Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) (18 page)

I wake with a stretch in an empty bed. Thoughts from the night before flood in and I grin to myself. I missed him…so much. Tears flood my eyes and now I’m crying. These hormones have me all mixed up and turned upside down.

As we walked along the beach yesterday, my mind screamed,
Tell him! Tell him you’re pregnant!

I wanted to do just that, but the timing was all wrong. Once he drew
Always
in the sand, I actually opened my mouth to shout it out, but he interrupted me and insisted that I eat. After stuffing myself on flounder, crab cakes, and crème brûlée—I was worthless. My eyes grew heavy and I dozed on the ferry ride. Once we got into the truck, I rested my head against the window and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I woke in his bed and heard the shower running not long after we got home.
Now or never.
I meant what I told him. I should’ve called off the divorce long before now. It wasn’t fair to him. I just had myself convinced that he was the father of Jess’s baby and I talked myself out of a life with him. I have to think like Louisa in this situation or I’ll end up slowly driving myself insane.

There’s a light knock at the door and David walks into the bedroom, carrying a cup of hot tea. He hands it to me and sits down on the edge of the bed.

“You sleep okay?” He gives me a sly smile that I can’t help but return.

“I did. How about you?”

He cracks his neck, “I slept like a rock. Is there uh any way you’d be up for round two?”

My pulse picks up while my inner romantic is stripping off clothes and racing toward the bedroom.

My voice sounds husky, “I’m game if you are.”

He exhales slowly, “Damn. Will the wanting you ever go away?”

I smile up at him, “I sure hope not.”

He stands up quickly and strips down to nothing and I have to set my hot tea down before I scald myself. He pulls back the comforter, I think he’s expecting me to be dressed. I never bothered putting anything back on last night and by the look on his face, he’s enjoying the view.

He doesn’t waste any time before he’s pushing himself inside me and all I seem to be capable of doing is holding onto him and making unintelligible sounds.

His thrusts push me over the edge and I press a hand to my mouth to quiet my screams.

David speaks through clenched teeth, “Be as loud as you want. My mom isn’t home.”

I drop my hand and cry out his name.

He wraps my hair in his hand and bruises my lips with his mouth. It’s not long before the second orgasm overtakes me and it’s even more intense than the first.
Thank you, pregnancy hormones.

David tugs my hair back until it borders on painful, leaving my throat bared to him. He runs kisses up and down my neck and then with a growl, fills me.

I come down from my high.

He didn’t use protection.

Not that it matters really, but he’s always so careful.

He feathers kisses across my throat and looks up at me lazily. “I don’t think I said it before, but good morning.”

I laugh in spite of my thoughts, “It has definitely been a good morning.”

We spend the rest of the day walking around town and letting Louisa spoil us with her cooking. I can’t think of a time where I’ve had more fun.

I wake up Monday morning, wrapped in two hundred pounds of alpha male, and ready to enjoy our last day here.

I sit up just enough to see the clock, it’s almost nine o’clock. I slide back down onto the pillow and smile to myself.

Best vacation ever.

I feel him stir behind me and his hand seeks out my bump before he relaxes. I cover his hand with mine.

Today is the day.

No more secrets. Come what may—I’m going to tell him. I just need to be brave.

“Mornin’ baby, did you sleep well?” He murmurs the words into my hair and I love that it gives me shivers.

I roll to face him, cupping his face in my hands. “I’m sleeping better than I knew was possible, thanks to you.”

His beard tickles my face as he presses his lips to mine, “Care to join me in the shower?”

I grin, “Might this invitation have anything to do with what is pressed up against my hip right now?”

I move my hand down and he tries to stifle a groan. I’m sure Louisa will enjoy sleeping in a quiet house again. As if reading my thoughts, David tilts my chin up, “Farmer’s market—said she’d be there until ten thirty—said we needed more alone time last night.”

“Having trouble with your words, baby?” I work my hand a little faster and his head falls back. I like watching the reactions I can draw out of him. It makes me feel powerful to have this control over him.

“Beth…don’t stop.”

His phone starts buzzing on the nightstand and I stop. He barely gets the words out this time, “Don’t. Stop. Please.”

I can tell he’s close, so I block out the sound of his cellphone vibrating and send him over the edge, his fists have the sheets in a death grip.

The vibrating starts back up again when he goes to start the shower.

“David? It’s ringing again. Do you want me to—?”

He storms out of the bathroom, “If this is one of my guys, he’s gonna wish he would’ve listened to me when I said not to bother me.”

He looks at the screen and answers, “Hello? This is he... That was fast…How do I get that? No, I’m out of town for another day…Could you fax it? Yeah? Let me get you the number…”

He walks out of the bedroom and over to the upstairs office. I take a minute to relieve my bladder while waiting for him to come back. I check the water temperature in the shower and find it’s just now lukewarm, so I brush my teeth and check out my reflection.

I’ve got dark circles from the mascara under my eyes and my hair is hopeless, but I’ve never been happier. I jump in fright when I see David’s reflection in the mirror. He looks as if his phone call didn’t end well.

“You okay?”

He nods and wraps his arms around me, “Shower with me?”

“Of course, let me just grab some clothes to wear after.”

He turns me around until I’m facing him and kisses me fiercely. He kisses me like he’s never going to get the opportunity to do it again before breaking free and stepping into the shower.

I walk out of the bathroom and grab a sundress when I hear the fax machine down the hall. I know I shouldn’t pry, but I want to see whatever it is that’s made him so upset. Hopefully, it’s not the job he just worked so hard to get.

I walk silently down the carpeted hallway and into the office. There are three papers sitting on the machine and I snatch them up before I can change my mind.

