“You’ve got me.” Caleb’s reassuring words do just that. He’s right; I have got him and my friends. They are all I need.
“Forever,” I murmur, my eyes on my sparkly ring.
“For all of eternity.” His lips slant over mine but quickly pull back when the woman walks back in with our scan picture.
When we get home, Caleb frames it and puts it on the wall in the hallway. “This will be our timeline. Our wedding photo will be in the middle. Tomorrow I’m going to put our first ever picture right here.”
“You’re such a romantic,” I laugh and kiss his stubble. “I’ll put dinner on.”
“Brilliant, chicken wraps?”
I nod and walk away, my hand pressed against my belly.
“Hey, almost forgot…” I’m spun in a second and Caleb is down on his knees, pulling my top over my midriff. He presses his hands on my navel and then kisses in between them. “Love you, baby Weston.”
I just melted again. He has that effect on me.
******
I cling to the seat, my forehead on my arms. Caleb ties my hair back from my face and rubs slow circles on my back. “Finished?”
Hurl.
“I guess not,” he says around a yawn and wipes my forehead and then my mouth with a cool cloth. That feels nice. “Poor baby.”
“I hate this. You’ve done this,” I joke and sit back on the cool tiled floor. “Ugh. If I’m never sick again it’ll be too soon.”
“It’s a good sign; he’s growing well.” Caleb is insistent that it’s a boy. He really, really wants a boy but he’ll still be happy if we get a girl. “Caleb Weston,” he says with his hand on my stomach, “has a nice ring to it.”
I laugh and slap his arm before climbing to my feet. “That’s your name.”
“Exactly.” His arms snake around my waist as I quickly brush my teeth, eager to get the putrid taste of vomit from my mouth and rid my teeth of that gritty feeling. “Fourteen weeks and three days. Can we start telling people now?”
“Don’t give me that,” I say, my mouth full of minty foam. Spit. “I know you’ve told everyone already. Even Sasha knows, though she’s pretending she doesn’t.”
He has the decency to look ashamed. “I couldn’t help it.”
“You’re incorrigible,” I snort and rinse out my mouth, squirming when Caleb’s hand cups my sex through my pyjama shorts. Shiver. “Right now? Really? My stomach is still doing somersaults.”
“Let me take your mind off it,” he breathes against my neck and pushes his hardened length against my arse cheek.
A banging sounds at the door downstairs and both of our heads whip around. “Who’s that? It’s like,” I check my watch. “Six fifteen.”
“No idea, sounds urgent,” Caleb says and releases me. “Stay here.”
I nod and follow him into the room and then the hall. I wait at the top of the stairs and listen as Caleb opens the door.
I don’t recognize the male voice that starts speaking over Caleb’s, but I soon know who it is when Caleb asks him, “What do you want, Nathan?”
“I can’t let you do this,” Nathan responds, his voice deep and low. Do what?
I descend the stairs and my curiosity increases tenfold with every step as their voices become hushed. Did Caleb just say, “I love her, I swear?” Because I can’t be certain.
When I make it to the last step, two sets of matching eyes come to me. Nathan is a couple of inches taller than Caleb and although they look alike, Nathan’s face is much sharper than Caleb’s and there isn’t a hint of stubble. He’s wearing a suit and he looks good. I always did appreciate a man in a suit, though the gloves that cover his hands perplex me. What’s up with the black leather gloves? It’s warm outside. Does he have a motorbike?
His eyes scan my body, a dark look on his face. My hand goes to my belly almost protectively.
“I told you to stay upstairs,” Caleb hisses with a frown.
“I’m Gwen,” I say to Nathan and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Nathan looks at my hand for a few seconds before turning back to his brother. “Are you crazy?”
“At least say hello to my pregnant fiancée, Nathan. Where’re your manners?” Caleb bites out through clenched teeth. Why did he say pregnant like that?
Nathan looks at me again, but his eyes are focused on my stomach. “I can’t believe you.”
“Nathan,” Caleb warns, his hands raised and his eyes wide. Nathan’s scowl is scary and even I’m shrinking fast. “Please.” Nathan seems to think about whatever the hell they’re talking about for a moment. His eyes narrow, so I’m guessing the conclusion he’s drawn isn’t a good one.
It happens so fast, too fast. Nathan’s fist strikes out and connects with Caleb’s cheekbone. Caleb flies backwards, tripping on a shoe before falling to his arse. My hand goes to my mouth in shock.
“You’ll do well to get rid of that before it’s too late,” Nathan says, pointing at my stomach. I watch him whip his glove off and start squirting some kind of sterilising fluid onto his hand. He turns and leaves, still rubbing the lotion around his fingers with his gloved hand. That’s weird. What an arsehole.
“Are you okay?” I ignore Nathan’s comment. As much as I want to scratch his eyes out right now, Caleb needs me.
He rolls his jaw and touches his cheekbone with a finger. We both wince. I can already see it swelling and have no doubt it’s painful to touch. “I’ll get some ice and then you’re going to tell me what the hell just happened.”
“My brother’s a dickhead, that’s what just happened,” he snaps and pulls his arm free of my hands before stomping into the kitchen. “Fuck, he’s got a good right hook.”
I stand in the doorway and watch him grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer before wrapping them in a tea towel and placing them on his face. “Is that all you’re going to say on the matter then?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he sighs and rests his head back. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“Me too. Especially since I don’t know what I’ve seen exactly.”
He shakes his head. “He’s pissed that I left him to deal with our parents and even more pissed that I got someone pregnant before marriage. My brother is weird.”
“So why’d you tell him I’m pregnant?”
Caleb shrugs. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“He told me to get rid of the baby. That doesn’t seem like normal behaviour.”
He laughs coldly and I’ve never heard such a laugh from him before. It’s kind of scary. “My brother isn’t normal. Stay away from him, Gwen. Okay?”
I nod, not wanting to argue over something I’m in complete agreement with. There’s no way in hell I’ll be going near him again. “Maybe you should report it.”
“No, he’s my brother. He punched me and he left. It’s done.” Caleb says and now he looks sad.
I slide onto his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, Caleb.”