Chapter 22 #2
“Please, tell me,” I said. “I want to help you, but I can’t if you don’t explain what is going on.”
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
There was a gasp behind me. I turned to find her husband wide-eyed and as pale as she had been.
“You’re what?” he asked.
“Pregnant,” she sniffed. “It was what I’d come to tell you in Sea Isle. I went in to find a gift that might help me explain the news. We’ve been trying so long that we’d both given up. But then that harpy of yours told me what you’d been doing …”
I wanted to ask why she had come to the gala with him tonight, but it wasn’t the time.
“I’m so sorry, luv. So sorry.” He seemed genuine, as he sat on the floor next to her and took her hand. “I will do whatever you want. Tell me how to make it up to you.”
“That’s why I was so excited, but then all of this happened, and I heard that you might have killed Donald, and I didn’t know what to think.”
“You what? How could you think I would hurt Donald?”
They seemed to have forgotten they had an audience. I glanced up at Ewan, who shook his head.
I didn’t say a word.
“You were so angry with him about work. You never told me why. And I didn’t want the father of my child to be a murderer.”
“Of course, I didn’t kill him,” he said. “Yes, I was furious with him, but I couldn’t have hurt him. It’s because of him our accounts are being pawed over by the government. You know me better than anyone, how could you think such a thing?”
“Do I? I knew about the other affairs. But this one seemed much more serious.”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “Yes, I’ve been an idiot. But I’m not a murderer, and she meant nothing to me. I swear to you, luv. I’ve been a complete idiot.”
She sighed, and a tear fell down her cheek. “Yes, you have.”
“I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Where is that ambulance? She needs the hospital.”
As he spoke, the EMTs arrived. I explained what was going on and suggested they test her for dehydration, and gestational diabetes. My guess it was the former. Morning sickness quickly dehydrated pregnant mothers without them realizing how important it was to put those electrolytes back in.
I considered going with them, but the bus, as they called ambulances here, was already crowded with the husband and EMTs who had arrived. That, and her doctor had already agreed to meet them at the hospital.
“Wow,” David said as they carried her out through the kitchen. “You are amazing.”
I could feel the heat on my cheeks. “It’s what I do.”
“Do you believe what he said about Jacks?” Mara asked.
I shrugged. “That’s for Ewan to decide. He did seem sincere, though.”
“Well, one thing was clear,” Jasper said.
“What’s that?” Ewan asked.
“He had no idea he was about to be a father. Did you see the shock on his face? This was like our own Coronation Street or something. Affairs, pregnancies, murders.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I straightened my dress, which had twisted around my waist when I’d been on the floor.
“I say it’s time to dance,” Teddy said to Mara. “I’ve been waiting all night to get you in my arms.”
Mara ducked her head, but I was certain she probably had pink cheeks. He dragged her through the double doors and out to the main ballroom.
Ewan held out his hand. “How about it, Doc?”
“You know I have two left feet when it comes to dancing.”
“I’m willing to chance it.” He grinned. No way I’d be able to say no to him. He was so charming when he wasn’t angry with me.
The orchestra played “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and Ewan expertly guided me across the marble floor. I only stumbled once when turning a corner. But he held me up from slipping. To the outside world it only looked like a slight bobble.
Still, I was embarrassed. “I did warn you.”
“Everything is fine,” he said softly. He pulled me tighter against his chest and twirled me around the floor. I tried desperately not to think about how good he smelled or the fact that his chest and stomach were like iron against me.
As the music ended, his mother came up. “You two make a beautiful couple,” she said. She was beaming.
“Oh. Uh.” I didn’t know what to say.
“Son, how about taking your mother across the floor. It has been a while.”
He nodded and held out his arms to her.
Mara and her date had moved to the side of the room to watch the dancers. I walked over to them.
“You looked so happy,” she said.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You were smiling when you danced with Ewan. I haven’t seen you grin like that in ages. You two are perfect for one another.”
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat. “You know better than anyone, it isn’t like that between us.”
“Isn’t it, though? Did you see his face? He was smiling like a big goofball. He cares for you, Em.”
“You romanticize everything,” I said. “We were just dancing. He was probably laughing because I had a bit of a wobble.”
She laughed. “Deny it all you want, Doc, but I know what I saw. I think it might be time for you to open your heart and mind to the possibility that you like one another.”
“Of course, we do. Professionally,” I said. “But that is all it is.”
She sighed. “Em, he could have asked any woman he wanted here tonight. But he chose you.”
“Yes, to keep his mom from trying to push her friend’s daughters on him. He said as much.”
“He made an excuse to get you to go with him,” she said. “But what you aren’t realizing is that he could have asked anyone else. He picked you.”
Her words reverberated in my brain, as I watched him dance with his mother. She was chatting the whole time, and he would nod or shake his head indulgently.
Did he pick me for a reason?
And how did I feel about that?
I was so confused and not at all certain how I felt. I decided to pack it all away, and just focus on having a good time.
But that didn’t keep me from blushing every time he asked me to dance.