregnant. That might be helpful.
♥♥♥
Chase missed Katie not being around on Monday, so he was glad she drove down on Tuesday. He’d discovered he enjoyed having her at work on a regular basis almost as much as he enjoyed having her in his bed every night. Bed? She slept next to him, but he noticed something odd about her sexual behavior. They never actually made love in the bed, even if he initiated it while they were lying on the mattress next to each other. Somehow, she always managed to get him to take her in another room. What did the woman have against mattresses?
Maybe he should ask her straight out. She seemed to like it when he was direct. He made a mental note to have a blunt conversation about their sex life tonight.
He opened his office door and started to shout her last name, a bad habit he needed to break. As she stated earlier, she wasn’t going by her maiden name anymore. To prove he listened to her, he needed to stop yelling for her, and he had to remember to use her married name. His name.