One
Pregnant.
She shook her head, staring down at the over-the-counter pregnancy test she’d taken.Again.She had to be reading the results wrong.
Please let her be reading it wrong.
Paisley Campbell wasn’t having the best day. Her brother had called to say that their elderly dog, Pasha, was being taken to the vet because of another stroke, while one of her clients was sure that if he just went on TV and earnestly protested he was being unfairly treated for calling the cops on the homeless man who’d been scrounging through his dumpster the public would “get it,” and the fifth pregnancy test she’d taken in as many days still read positive.
All three areas of her normally neatly ordered life were in chaos. But right now, the pregnancy bombshell was at the forefront of her mind.
How had she let this happen?
It wasn’t that she was a rigid rule follower, though she also wasn’t really impulsive, either. And it would be so easy to blame Jack and his big, sexy brown eyes that made her forget everything, even her own name. But the truth was there was something solid about the man that made her feel safe, like she’d found a home with him in a way that nothing and no one had since her parents’ divorce.
Not smart, but then Paisley knew that emotions seldom times were. She had to tell him about the pregnancy. There was no use putting it off after the five tests. She could rule it a fluke after one or two, but not five. Also, he had texted her earlier, telling her to put on her best dress and meet him at one of the fanciest restaurants in the Chicagoland area because he had big news.
She wasn’t sure what he had up his sleeve. Maybe he’d finally gotten a decent job. Which she knew sounded judgy, but he’d been working at the gym around the corner from her place for the last six months, and frankly, it wasn’t like he was a world-class trainer. Or maybe he was, she thought. She really had no idea what it was he did there.
But he didn’t bring home the big bucks. That, she knew for sure. Jack had been living with her since their second date. He did cook and pay for all of their meals, but otherwise he didn’t contribute to their living expenses other than sometimes putting hundred-dollar bills in her wallet. Which was odd, but she didn’t mind.
It wasn’t his wallet that had caught her eye; it was his ass in those tight jeans he’d been wearing. And besides, she could afford her lifestyle. She was hungry to grow the business she and her friends co-owned, IDG Brand Imaging. They were big in the Midwest but she wanted to take them national. She knew there were bigger, well-established companies in California and New York, but she was eyeing them and planning to go bigger soon.
Paisley finished applying her lipstick and then checked her hair. She’d put it up in a low chignon. She had full bangs that covered her forehead and, she thought, framed her facial features in a flattering way. The dress she wore was a cream-colored velvet sheath with an organza overdress with flowers embroidered over it. It hugged her body, and as she turned to catch her side view, she realized it wouldn’t fit her for much longer.
The baby.
She’d managed to do a nice job of not really facing the fact that she was pregnant. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had always wanted to have a family...someday. The truth was this little bun in the oven didn’t feel real to her. Probably wouldn’t until she saw how Jack reacted. And honestly, she had no idea what his reaction would be.
Paisley was sort of afraid and she hadn’t allowed herself to be afraid in a really long time. She was good at finding the bright side of things, but this...was bigger than her. She wanted to text Olive and Delaney because she needed her best friends by her side at a time like this.
But it was Jack’s baby and she sort of thought he should be the first one she told. Plus, they had this date tonight. She hoped... She took a deep breath. In her head she was picturing his reaction and it was, of course, something over-the-top in the best possible way. But so many times life didn’t deliver on her expectations.
“Stop!” she told herself. Sometimes her mind kept going on and on and nothing she could say would put a kibosh on it.
She put on her red velvet cloak, because it was December in Chicago, but she also liked to look festive during the holiday season. Then, taking a bolstering breath, she walked out of her building and saw that Delaney’s Rolls-Royce was waiting at the curb.
“Good evening, Ms. Campbell. I’m at your service tonight,” her friend’s driver, Lyle, said as he stepped out of the car.
“Do you know where we are going?”
“Yes, ma’am. All you have to do is sit and relax,” he assured her.
Lyle opened the back door to the Rolls and she saw a gaily wrapped present on the seat and an envelope with her name on it.
As soon as she was settled in and had her seat belt on, she opened the envelope. There was some really nice thick paper folded in half and a note from Jack. She’d recognize his heavy, scrawly handwriting anywhere.
Paisley,
Tonight I want you to forget about the real world and let me sweep you away. It’s my way of saying thank you for the last six months.
Jack
Her heart leaped to her throat. Did that mean he wanted to go beyond six months? Or was he saying goodbye in the nicest way possible?
Paisley stepped out of the silver Rolls-Royce and Sean caught his breath as he always did when he saw her. She had pretty blue-gray eyes in a heart-shaped face with the thick fall of brown bangs on her forehead and always looked beautiful.
But tonight she was positivelyradiant.