Hornet's Nest (20 page)

I turned around, linking my arms through Lance’s and my father’s as we strolled out together. I could officially be open about my relationship with Lance. Even though I was now unemployed, I was thinking that taking some time off from work would be beneficial. Keeping my life stress-free would hopefully ensure that I wouldn’t have a repeat of the last time.

• • •

After a lovely brunch with my father, Lance would have a new job starting Monday working at the main headquarters of Bank of America. I was absolutely thrilled for him. Lance and I headed to my apartment afterwards to share a lazy afternoon. I excused myself to the restroom while we were deciding on which movie to watch. I needed the actual confirmation of what I assumed was going on with my body. I dug underneath my cabinet and found a box of sticks. I never imagined I would need these again. The last time I peed on a stick was for Lance. I waited the allotted three minutes while pacing my bathroom. I stared in the mirror just like I had the last time. Whatever word registered on that stick would be okay. Lance was the one. He would make my life complete.

I opened my eyes and lifted up the stick.

Pregnant
.

I SLUMPED AGAINST the vanity.
Pregnant.
This little plastic stick just changed everything.
Pregnant.
My hand shook.
Pregnant.
I covered my mouth.
Pregnant.

What if he ran?

My knees weakened, and I gripped the vanity behind me. Turning around, I laid the stick down and pressed my palms flat against the counter. My eyes closed.

Inhale.
Pregnant
.

Exhale.
Pregnant
.

I covered my mouth and turned around. I barely met the rim of the toilet before I lost my brunch. I gripped the sides of the toilet and inhaled through my nose, exhaled from my mouth.

He wouldn’t run after everything we had been through. He wouldn’t do that.

Would he?

“Baby?” Lance tapped his knuckles against the door. “Are you okay?”

Baby. Baby. Baby.

I reached for the toilet again. Brunch wasn’t done making its reappearance. Lance threw the door open. I waited for him to rush over to me like he had done before, but he never did. I leaned back on my heels and tore off a piece of toilet paper to wipe my mouth. I tossed it in the toilet. As I pushed down the handle to flush, I eased myself up off the floor. Lance stared at a certain spot on the vanity. He didn’t move or blink. I walked around him for my toothbrush and the toothpaste. I began to brush as I stared at my boyfriend. I wasn’t sure if he was breathing or not. This certainly wasn’t exactly the reaction I was hoping for. I spat, rinsed, and wiped my mouth. I left the bathroom for the sofa. I eased down onto the center cushion and stared at the door. I didn’t want to miss him when he left. I wanted to watch him leave.

Tears rolled down my cheeks one by one. I wasn’t ready to lose him. I
didn’t
want to watch him leave. I closed my eyes as I tried to breathe, but it was of no use. I couldn’t breathe without him. I lifted my hands to bury my face until another pair of hands held my cheeks. I felt his lips on mine, an intensity pushing me down into the sofa. Lance hovered over me as I laced my fingers through his hair. He wasn’t going to leave me. Karma wasn’t a bitch. When he pulled his lips away, I opened my eyes to see the watery sheen of his.

“Is it right? Are you pregnant?”

I covered his hand with mine and nodded. His lips crashed to mine again as he kissed me with more love than I’d ever received from him before. He shifted to his knees and pulled away as a tear dripped down his smiling face.

“Really?”

I nodded and said, “Really.”

He rested back on his heels, and his eyes traveled down my body and stopped. His hand shook as he placed it gently on me. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to my stomach. He turned his head to the side and rested it against my stomach and our new life growing inside. I ran my fingers through his hair as I matched his smile. We were going to work. I wasn’t ready for a baby, but I was ready to be with Lance forever. My heart swelled at the idea of us raising a little boy that looked just like him. I wanted our forever to start now.

“Move in with me.”

He raised his head, keeping his gaze locked with mine. He smiled through his glazed over eyes and said, “I can’t do that.”

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach until he began to smile bigger. I eyed him with confusion. He slowly started to rub my belly as he leaned forward to kiss me. His lips caught mine and I melted, just like I did every time. He pulled out of the kiss. I kept my eyes planted on his as he reached down for my hand and his smile grew bigger. His eyes looked down at our intertwined fingers and then back up into my eyes. He did the same thing again. When he did it a third time, I became extremely confused and looked down to our hands.

A small, black velvet box rested on my stomach.

He brushed my cheek, and I tore my gaze away from the box. He rubbed his thumb across my knuckles.

“I won’t move in with you unless you’ll be my wife.”

Did he just say the “W” word? I pushed myself up in a sitting position as he sat back. He grabbed the little velvet box and held it in his hands.

“I was going to do this tomorrow, but I think the moment is perfect now.”

He slowly opened the box. A large emerald sat atop a diamond encrusted platinum band adorned with emerald shaped diamonds on either side. My jaw slacked and my eyes widened. I might have just fallen in love with karma.

“Katherine, I knew from the moment I saw you that I would make you mine. I knew I would do everything in my power to win you over. It took me so long to finally get you, and I don’t want to ever lose you again.”

