My voice caught in my throat as I struggled to think of a response. I hadn't thought I'd been that obvious when I'd slipped out of the rehearsal. I'd hoped everyone would just assume I'd gone to the bathroom, not that I was running there because I was about to be sick.
"It used to happen to me in the evenings too," she added when I hadn't responded. She walked over and took my hands in hers, smiling up at me still. "Lord only knows why it's called morning sickness. Probably some man named it that."
Again, I just stared at her. Not only had she known I'd run off to be sick, but she knew why. She knew I was pregnant too. How in the world could she have figured that out? I hadn't told a single soul about the baby. Not my parents, not my friends, certainly not anyone in Christian's family. Only my doctor knew. "How...?" I managed to stammer out.
The woman actually had the balls to smirk and wink at me, and it looked like she was about to burst out laughing! My face felt hot and my stomach gave a lurch. Mrs. Frost composed herself. "I'm not dumb," she said. "The rest of the family may have the perception of a sack of potatoes, but I know all the signs when a woman is pregnant. Lord knows I went through it enough myself. Whenever you started getting overwhelmed, your hands would go to your stomach and you'd take deep breaths. Plus, you didn't drink any alcohol during dinner even though everyone else had more than their share."
The heat in my cheeks only became worse. If she'd noticed all of that, had anyone else? I didn't think they had, but I hadn't thought she had either.
Mrs. Frost must have been oblivious to my potential freakout though. Either that or she was just being kind and ignoring it. She kept talking as if this was a perfectly normal conversation for the two of us to be having. "Let me guess, a few weeks along?"
I just nodded, still not having found my voice. It felt weird to be talking about the baby after having spent so much time keeping it to myself.
"Does Christian know yet?" she asked next, and when my eyes went wide, she must have known the answer without my having to say a word. She squeezed my hands and continued to smile up at me. "Why haven't you told him?"
"I uh..." My brain fought to form a coherent sentence, and I just went with the first thing that came to mind. "I've been waiting for the right time."
It wasn't a lie, not really. I had been trying to find the right time, the right way, to tell him the truth. But there was no way I was going to admit the entire truth to this poor woman. I could only imagine what she'd think of me if she knew how I'd gotten pregnant.
"Well, if you'll permit an old lady to give you a bit of advice, there is no right time. Not really." She squeezed my hands again, still smiling. Just looking into her kind eyes made me want to burst into tears, to confess everything to her.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt the rehearsal dinner, Mrs. Frost,” I say.
But before I could say anything more she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “Let’s get this straight. My name is Martha and I don’t stand on formalities. It's wonderful to have you in the family. I'm know Holly is going to be thrilled! She's really taken a shine to you, you know."
I nodded absently, still trying to process everything. It was a small miracle I didn’t have to run back into the bathroom again. The entire world seemed to be spinning, and only Martha’s steady hold on my shoulders kept me grounded. I fought to keep my breathing even, hoping my mind would hurry the hell up and get its shit together again.
"Christian will do right by you, I promise. If he's any son of mine, then he knows how to treat a woman properly. And if he doesn't, I'll make sure to fix that myself," Martha said as she gently pulled me away from the bathroom and guided me toward the kitchen. "Now, let's go to the kitchen. I have just the perfect remedy to help with morning sickness. It's about the only thing that kept me sane during my pregnancies."
Nodding, I let her lead me away. I wanted to believe what she'd said was true, but it was hard. How could Christian even think about loving me?
13
Christian
Pregnant.
That word was on repeat over and over in my mind as I struggled to breathe. When Jade hadn't returned to the rehearsal right away, I'd gone looking for her, wondering if she'd gotten lost. She wouldn't have been the first guest to have gotten turned around inside the ranch.
I'd caught the tail end of her conversation with Mom, heard them talking about morning sickness. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner. Mom was right, all the signs had been there. I'd just been too stupid, too lost in my own damned head, to notice them.
When Mom had started to lead her away from the bathroom, still talking, I fought back the urge to follow them. I stayed rooted to where I stood, just around the corner, unable to believe what I'd just heard. It was no wonder Jade wanted to leave the company so abruptly. She knew I didn't tolerate coworkers having a relationship. It was why she hadn't wanted to tell me she was pregnant, probably afraid I'd have fired both of them on the spot.
And I couldn't deny that I wouldn't have reacted that way at first. That was the worst part. Her fears in telling me weren't even unfounded.
