you see that?”
Shaking his head, he grinned, “This ass belongs to you but you won’t admit it. Are you feeling okay?”
His exuberance was catchy but she still couldn’t get used to the idea of pregnancy. To her horror, tears welled up as she muttered, “Rich, I’m scared.”
Raking his fingers into her hair, he kissed her nose, “We’ll get the best doctors, Candice. You have no idea how much I’ve thought about this. Especially after my nephew was born.”
“What if Uncle Mike has another heart attack at the news?”
“I think he’ll be overjoyed at the news.”
“Oh my God, Rich. I’m pregnant.”
He bathed her face in kisses before breathing over her lips, “We’re having a baby, Candice. A love child. You have no idea how much I love you.”
She tensed at the words, trying to force the same out of her mouth but they stuck in her throat. Scared over being pregnant and trying to figure out if she wanted a child in her life, she nuzzled into his chest.
“I want you to focus on blogging about the aspect of having Lupus while being pregnant. That will help other women with similar illnesses.”
Realizing he had a point, she asked, “What if the baby’s born with Lupus or worse because of the illness?”
“We’ll monitor every step and have the best doctors. I promise.”
“When are you going to tell your parents?”
“I’ll ask them over for dinner tonight. Since we know you don’t have food poisoning or a 24-hour bug that’s catchy…” His gaze flew over her blouse, “Did you wear that for me?” She nodded and he grinned, “Put a robe on so we can go tell your uncle.”
She grabbed the robe, taking a deep breath as nerves flooded her system. Before they could get to the door, her uncle’s surprised bark of her name made them both freeze. Glaring toward the hallway, she hissed, “She didn’t!”
Pulling her along with him, Rich hurried to her uncle’s room. His wide grin drew both their focus from Nadia’s sly expression. He excitedly said, “I’m going to be a great uncle?”
She nodded, shooting Nadia a disgruntled look, “Rich went and got a test when I started eating peanut butter and bananas with chicken soup.”
Laughing, his gaze shot to Rich who couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he said, “I’m asking my parents to dinner tonight. Do you think you’ll be up to joining us?”
He eagerly nodded, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Focusing on Nadia, he asked, “Can you get me a glass of water?”
She left the room and he hurriedly said, “Do we really need her? I feel much better and can’t help but notice that she’s asking a lot of questions about your family, Rich.”
He frowned but didn’t get a chance to answer before she came back into the room with a pitcher of water. Candice glanced at Rich, imploring him to just tell her to go but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “With the current situation, I think one more day of bed rest for you both is called for. Don’t you agree?”
Candice knew he was worried about the possibility of salmonella still being an issue along with her uncle’s health. She sighed and nodded, “Okay but I want to help with dinner. I really don’t feel sick anymore. It was probably just a reaction to stress and the normal pregnancy symptoms.”
Nadia spoke up, “With your Lupus, you must be extra careful. Miscarriages are a high risk so bed rest is best.”
Wanting to slap her when Rich froze, Candice could only close her eyes and nod since she’d read the same thing on the internet. She squeaked in surprise when Rich lifted her in his arms, “Back to bed for you.”
With anxiety prevalent on his face, he carried her to his bedroom and commanded her to stay put. She argued, “I still get to help you. It will be more stressful stuck in here than helping you in the kitchen.”
He reluctantly gave in but paused when Nadia came to the door, “I can help with dinner, Rich. Besides, I already know what your
Lesley Thomson
M. Suddain
Jennifer Echols
Janet Schulman
Illeana Douglas
Donna Thorland
Renee Lee Fisher
Karen Hancock
Juan José Saer
Michael Capuzzo