His lip quivered. My heart pounded against my chest. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to speak. I didn’t want to breathe. I just wanted to be his… forever.

“Be my wife… Marry me.”

I sobbed and threw my arms around his neck. “You want to marry me?”

“More than you’ll ever know. I love you so much.” He gripped me tight. I never wanted him to let go. I exhaled, and shifted back. Simply by gazing into his eyes, I drowned in an emerald sea.

“Yes.”

He grabbed my face and kissed me. I kissed my new fiancé back with everything I had to give.

My fiancé.

Lance Walton was my fiancé.

I was going to be Katherine Walton.

He pulled out of the kiss and beamed. He fumbled in his pocket and produced the matching wedding band. He held it out in front of me and said, “I’m ready when you are.”

I shifted my eyes between the ring and him. A shit-eating grin spread across my face.

“Vegas?”

He matched my shit-eating grin and said, “You call your parents and I’ll call our friends.”

We both rushed to grab our phones, and I started to dial my dad’s number. I turned to Lance as he was scrolling through his contact screen.

“Tell Ellie to bring me something white.”

“Will do, soon-to-be Mrs. Walton.”

My smile must have been enormous as my dad picked up the phone. “Hey, little pumpkin.”

“Hi, Dad. Get Mom on speaker.”

The line clicked and Mom asked, “He just couldn’t wait until tomorrow, could he?”

I laughed. “Neither could I. Pack your bags, guys.”

“Honey, what are you talking about?” my mom asked.

“Y’all! Pack now! Airport! Vegas!”

And I hung up.

I would tell them they were going to be grandparents when we were 30,000 feet in the air. I turned to look at Lance as he hung up his phone and said, “We have about three hours until we have to meet them at the airport. You start packing as I buy out the first class.”

I squealed, unable to conceal my happiness any longer. I ran back to my bedroom, grabbed my suitcase, and started throwing whatever I thought I needed into it. I didn’t even bother with toiletries. I could buy them there. As I reached for my hairbrush, my eyes caught sight of the ring. It was amazing and perfect, just like a certain husband-to-be resting against the doorframe. I ran over and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. I grabbed his face and lowered my lips down to meet his. I nibbled his bottom one, making him open to me. Our tongues danced the way they knew so well… the way they would dance forever.

He laid me on the bed as our lips parted. He hovered over me and said, “I declare abstinence until we are married.”

“Well, let’s go get you packed so I can marry you tonight.”

He stilled above me, and whispered, “I can’t believe I’m going to marry you.”

“Well, if we don’t get going, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow, and I don’t want to wait that long.” I grazed my fingers down his cheek. He pushed himself off me and stood up. He zipped my suitcase and reached his hand toward me.

“Are you ready for forever, beautiful?”

I looked down at his extended hand in front of me. It felt like yesterday that I stared at that same hand, reaching across my desk, as he pretended to meet me for the first time. I thought back to when I did meet him first, and he carried my suitcase to the bedroom at Tom’s house when we were searching for Jordan.

I smiled up at him and eased my hand inside his.

I was ready for forever.

MY KNEE BOUNCED like crazy as my fiancé and I sat in first class, surrounded by our friends and family.
My fiancée
. I proposed to Katherine. I was going to marry Katherine Klein in six hours.
Katherine Walton
. I wasn’t nervous about getting married. I was anxious because I wanted her to be my wife so desperately. I was only ever nervous about losing her, but the rollercoaster we had gone through was over. There was no other man or woman, no more wrong phone numbers, no more hiding behind the hurt that we put each other through. The game was over, and I had definitely won.

A few months ago, I never dreamed that I would be able to even be in the same room with her. Seeing her standing behind her desk my first day at the firm was the most amazing agony I had ever experienced. I knew it would either have turned out really good or really bad. I eased my head to the side and watched her talk to Jordan from across the aisle of the plane. She turned her head slightly forward during her conversation, her smile never faltering. Her face glowed, showing off her beauty to the world, and her auburn hair shimmered in the setting sun. She made me weak. I would forever be weak for this woman. I reached my hand over and ran my fingers through that beautiful hair. I didn’t care at all who saw. I was marrying this woman. Katherine laid her hand on my leg and squeezed. She just seemed to know I was touching her because I couldn’t believe she was real. Her gentle squeeze was reassurance that she was and would always be. After a few moments of brushing her thumb across my knee, Katherine turned back toward me.

“Did you need anything, fiancé?” she asked.

I stared into those honey colored eyes and realized there was something missing. Doubt. All of the doubt that she held in her eyes had vanished. I couldn’t imagine her eyes ever being more hypnotic than they already were, but I was wrong. If I had known I could remove all of her doubt by just asking her to marry me, I would have got on bended knee the first time I saw her when she showed up at Tom’s door a lifetime ago.

“Mmm… just you.” I wrapped my hands around her neck and pulled her lips to mine. How in God’s holy name was I able to marry this woman? I parted her lips with my tongue and she sighed into my mouth. Her hand cupped my cheek just before she pulled us apart. At least she was strong enough to stop us from getting too heated. There would be no mile high club today. Planes weren’t really our preferred mode of transportation. Her beautiful smile eased up her face. I kissed her cheek and grazed my thumb down her face, seeing it flush under my touch. I leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “So, when are we telling everyone?”