My eyes skim over it and I discover why he kissed me like he did just mere seconds ago. He was kissing me goodbye.

The alleged father, DAVID GREENE, cannot be excluded as the biological father of the fetus as they share genetic markers. Using the above system, the probability of paternity is 99.99%...based upon the samples submitted from the mother, JESSICA DAVIS, and the DNA extracted from the population of fetal cells.

Presence of Y chromosome—indicates that fetus is male

They’re having a son.

I suck air into my lungs, my vision blurring. I’m about three seconds away from a panic attack.

I need to leave

I can’t stay here

I stifle a sob and begin hurriedly packing my things. It doesn’t matter that I pictured this happening a thousand times, I never imagined that it would hurt this badly.

I’m under the showerhead for about ten minutes when I realize she hasn’t joined me yet. To be fair, I would’ve noticed a hell of a lot sooner had I not just gotten the phone call I did.

The lab had a rush on the orders, so they wanted to let me know as soon as possible. I feel like the world I just built this weekend is about to implode.

Two kids…

The thought makes me feel sick. I’m going to subject Beth to being around Jess indefinitely. She’ll be in our lives for birthdays and holidays every fucking year from here on out.

I slam my fist into the tile in frustration. It’s so unfair—when Beth and I were so close to reconciliation. I feel like this weekend with her was a glimpse into what our lives could’ve been like and now that’s been snatched out from under us.

I get out and wrap a towel around my waist. I’m going to have to sit her down and tell her. I just pray that she stays put. Hell, who am I kidding? She’s going to bolt the first chance she gets.

“Beth?”

I look around the bedroom—empty.

“Baby? Where are you?”

I walk down the hall and see the papers from the fax machine, lying on the desk, and I know that she’s gone.

I walk back into the bedroom and see that her purse and suitcase are gone as well.

“Fuck!” I roar at the empty room.

“David? What’s wrong?” My mom comes running up the stairs. Looks like she came home early.

I sink down onto the side of the bed, my head in my hands. “She’s gone. She’s gone and it’s my fucking fault!”

I hand her the papers and she reads over them quickly before making a sound of protest, “No—Oh my God—David!” I halfway expect her to hit me upside the head like she did when I screwed up as a kid. She surprises me with a rough hug, her tears falling onto my head.

She lets me go long enough to wipe her streaming eyes, “Where is she, David? Where’s Beth?”

I stare at a blank spot on the wall in front of me, “I don’t know. Was my truck here when you got back?”

She goes over to the window and looks out, “Your truck is still here.”

My cell phone starts vibrating again and it takes me a second to locate it on the dresser.

Lauren.

I put the phone on speaker.

“Laur—where is she? Is she okay?” I’m practically shouting the words.

Her voice sounds distressed, “Dave, she’s in a cab on her way to the airport in Houston. I’m trying to get her on a flight home. What happened? She didn’t make any sense when she called.”

I sigh and fight back tears, “She left, Laur. They faxed over the paternity test results and the baby’s mine. I’m having a son with Jess.”

I can hear Lauren repeating everything to someone in the background, probably Mike. “Lauren, is that Mike?”

She comes back on the line, “Yeah, David—he brought me breakfast at work. I need you to listen to me. Elizabeth is pregnant and—”

I interrupt her, “I know she is. That’s why it makes this so much worse!”

She goes silent, then quietly asks, “She told you?”

I shake my head, “I think she was getting close to telling me, but I figured it out on my own a few days ago.”

Lauren says something else to Mike. “Dave, I don’t know if Elizabeth told you, but we ran into Jess at a doctor’s appointment last Monday. It was the same day that she took the paternity test—I overheard her talking with a nurse and something sounded off. I just have a gut feeling that Jess tampered with those test results, but I’m going to need some time to prove it.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes, my mom’s hand squeezing mine tightly. “How do you suggest I do that? We’re supposed to go before the judge next week. I’m pretty sure she won’t call off the divorce now.”

Mike says something to Lauren, but I can’t make it out. Lauren laughs, “That’s it! David, Mike just found something that could be your saving grace. You’re going to need to get your ass back here and file a motion with the court for an emergency hearing—”

I stop her, “You want me to rush back to town and push up my divorce? How is that going to help?”

“David—listen to me. In the state of Texas, if a woman is pregnant, the judge cannot grant a divorce. All you have to do is request a pregnancy test in the hearing. That will give me the time I need to get proof. Okay?”

My fist comes up to my mouth, I’m doing my damnedest to hold these emotions in check, “Lauren, I think you just gave me my Christmas gift early. Thank you so much!”

She laughs, “Don’t thank me yet, I’ve still got to prove that Jess tampered with the paternity test. Also, Elizabeth could still file for divorce, but the baby would have to be born before they would allow it.”

“You worry about the test and I’ll take care of Beth’s desire to leave. Don’t book any flights—I’m going to get her.”

We hang up and I look over at my mom, who is a blubbering mess. “Mom—I’m gonna have to cut this visit short, but as soon as this gets sorted, I’m bringing my wife back here.”

She blinks away tears, “How did you know she was pregnant?”

I pause, “You knew?”

She sniffles and nods, “I suspected she might be when you had to take her to the hospital a month or so ago. I knew she was when I saw that sweet little baby belly and the way she just had this glow about her.”

I nod, “I knew when I finally saw her stomach and I called her doctor’s office to verify. I had a hunch she’d have me as an authorized party on the account—turns out that hunch paid off.”

She pats me on the back and pulls me into a hug, “Go get her, David. And don’t ever let her go.”

I give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

I was getting my wife back—if I had to drag her kicking and screaming from that airport.