Liz grinned, contemplating how she would break the news to Alex. She was sure he’d be overjoyed, but she suspected it would also stir up past emotions in him. She paced the flat, unable to sit still. She was constantly getting to her feet to tidy things that didn’t need tidying. When she was stressed her normal coping mechanism was to go for a run, but she didn’t feel like doing that today. Rationally she knew it wouldn’t harm the baby — in fact it would probably do them both good. It just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
She forced herself to sit down, switch on her laptop and look at the bookings they had coming up over the next few weeks. She’d told herself she wasn’t going to do this today, that she was going to have a complete day off from work, but, apart from running, work was the other thing that settled her mind. But even that didn’t help. Instead she opened up a browser and clicked on the Rightmove website. She and Alex had beentalking about moving from their city apartment, which used to be just his before she’d moved in, and buying a house of their own. Their current apartment overlooked the River Thames and was as luxurious as anything could possibly be, but it had never really felt like home. Tia McIntyre, Alex’s business partner who was an interior designer, had been responsible for its decoration, and, while it was exquisite, to Liz it felt like living in a hotel. A new house, which they could decorate and furnish together, was just what they needed. But she was getting ahead of herself. They hadn’t even found a suitable property yet and there had been no alerts from the website recently, so she knew that there was nothing new on the market. Now she was pregnant, though, the timescale of finding somewhere felt more pressing. She wanted to be in and settled before the baby was born. Liz started a fresh search, wondering if her criteria had changed since she’d done the test. One thing was for sure — having a garden was non-negotiable now.
Liz was so lost in her search that she jumped when Alex came through the front door. She hastily closed down the screen of the laptop.
He smiled at her. ‘What’s up? Caught you looking at your property porn again?’
‘Guilty as charged.’ She laughed nervously. Liz’s desire to move was stronger than his, but she was sure he’d change his mind when she told him the news.
He put his briefcase down, strode over to her and pulled her into his arms. ‘I’ve told you, you don’t need to stress about it. We’ll find the right place eventually.’
She gently pulled away from him and said softly, ‘I think you’ll find that we have a tighter timescale than eventually.’
He frowned. ‘Why?’
She put her hand to his face and looked into his eyes. ‘I know it wasn’t planned, but I’m pregnant, Alex.’
He pulled away from her and stood back abruptly. Confusion was written all over his face. ‘But I thought you couldn’t . . .’
‘The doctors told me it was unlikely. But they were obviously wrong.’ She reached across the coffee table to where she’d placed the test and handed it to him. ‘See.’
He looked incredulously at it and then back at her. ‘Oh, Liz! I can’t believe it. But are you sure? Have you done more than one test?’
‘I don’t need to,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘I’ve been feeling different for a while now, but the test has confirmed it.’
‘But why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I didn’t want to build your hopes up before it was definite.’
‘Liz, this is amazing!’ He plonked himself down on the sofa and drew her to him.
‘I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I realise this is going to bring back a lot of memories for you and I want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need to talk.’
‘Yes, it does bring back memories,’ he said softly. Then his face brightened. ‘But this is our time now. I’ll never forget the past, but I won’t let it get in the way of our future.’
She put her arms around him. She was grateful that he was so strong. Liz knew he would have fears that this would all go wrong as it had last time, and that they’d both have to work hard to overcome them. But they could do it. Together.
‘So have you been to the doctor yet?’
She laughed. ‘Give me a chance — I only did the test today. But I’ll make an appointment tomorrow morning.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘And how far along do you think you are?’
‘About seven weeks, I think.’
He stared at her as though he had never seen her before. ‘Wow! It hasn’t sunk in yet.’
‘It takes some getting used to. I’ve been jittery since I did the test.’
‘You’re going to have to start taking it a lot easier from now on.’
‘Alex...’ She put her hand on his arm to warn him not to get too carried away. ‘I’m pregnant, not ill. I know you want the best for me, and why, but you have to let me decide for myself what that is. In return, I promise you, I’ll do everything I can to protect this baby.’
He nodded. ‘All right. But you know Iamgoing to be overprotective, so you have to cut me some slack.’
She laughed. ‘Yes, I will, but I’ll tell you if you’re being too much, okay?’
Alex grinned. ‘Okay,’ he replied. ‘When do we tell people?’