She turned her head toward me. “Do you think we should now? It’s bad luck this early.”

“I think karma is finally on our side. We’re having a baby soon.”

“What! Baby?”

Katherine’s eyes popped open wide as mine matched hers. She turned her head as I looked up and saw my mother had finally boarded the flight. She stood there before us with her mouth dropped. My father shuffled passed her.

I glanced around. Everyone’s eyes were on me. The only pair I locked in on was Ellie’s. Her dropped jaw eased into a pleased smile. I exhaled with relief. As long as Ellie was okay, then everyone else would be.

Katherine’s wide eyes found mine again. I shrugged my shoulders, relieving the nerves, and smiled. She was pregnant, and we were about to fly to Vegas to get married. It wasn’t like they wouldn’t figure it out soon enough anyway. I couldn’t contain the happiness that poured out of me. I wanted to tell everyone. Karma was finally on our side. I gripped her hand and stood up. Her eyes never shifted. They remained big and beautiful and scared as all get out. My father was oblivious to what had just happened while putting a bag in the overhead compartment, but he smiled big at Katherine and me before his eyes moved to Mom. Her eyes remained as big as Katherine’s. My father crossed his arms as his gaze shifted between my mother’s eyes and Katherine’s.

“Aw, shit. Does she not like her?” He moved to stand behind my mother and eased his head forward, studying Katherine. “Well… there doesn’t
seem
to be anything wrong with her.”

I couldn’t help laughing as Katherine gripped my hand tighter. Maybe I should have introduced her before announcing that she was going to be my wife and the mother of my child within twenty-hour hours, but when did I ever do things the way they were supposed to be done?

I exhaled and wrapped my arms around Katherine. I figured we were about to be launched up thousands of feet in the air. If anyone started screaming, they’d just kick them off the plane before takeoff. At least I had TSA on my side.

“This is Katherine. I’ve asked her to marry me. She said yes… and we’re going to have a baby.”

I could feel everyone’s happiness around me, except my parents. If their jaws could have dropped any further, I was sure they would have been touching the ground.

My father’s lips moved as he tried to form words. The only thing he could muster was, “Do what?”

“Yep, old man. You’re gonna be a granddad.” I smiled with pride. I
was
proud. For the first time in my life, I was proud of myself and the choices I had made. I was never proud of the way I handled things with Ellie or Angela Butler. I did wrong by both of them, probably more so Angela than Ellie. I was proud of myself when I made it out of the country, but I was still missing that one thing that never made my life complete. That one thing was now clutching my hand in a death grip. She wasn’t going anywhere, and because of that, I would always be proud. She was mine, and I was never letting go.

My father laid a hand on his chest.
Oh shit, he’s having a heart attack
. I held my breath and tensed inside Katherine’s grip. He breathed out a sigh, and then smiled. I exhaled and relaxed. If Dad was okay, then everything was all right. Mom would be fine. She’d have someone else to cook for. My mother clasped her hands over her mouth, and I saw the tears in her eyes. She moved her hands and smiled. Yep, Mom was fine.

“My baby boy is going have a baby boy!”

Katherine busted out laughing, and my chest warmed all over again.

“We might have a girl.” I squeezed Katherine a little tighter, pressing my hands to her stomach, and whispered in her ear, “The only girl in the world that would be more beautiful than you would be our daughter.”

She ran her nails up my arm as she turned her head back and whispered, “I kind of want a boy.”

I pecked the tip of her nose and asked, “Who said we only had to have one?”

She shot her head to Jordan and then turned to me. “No twins! No!”

I laughed and kissed her cheek. I was so in love with this woman.

“Please take your seats.” The attendant ushered my parents back behind us. We turned forward to sit and were met face to face with Katherine’s parents. I tensed this time. My eyes shifted between her father and her mother. I did get their daughter pregnant, and I was pretty sure they knew that it had happened before. I held my breath. They both smiled. I exhaled again. Everyone really was happy.

Geoffrey reached his hand over the seat. Katherine released mine and held her father’s as he looked between both of us and said, “I made a few phone calls. I know that you might have wanted to plan your own wedding, but I took the liberty of being your wedding planner. And, well… everything’s taken care of.”

My eyes popped open and turned to Katherine’s just as hers did to mine. I looked back toward Geoffrey and said, “Sir, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Son, don’t argue with your father-in-law. That won’t be good for the baby.” He smiled, knowing I couldn’t argue now even if I wanted to. “I hope y’all don’t mind the Bellagio. I do like the tables there.”

A ping alerted us to take our seats. Katherine reached across and hugged her father. I waited for karma to make its ugly return. Or maybe this was karma’s return and she wasn’t the bitch she’d been painted out to be all along. I was going to marry the love of my life. Her parents sat down. I squeezed Katherine’s hand as we took our seats. It was time to fly.