Mitch was so startled he released it, but it was too late. The slick material draped across her lap, and slowly the contents slipped onto the cab floor. There were three more tabloids and a white box. He stared at the box, at the words printed on the side, then he looked at Alex. Her cheeks flamed with color.
He thought about the times they’d been careless— no, thathe’dbeen careless because he’d wanted her so much. He thought about her wanting to talk. He returned his gaze to the home pregnancy test. ‘‘You’re pregnant,’’ he said.
She stared at him helplessly. ‘‘That’s what we’re going to find out.’’
* * *
The next morning they both looked at the plus sign on the stick. Alex didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For a moment she wished she were the fainting kind. A few minutes of oblivion would be very nice right now.
‘‘Well, I’ll be,’’ Mitch said.
She felt her eyes fill up with tears. Until that moment she hadn’t realized she’d been hoping for a more positive response from him. Yes, this was a complication neither of them expected, but it wasn’t as if it was her fault. She walked into his bedroom and sat on the bed.
‘‘You should have been more careful,’’ she said, blinking away the tears. ‘‘You were the experienced one.’’
‘‘Thanks for the news flash.’’ He came after her, stopping less than two feet in front of her. ‘‘But it’s not real helpful right now.’’
‘‘But making love without protection was irresponsible. You can’t be that way.’’
‘‘I’m not usually. Things got out of hand for both of us. You’re a very sexy woman and I wanted you. I won’t apologize for that.’’
‘‘Fine. Make it my fault.’’ She knew she was snapping at him for no reason, but she couldn’t help it. Everything was so out of control. How had this all happened? How were they going to fix it? And why wasn’t Mitch taking her in his arms and telling her that it was going to be all right?
‘‘What’s wrong with you?’’ He stared down at her. ‘‘Alex, you’re not making any sense. If you want to say it’s my fault, then it’s my fault, but that doesn’t deal with the problem.’’
‘‘Oh, so it’s a problem now, is it? Then let it be my problem. I’m sorry you know about the baby.’’
She started to stand up. He took her arm and held her in place. ‘‘What’s wrong with you?’’
‘‘Nothing.’’ But she couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t let him see her eyes and guess the truth.
Unfortunately Mitch knew her too well. ‘‘You’re scared,’’ he said, pulling her close. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight. ‘‘You don’t know what to do and that terrifies you.’’
‘‘I’m perfectly fine,’’ she lied.
He kissed the top of her head. ‘‘Darlin’, we’re going to get through this together.’’
‘‘But this isn’t how I planned on getting pregnant.’’
‘‘It’s not how I planned on proposing to you, either, but here we are.’’
She raised her head and stared at him. Her heart stopped. Actually stopped. She heard it beat, then there was only silence. ‘‘You want to marry me?’’
A slow smile curved his perfect mouth. ‘‘Haven’t we already decided that you’re a hell of a catch? Given the way I feel about you, I’d be a fool to let you go.’’
She couldn’t believe it! ‘‘We’re getting married?’’
‘‘Who’s getting married?’’
Alex looked up and saw two couples standing in the doorway to the bedroom. She knew her own parents and recognized Mitch’s parents from the photos she’d seen in the family room.
Betty ducked around them. ‘‘Sorry,’’ she said with an apologetic shrug. ‘‘They arrived within minutes of each other. I tried to keep them busy in the living room, but you guys were kind of yelling at each other, and they just followed the voices.’’ She glanced at Alex’s father. ‘‘Is he really a king?’’
‘‘I am, madam,’’ King Phillip said, his bearing as regal as ever. He winked. ‘‘Pretty impressive, don’t you think?’’
With his white hair, neat beard and mustache, he looked like a Hollywood casting director’s dream for the role of elder statesman. Normally Alex would be thrilled to see both him and her mother, but the realization that they had heard part or all of her argument with Mitch, not to mention the fact that she was pregnant, was too mortifying for words.
‘‘I can’t believe this,’’ Alex murmured.
