In case you were wondering, I was wearing stilettos. The perfect arse-kickingaccessory.
Although at the moment, I was torn between kicking his arse or bailing—and introducing Junior to the joys of icecream.
A big tub of icecream.
With frenchfries.
“But you can’t be pregnant,” he said, frowning. “We usedcondoms.”
Denial was a bitch. I shouldknow.
Girls, let me take this opportunity to remind you, once again, to make sure your birth control hasn’t expired. I still had no idea if the protection malfunction was due to human error or due to the expiry date being pastdue.
Either way, it was clear how this would all playout.
Junior and I would be going italone.
But that was okay. I could do this. I was a smart and independent woman.Gome!
“Condoms aren’t one hundred percent fail-safe. It says so on the box.” My hand instinctively went to my stomach, maybe to keep Junior from hearing this conversation. No need for him or her to feel unloved from the get-go.
“Sorry about that,” Maria’s exotic accent said as she re-joined us, clearly failing to notice the tension that had sprung up between Josh and me. “Are you ready, Josh?” She held up a store bag, indicating she had already paid for herbook.
Stepping away from the pair, I said, “It was nice meeting you, Maria.” Were you impressed at how fast I could run instilettos?
Josh didn’t come after me. And no, that didn’t surprise me. There was a better chance of Ryan Reynolds entering the store to declare his undying love for me than there was of Josh chasing medown.
As I passed the display of DVDs on the way to the cashier, one caught my attention. A pregnant woman in exercise gear was on the cover, glowing and looking relaxed and happy. Yoga for pregnancy. Yoga was supposed to reduce stress. If there was one thing I needed more than anything else right now, it was stress relief. Ice cream and fries only went sofar.
I grabbed the DVD and continued to thecashier.
But before I got that far, a warm hand grab my arm. From the way my body responded to his touch, I didn’t even have to look to know it wasJosh.
“You can’t tell me you’re pregnant with my child, Holly, and then run off.” His tone wasn’t exactly pissed, but it wasn’t happyeither.
“I have a meeting I’ll be late for if I don’t get going.” A very important meeting—involving a bowl full of comfort food. “We can talk later.” Once the shock had worn off for both of us. Although I suspected Junior would be in college before that happened forJosh.
Fortunately for me, fate decided to throw me a bone, and Josh’s cell phone indicated an incomingcall.
He checked the screen. “Shit, I have to takethis.”
Sounded good to me. I hightailed it to the cashier and quickly paid for my purchases. Josh was still on his phone when I slipped out of thestore.
A short time later, my purchases, Junior, and I returned to my two-bedroom apartment. I put the books, bear, and DVD on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen for a glass ofmilk.
My cell phone played Kelsey’s song. For a second, I allowed my crazy hormonal thoughts to imagine Josh reacting to the pregnancy news the same way Trent would if Kelsey was pregnant. I had no doubts whatsoever that Trent would do cartwheels down thehallway.
And because my stupid hormonal thoughts weren’t enough, stupid hormonal tears joined the pity party fortwo.
Needing to hear Kelsey’s sweet and friendly voice, I accepted the call. “G’day.”
“How did it go?” she asked, and I knew instantly what she was talkingabout.
“I’m one-hundred-percent-sperm-meets-egg-and-wham-your-life-is-forever-changed pregnant.” I opened the fridge door and removed the container of skimmilk.
“How are youfeeling?”
“You mean in general or about thenews?”
