“I've been doing that personally so there's no need to go on over there unless you just want to sit in her room and moon over her,” Sal said dryly.
“I miss her,” Lance said abruptly as he guided his horse towards the fencing.
“Anyone with eyes in their heads can see that. She's good for you and that's why I think you should let her know how you feel.”
“We'll see,” he said briefly.
*****
“Definitely pregnant,” she announced as soon as she got him on the phone. “And feeling like crap.”
“I should be there with you.” Lance walked over to the window to stare out at the dark, his eyes picking out several of his men putting the horses through their paces. “do you want me to come?”
“No need. I'm leaving here tomorrow.”
“You are?”
“I'm done with the editing and I just want a break. I was given something for the nausea, but I'm feeling a little tired.”
“How long will your meetings take?”
“Maybe about a week and then I'm on a plane to Shadow Point. I'm going to have to tell mom the news when I get home.”
“How will she take it?”
“She's going to be dramatic as usual and will want to know about marriage and all that.”
Lance bit his lip as he almost asked her if that was what she wanted. “What will you tell her?”
“I'll tell her nothing of the arrangement of course. I'll just tell her that we're exploring things. How are you?”
“I'm fine. Exhilarated that you're pregnant with my kid and longing to see you.”
“How sweet. It so happens that I'm longing to see you too.”
“The amazing sex?”
“That and I kinda like you.”
“I kinda like you too,” he told her lightly.
“Good, now I have to run. I have some last-minute editing to do and then packing. Talk to you. Lance?”
“Yes?”
“I'm glad we decided to do this. It feels right, somehow.”
“It does. Goodnight Amy.” He hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his hair. He was going to be a dad with an extraordinary woman who tied his belly in knots!
He walked back to the bed and sat on the side of it. The question was, how was he going to endure when she had to leave? He'd almost asked her how long she was planning to stay but had stopped himself. She had her job and her life away from him and he was going to have to accept that.
Chapter 7
“Darling, the restaurant is nice and all that, but we could have met up at your apartment or my home,” Amelia murmured as she leaned in to kiss her daughter’s cheek before taking her seat.
“I just thought that it would be great for us to have lunch.”
“When did you get back?”
“Last night, very late and just tumbled into bed. I ordered sushi for you.”
“Good. You still look a little tired around the eyes.”
“I'm still jet-lagged, but I have a meeting with the publishers in an hour.”
“You need to take a little time off and come and hang with me at the studio.”
“We'll see,” Amy unfolded her napkin and placed it onto her lap. The truth of the matter was, she was feeling a little queasy and a lot tired and wouldn't mind just going home and sleeping for at least a week!
“You ordered soup?” Amelia stared at her daughter quizzically.
“To settle my stomach.” Amy waited until the waiter had placed their orders in front of them and left. “There's something I need to tell you.”
Amelia tried her sushi and nodded in approval. “You met someone in London.”
“No,” Amy said with a laugh. “I met someone yes, but it's someone I knew before.” She leaned forward and caught her mother’s eyes. “Mom, I'm four weeks pregnant.”
Amelia stared at her daughter in shock, the sushi suspended halfway to her lips. “I'm sorry,” she remarked, putting back the raw fish onto her plate. “I could have sworn you said you were pregnant.”
“I am. I hooked up with Lance—”
“The billionaire rancher, Lance?”
“Yes.” Amy nodded. “We connected and it just happened and now I'm pregnant.”
“Does he know and what's he going to do about it?” her mother demanded.
“Yes, he knows, and we're going to raise this child together.”
“So you're getting married?”
Amy lifted tapered brows as she resumed drinking her soup. “People don't have to get married to raise children, Mom. And no, we aren't getting married.”
“So, you're just going to shack up with him?”
“I'm not going to shack up with him, and Mom, who says that anymore?” Amy shook her head. “I have my editing to do, which takes me all over the place. Besides, Lance is married to the ranch, so it's perfect for both of us. I'll be laying low for a couple of months to see how I react to the pregnancy and then I'm off again to do some more work. It’s going to be fine and you're going to be a grandmother!”
“That I am.” Her mother chewed on the sushi with a gloomy expression on her face. “It’s good that you decide not to get married.”
“It’s not really a decision not to Mom, we just are not in that place. Why?”
“Bryce and I are getting a divorce.”
Amy was not in the least bit surprised. “What is it this time? You don’t like how he walks around the house in a robe?”
Amelia looked at her wryly. “You could be a little more sympathetic, darling.”
“I'm leaning towards being sympathetic to poor Bryce. What happened, mom?”
“We aren't in the same place.”
Amy’s eyebrows lifted as she stared at her.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I'm waiting for the real reason because I don’t know what that means.”
“It means that we aren't on the same page.”
“How long have you two been married? Five years? Six?”
“Six.”
“And you're now discovering that you aren't on the same page. What page are you on Mom?”
“You're making fun of me,” Amelia said with a pout.
“Mom, you're being ridiculous! I didn't say anything when you married Richard when I was sixteen because I figured that you're a beautiful woman and you were divorced from my dad and needed someone in your life. And I liked Richard even though he allowed you to always call the shots. Then you told me that Richard didn't like that you spent so much time at the dance studio and was resentful of your craft. When you married Bryce five years later, I still didn't say anything because you're a grown woman and if you want to step inside a church for the third time to promise ‘til death do you part’ to yet another man, it’s your life and you're free to do whatever you want. Mom, you're insane, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Do you now see why I'm not so enamored with the institution of marriage?”
“I think I still love your dad,” she said moodily. “I keep telling myself that I'm over him, but I think I made a mistake and I should have never left him.”