They’d even offered to let him celebrate his birthday in a special suite down at the stadium since Sabian had enough clout for that. Unfortunately, while Dominic had gone to many games in his lifetime, he’d been traumatized several years ago after witnessing a bloody brawl at one of them. Ever since he refused to go again. Danica had been standing next to Ali and Drew as they spoke of their babies. She wiped at her nose again with a tissue as she listened to poor Drew complain about her cracked nipples. “I swear it’s been brutal. Chelsea never did this to me.” She turned to Danica. “With Chels—” She stopped and pointed at Danica’s tissue. “You have a bloody nose?” Danica glanced down at her tissue just as she felt the warm liquid drip out of her nose.
Nine was on his feet instantly as she brought the tissue back to her nose. He grabbed some napkins from the table with the cake and handed them to her. “I’ll keep an eye on this guy while you go wash up. Got some on your top.” He motioned to the front of her blouse.
“Crap,” she said, looking down at the stain on her blouse. “I’ll be back.”
“Hydrogen peroxide,” Ali said, moving her big baby from one leg to the other. “Trust me. I was notorious for getting spontaneous bloody noses in my first trimester with both pregnancies.” Danica slowed her steps as she took that in. “Stained up plenty of clothes and pillowcases.”
Orlando turned to Danica as she walked into the house. He’d been on his way out. He peered at her, his eyes on the tissue over her nose. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Just a bloody nose. I get them sometimes.” Like once a year, if that, but she kept that to herself. “I’m gonna go clean up and change my blouse. Nine’s got the baby.”
She continued on to the bathroom, Ali’s words still in her head as the nausea that had her throwing up earlier lingered. Because of the runny nose, Danica had just thought she was coming down with something. Now her heart was beginning to race with another alarming thought. Grabbing her phone from where it was charging in the bedroom, she brought it with her to the bathroom. “No way,” she whispered as she set it down on the sink, and she ran the water and began rinsing her nose and face. This was the second time she’d rinsed her face off in less than an hour. The first time had been earlier when she’d been in there hugging the toilet. The moment she was done, she stuck tissue in her nostril to clog the blood from dripping and dried off her face with a towel. Glancing in the mirror, she frowned because she looked as exhausted as she’d been feeling lately. Another reason she’d been sure she was just coming down with something. She picked up her phone and tapped away, clicking on her period-tracker app. Ever since she’d gotten on the pill, she hardly even checked the app, nor kept up with her periods. It’d been one of the few perks of being with an older man. Ted had had a vasectomy years prior. So, she’d never had to worry about getting pregnant with him. Being on birth control now, there was no real need to check either, right? But then she’d only been on the pill for a few months, and she wasn’t very good at remembering to take it at the same time or even every day. The calendar popped up and she gasped. She’d been so busy with the baby, this new relationship, and then planning this damn party, she hadn’t even noticed she’d missed her period weeks ago. “No, no, no,” she whispered, feeling nearly faint. The app had an early-pregnancy-symptoms list she tapped on. “Nausea, tender swollen breasts,” she whispered as she touched her breasts over her blouse and winced at the not too tender, but definitely swollen breasts. She’d chalked it up to a sign of her period coming since they tended to always get swollen a few days prior. “Increased urination, fatigue, sensitivity to smell, bloating, mood swings. God, I’m an idiot.” She touched her bloated belly, something she’d also attributed to her period coming soon. The app said you might experience some of these symptoms if you were pregnant. She’d never even heard of bloody noses being a symptom of pregnancy. But of course her ass would be experiencing every last one of them. But again, she’d just attributed them all to her impending period. She’d even been annoyed that Aunt Flow might show up the day of the party. Just as she heard the knock at the door, she bent over to throw up again in the toilet. Only this time it was just dry heaves.
“You okay, Dani?” Orlando asked from outside the door.
“Yeah,” she said, still bent over because the nausea was brutal, and she didn’t trust she wouldn’t actually throw up again. “Just washing up.”
“And throwing up again? I heard you.” Of course he had. How in the world was she going to tell this man who’d already had a major life changer just this year, that he may be in for another one?
“It was just dry heaves,” she explained, trying to make less of it. “I didn’t actually throw up. I’ll be right out. Just give me a minute.”
She heard his phone ring just outside the door. “What’s up, Beast? Nah, nah, leave it all as is. Everything’s been getting paid for this whole time, and no one’s been living there. At least now someone will be there to enjoy it. Leave it all on for him . . .”
Glad he’d apparently walked back out into the living room because his voice faded, Danica only hoped Beast calling Orlando meant he and the guys at the shop were all on the way. Beast had dropped off Ali earlier but left to help get Byron moved to the apartment upstairs at the shop. From what Orlando had let her in on, things hadn’t gotten better at home with Byron’s stepdad. But all she could focus on now was changing her blouse as fast as she could so she could get out to the party and hope the guys all got there soon to keep Orlando busy. If she’d learned anything about herself since she’d met Orlando, it was how incapable she was of being able to keep anything from him. The last thing she wanted was to start blurting out what she’d begun to seriously suspect and had her heart pounding today. Except for when she’d looked into birth control, she hadn’t given any thought to how Orlando might feel about her accidently getting pregnant. She just naturally assumed it was the last thing he’d want this soon.
After changing her blouse and checking her face again then removing the tissue plug from her nose, she rinsed her nose out one last time and made sure it wasn’t still bleeding. Rushing back out to the party, she smiled when she heard Oreo squealing out back but walked to the dining room first to make sure all the food was set up. Danica froze when she saw the amount of food on the table. She’d taken the plunge and made a large lasagna and garlic toast for the party. Orlando had been quick to say that wouldn’t be nearly enough for all the guys coming from the shop. Danica had eyed him suspiciously as she’d prepared the lasagna yesterday. Even before she’d finished making it, she could see it wasn’t going to be very pretty. Still, it’d been the thought that counted, and Dominic loved lasagna. “I’ll just order a few things to compliment the main dish,” Orlando had assured her. There were at least eight extra-large boxes of pizzas, two boxes of fried chicken, and two six-foot-long sandwiches on the table, along with bowls of chips, dips, and an assortment of restaurant-bought side dishes She could barely see her lasagna amidst the overabundance. She turned when Orlando and Nine walked into the dining room.