Hourglass Squared (8 page)

"It's not the nachos!" I cried, throwing myself down on the bed. "I'm pregnant. I want a bump. Why does Sav get a bump, but I don't?"

My body tensed, panicked as my words caught up with my brain, and I prayed that Josh didn't catch on. But his silence spoke volumes, and after what felt like hours, I peeked out at him, seeing furious green eyes bearing down on me.

"What I mean," I attempted, chewing on my finger. I never was a good liar.

"Yes, Brooke. What do you mean?" Josh's voice was slow. Controlled. Terrifying.

"Well, you see what happened was, um…"

My spirits sank as Josh's face switched between anger and disappointment.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"A week," I whispered, hoping that the bed would just open up and swallow me whole. "Savannah just confirmed it, and she just needed time to process it all. You can't tell Jake. She swore me to secrecy, Josh! You. Can. Not. Tell." I tugged on his hand and squeezed it tightly, grounding him to me.

"Brooke, I am so… furious with you. You've known — and lied to me. I'm calling Jake this instant. He deserves to know." He stormed out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him. I heard him stomp down the stairs one by one.
Thud, thud, thud.

In a panic, I scrambled off the bed and ran to the bathroom. I noticed the tub already filled to the brim, waiting for a body to sink down into it. I wasn't that lucky though. I tugged the plug out and grabbed my phone, texting Savannah quickly, just in case she was asleep.

911!!! Call me ASAP!

I waited and waited for Josh to return, for Savannah to call, but I heard from nobody. My eyes fluttered as my body finally succumbed to sleep. At some point in the night, I felt the bed sink as Josh joined me in bed. Snuggling close, I breathed in the smell of his citrus bodywash, emotionally spent.

"I'm sorry," I softly whispered into his chest.

Wrapping his big muscular arms around me, he pulled me in closer. "I know you are. Just please don't start keeping secrets from me, even for Savannah."

Nodding my head in agreement against his shirt, I heard it make a swishing noise in my ear as a few leftover tears moistened the cotton.

"Hey," he soothed, grasping my chin firmly between his fingers and tilting my head up to him. "All I told Jake was that he needed to get home. Savannah was feeling under the weather. He doesn't know why.
But
you tell Savannah she has until I see him Monday, or else I will tell him. Understood?"

I didn't respond, because it wasn't necessary, instead deciding to tease and taste his lips as I inched myself closer to him, grazing his bottom lip between my teeth as his hands explored my body further. Shutting off my mind, I let my body fall into a state of bliss, letting each nerve stand on end as his fingers trailed lines over my body, and my skin tingled with each lick and nip of his mouth. I would worry about Savannah tomorrow. Tonight was for Josh.

CHAPTER TEN

Savannah

A
SET OF SOFT
lips caressed my cheek, pulling me out of a deep slumber. "Hey, babe," Jake whispered. "You feeling okay? Josh called me last night and said you weren't feeling well, and I needed to get home."

Panic forced me wide awake and I searched the disheveled covers for my phone. Shit, there was a text from Brooke.

911!!! Call me ASAP!

Jake climbed into bed and wrapped his arms snugly around me. "Babe, you look like hell. What's wrong?"

Nervous, I slid away from him and stood, taking a glance at myself in the mirror that adorned our bedroom wall. My eyes were bloodshot from crying, and the leftover mascara wasn't helping my case. Wringing my hands together, I paced back and forth in front of the bed while Jake came around and sat on the edge in front of me.

"Um, what exactly did Josh tell you last night when he called?" I asked skeptically.

Jake's eyes widened, "All he said was you weren't feeling well, and I needed to get home. I really didn't ask any more questions, I just hopped on the first flight out of Atlanta and headed home. Now would you please tell me what's going on?"

Okay, Josh didn't say anything. I may be in the clear.
I continued pacing back and forth in front of Jake.

He reached for my hand as I passed by him for the umpteenth time in a few seconds, and I found myself falling into his lap, his muscular arms taking hold of my tiny body.

"Savannah, what's going on?"

I sat in his lap, contemplating whether I should tell him or not. Of course, it was probably best that I let him know he was going to be a father, but what would it hurt to push it off for a few more days, weeks — hell, maybe even months, depending on how quickly I began showing? Sure, it looked like I was already growing a baby bump, but that was probably my mind getting the best of me.

Jake cleared his throat and addressed me again. "Savannah, talk to me."

I shifted in Jake's lap, looking deep into his dark green eyes while reaching for one of his hands. He watched my every move, allowing his eyes to follow our hands as I placed them on my belly, mine on top of his.

Jake stared at me for a moment, almost confused, and then out of nowhere it hit him, and the biggest smile spread over his face. "Don't play with me, babe. Are you serious?" Jake pulled me off his lap so quickly I couldn't have resisted, even if I'd wanted to, and placed me on the bed. He pulled my tank up, fully exposing my belly as I laid back covering my face. His lips met every inch of my belly as he showered me in kisses.

Pulling my hand from my eyes, Jake hovered over my belly, staring up at me like a kid on Christmas morning. "Am I really going to be a dad?" Pure joy radiated off his face as he awaited my response.

Sighing heavily, I responded, trying to sound somewhat enthusiastic, "According to the tests I took, but I'm holding out hope for the one that was negative."

Jake stood up and literally leaped into the air. "Whoo!" he hollered.

I sat up and rolled my eyes whispering to myself as I basked in my own self-pity, "Yeah, whoo. Savannah's going to get as fat as a house. Wonderful news."

