Tears filled her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks.
“It is going to be all right,” he said. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise. Kate. Oh my God, we’re going to have a baby.”
She swiped at her eyes. Aidan got up and returned with a tissue. She wiped her tears and blew her nose. “What are we going to do, Aidan?”
He smiled. “We’re going to be a family. That’s what we’re going to do. This is the best news.”
She blinked and then squinted at him. “Really? You’re not upset?”
“No, I’m not. I’m the opposite of upset. I’m thrilled. This is something to celebrate. A baby, Kate. Our baby.”
Maybe he should temper his enthusiasm. It seemed like she wasn’t digesting the news quite as happily as he was.
“I was afraid you would be upset. After the Vegas wedding and now this—I was afraid you would think I staged the wedding because I was pregnant.”
Her body shook with sobs.
“I didn’t, Aidan,” she continued. “You have to know I would never do something like that.”
“I know you wouldn’t do that.” He smiled at her.
Kate sighed as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders, but she still looked unsure. “You’re really not upset?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Having a baby with Kate was one of the best gifts he could have imagined.
“Good, because I’m having this baby.”
“Of course. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no other option. However, you know that this means that there is absolutely no way we can get an annulment.”
She nodded. “I figured as much.”
They were quiet for a moment.
“I’m not sure what to do now,” she whispered. “I mean, about us. What we should do.”
“What if we give it a year?” he suggested. “By that time, the baby will be a few months old. That will give us enough time to think things through, so that we know we’re doing the right thing.”
She stood there quietly for a moment, as if she was processing her options.
Finally she nodded. “I think that sounds reasonable.”
“How would you feel about moving in with Chloe and me?”
She shook her head as if he had suggested that she join him in swimming in a pool filled with rattlesnakes. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“What about Chloe?”
“What about her?” he said. “She loves you. She would be thrilled for you to move in. I mean, we’re married, Kate. It is not as if we’d be shacking up.”
“Yeah, but we haven’t even told her we’re married.”
“Well, then we need to tell her as soon as possible.”
“Or do we?” Kate said. “Why do we have to tell her? We could live separately and see where we are at the end of the year.”
“No.” He shook his head. “This is where I have to put my foot down. We have to tell her because she deserves to know she has a little brother or sister. It wouldn’t be fair to keep it from her.”
“You’re right. I know. I’m sorry.”
“And your family will find out soon enough. We need to tell Chloe then because she is likely to find out after we tell your family.”
“You’re right. We need to tell my family, too.” She looked panicked, but then her face settled into a look of resignation. She put her hand on her flat stomach. “I haven’t had a chance to digest everything. It’s a lot more complicated than I realized.”
She closed her eyes and looked absolutely miserable.
“Aidan, I kind of like living here in our bubble—just you and me. And Chloe, of course. But what if things don’t work out after the year we’re giving ourselves is over? I mean, I don’t want to hurt Chloe.”
“The only reason Chloe would get hurt is if we break up,” he said.
“Exactly. That’s what I mean. It is a very real possibility that we need to consider,” Kate said. “It could happen. You said yourself we would give it a year, a trial run. Who knows? At the end of the year, you might not be able to stand me. You might be the one who wants out.”
Aidan raked his hand through his hair. “I highly doubt it. I’m coming at this with the intention of making it work. That means I’m not going into it with a defeatist attitude. I’m not going to think that we’re doomed to fail before we’ve even given it a fair shake. I believe you’re worth the investment, Kate. We are worth the investment. Our baby, Chloe, the family that we are forming. It is all worth the ups and downs. Don’t you think so? How could you not think so?”
Kate sank into the corner of the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. She looked tiny sitting there. It was as if she was trying to disappear.
“You’re putting a lot of pressure on me, you know?”
Maybe he was. He didn’t mean it that way. But by God, if she couldn’t bring her all, then maybe he should tell her she was free to go. That she could call him when she had decided what she wanted to do. But he didn’t want to do that. Because this child was as much his as it was hers. He was going to be part of their child’s life whether or not she wanted them to live like a traditional family.
But he wasn’t going to say that out loud. He couldn’t. Because all it took was one look at her face, and he could see how much she was hurting. And the fact that she hurt made him hurt, too. It turned his guts inside out.
Right now, he would be strong for both of them.
“That’s why we’re going to give it a year. We’re good together, Kate. Even if you don’t know it right now, I really believe we can make it work.”
She was silent for a moment, resting her forehead on her knees.
“I