Jake's smiled faltered for a quick second before he was grinning again, sitting down next to me he grabbed my hand and kissed it. "Don't steal my joy. You know I've wanted this since the minute I married you. I know it's not perfect timing for you, but I'll be damned if you're going to steal this moment from me."

He was right. Just because I didn't want this didn't mean that I needed to take away from Jake's happiness. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his hips and squeezed them tight. "You're right. I'm glad that you're happy. You are going to be an excellent father."

Lifting me gently, Jake pressed his lips to mine and kissed me long and hard before setting me back down.

Looking up into his eyes, I continued, "But, you need to understand that this is not something I want, not right now. So, just like I need to be aware of your feelings, you need to do the same for me."

I could tell by the look of defeat that he was giving me that his heart was breaking into a million pieces. Finding out we were having a baby was supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives, and in the current moment, I could tell that I was ruining it for Jake. But I didn't have the strength to pretend. I couldn't. I had to be true to my feelings as well.

The rest of the weekend dragged on entirely too slow. Jake had been on cloud nine since I'd given him the news, making a list of everyone he could think of to call with the news that he was going to be a daddy, but I was quick to squash those plans, reminding him that the first three months were the hardest to get through, and we didn't need to alert our family and friends of the pregnancy in case something happened to the baby.

Getting back into the office Monday morning was a breath of fresh air, giving me time to get away from Jake and his excitement. Brooke was in with Monica when I arrived, so I waited patiently for her to pass my office door on the way back to hers.

I hollered her name just as her lavender dress floated in front my door. "Brooke!"

She stopped abruptly and twisted to make her way into my office. "I swear to all that's holy, you better have told Jake, because if you didn't, he is getting an earful from Josh, probably as we speak. You have no idea how much trouble I was in when he found out I'd been lying to him. I can never do that again, do you understand me?"

Leaning back into my chair, I shook my head. "I know. Next time I'll call Kat instead. I told Jake on Saturday. He's thrilled. He even has an appointment with the realtor this week because he thinks we need to get out of the condo and into a house. Of course, he's looking at five- and six-bedroom houses online, like we'll need that much room. My condo has a guestroom. We can turn half of it into a baby's room and leave the other half a room for our company. I don't see why we need to go out and buy a new place. Besides, there's no possible way I'm filling those rooms with kids. He'll get this one, and that's it. A compromise if you will. He wants children before I'm ready, and he's getting it, which means I lay down the law and get to decide that we are only having one."

I lay on the examination table practically naked. Jake took notes on his iPhone as the nurse went over what to expect in the first trimester. "Your job right now is to make sure Savannah is comfortable. She may begin experiencing morning sickness soon, so be prepared to hold her hair."

I rolled my eyes as I tried to block out the idea of puking my guts out every five minutes as Jake continued listening intently, one hand on my belly, the other thumbing away, still taking notes.
What kind of husband takes notes? I think he's lost it.

Silence filled the room as the nurse turned on the ultrasound machine, just before globing a mountain of clear jelly onto my belly. Wincing at the cold, I glared at her. "What in the heck is this crap?"

The snickering nurse didn't miss a beat. "It's just a lubricating jelly. It helps us see the baby more clearly."

Disgusted, I shook my head. "Great. I'm getting K-Y spread all over my belly."

Jake stood up, interrupting me, "Savannah, could you be any more inappropriate?"

I ignored his comment and went back to filing my nails while the nurse pulled out some type of pregnancy tool that she rubbed all over my abdomen, further spreading the disgusting jelly all over my skin. She continued rubbing my belly before she decided to take another route. "It appears that we are going to have to do a transvaginal ultrasound. Give me a second to get everything together for that."

I looked on as she pulled a long white rod from the machine and slipped what appeared to be a condom over it.

"Whoa, what in the hell is that? My husband's rod is the only one going inside of me."

The nurse chuckled. "It's the only way we'll be able to get a picture. I promise. It won't hurt a bit."

Irritated, I threw my head back and stared at the ceiling.

Jake was mesmerized by whatever it was that appeared on the screen. I didn't have the heart to look yet; looking at the screen would make it real.

Clapping her hands together, the nurse pointed to the screen. "Do you see that, right there?"

Jake's eyes were glued to the black and white monitor while I continued filing my nails, trying my best not to pay attention.

"Twins!" she exclaimed, much too loudly for my liking.

I almost broke my neck as I twisted toward the screen, practically falling off the examination table. "What did you just say?" I shouted at her.

A colossal smile took hold of her face as she pointed to the screen again. "It looks like you two are having twins. Congratulations."

Frantically, I sat up and pushed the machine she was holding in her hand from my body. "It's broken. That damn machine has got to be broken. I want a second opinion."

The nurse looked at me, puzzled by my reaction. "Mrs. Worthington, this machine is not broken. I've been taking ultrasounds for twenty-five years, and I can assure you that I'm correct. You are having twins."

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I want a second opinion." Opening them up again, I looked up at the nurse who was standing right next to Jake. "I want you to bring in another machine, and this time have the doctor perform the ultrasound. Trust me when I tell you, I don't have a great track record with doctor's offices."

The nurse nodded her head and scurried out of the examination room.

Jake was at my side in an instant. "Savannah, what are you doing? You saw the screen. There are two babies in there. It was clear as day. There is no need for a second opinion."

Frustrated, angry, and emotionally drained, I laid back and let the tears flow down my cheeks. "I want a second opinion, Jake., Can you please, for one second, just be my husband and not the father of this baby, or babies, or whatever it is that's taken over my body?"

Jake's hand caressed my cheek before he kissed my lips, resting his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry, babe. I'll make sure the doctor takes a second look."