While We Waited (Smuggler’s Hideaway #3)

Chapter 29

Oops – when you accidentally tell your baby daddy the truth

Nova

I frown at my phone. The date can’t be right. I can’t be nearly twenty-four weeks pregnant already. There must be a mistake.

I open my work calendar to check the date when I met Hudson at the Hideaway Haven Resort to convince him to give Five Fathoms Brewing a try. There it is – convince the grump to buy our beer is written in bold and underlined in my agenda. I write down the date before checking my pregnancy tracker app.

“Ugh!” I throw my phone on the table when I realize I didn’t make a mistake. I am nearly twenty-four weeks pregnant.

“What’s wrong?”

I grasp my chest and whirl around to face Hudson. “Where did you come from?”

“The same place I come from every morning.”

He runs every morning. Too bad the weather has gotten colder. I miss watching sweat roll down his naked abs.

“But it’s raining.”

“An athlete doesn’t stop training because it’s raining.”

But Hudson isn’t an athlete anymore. He’s a resort owner. Does he miss playing in the NFL? Does he wish he wasn’t back home on Smuggler’s Hideaway? Does he long for the glitz and glamor of being a star?

“What’s wrong?” He repeats his question before I have the chance to quiz him.

“I didn’t say anything is wrong.”

“You threw your phone on the table.”

“It’s my prerogative to throw my phone wherever I want.”

“Fine.” He stalks toward me, grabs my hand, and pulls me out of the chair. “I’ll sex it out of you.”

“Sex it out of me? Is this a proper term?”

“Don’t give a shit what it’s called.”

He lifts me in his arms and carries me to the bedroom. “Do you want to shower with me or shall I just eat you out now before I shower?”

Despite knowing he’s using sex to get information from me, my body tingles in response to his question. I love it when Hudson puts his mouth on me. The man sure knows how to use his mouth. But a shower with him is also good. I love touching his muscles when they’re hot and wet from water pouring down on us.

“Um…” I bite my lip. “Can I have both?”

“I’m not going down on you in the shower again. I nearly drowned last time.”

“It’s not my fault.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “It’s not your fault you shoved my face into the drain?”

“I didn’t shove your face into the drain.” My cheeks heat. It’s possible I got carried away. It’s his fault. He got me worked up and I needed release before I burst.

He sighs. “I guess I’m drowning in the shower. Or you could tell me what’s wrong.”

I giggle. “You think I’ll tell you what’s wrong rather than have sex with you? Have you met me?”

He sets me on my feet. My nipples harden as my breasts rub against the front of his shirt. My panties dampen as I imagine him sucking on my breasts. I love it when he lavishes my chest with attention.

“My sunshine is a sex fiend.”

“I’m not a sex fiend. I’m pregnant.”

Or, at least, I hope I’m still pregnant. What if there’s something wrong with the baby? Maybe I should call my doctor again. Dr. Katz is getting used to me. She didn’t even bother to yell at me the last time I phoned her after hours.

Hudson sits on the end of the bed and draws me near until I’m standing between his spread legs. He places his hands on my cheeks.

“What’s wrong, Sunshine? You look devastated.”

I nibble on my lip as I consider my answer.

“You’re going to think I’m a hypochondriac.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You promise?”

“Nova, my sunshine, you’re allowed to worry about your health. It’s natural you worry more than normal. Both of your parents died of cancer at young ages. Of course, you worry.”

“You don’t think I’m a worry wart?”

“You’re too beautiful to be a wart.”

I slap his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

He catches my hand and kisses my palm. “I know what you mean and I don’t give a shit. Worry as much as you want. Just don’t worry about worrying.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“Nothing’s easy in this life.”

I don’t know. Loving Hudson is pretty easy. I nearly open my mouth to say as much but manage to clamp my lips shut before I admit I love him. He has enough to deal with without me blurting out how much I love him.

“Come on, Sunshine. Tell me why you’re worried. If I don’t know why you’re worried, I can’t handle it.”

“Handle it?” I scowl at him. “You don’t handle me.”

He snorts. “No one can handle you. I meant we can contact the doctor or get you medicine or consult a pregnancy book. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out and handle it.”

“You always know the right thing to say.”

He grunts.

“Except when you grunt.”

His fingers dig into my hips. “Tell me what’s wrong, Sunshine.”

“I’m nearly twenty-four weeks pregnant.”

He places a hand over my belly. “I’m aware.”

“But I haven’t felt the baby kick yet. I should have felt the baby kick by now. What if there’s something wrong with the baby? What if Sprog is in distress? What if—”

He places a finger on my lips. “Hold on. Let’s figure this out. Will you let me figure this out?” He raises an eyebrow and I nod.

“First, let’s figure out when a pregnant woman should feel a baby kick. We’ll go from there.”

He digs his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through it. “According to this baby book, you should feel the first kick between the sixteenth and twenty-fourth week.”

“Exactly.”

“Exactly?” He throws his phone on the bed. “You’re not twenty-four weeks yet.”

“But Dr. Katz said Sprog is growing faster than normal. If Sprog is growing faster than normal, shouldn’t I have felt her kick by now?”

“I don’t know. It makes sense, but I’m not a doctor. Let me grab a shower and then I’ll drive you to the doctor’s office.”

My mouth drops open. “You’ll drive me to the doctor’s office?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. What else do you want to do?”

“This is why I fell in love with you. You’re the sweetest grump in the world.”

He smiles. “Fell in love?”

My eyes widen when I realize what I said. So much for keeping my mouth shut and not love-vomiting all over him.

“I didn’t mean it. It’s a turn of phrase is all.”

His smile widens and I’m temporarily blinded. Hudson Clark is always handsome, but he’s movie star handsome when he smiles.

“I kind of figured out you loved me when you freaked out, I was going to die because all the people you love die.”

I groan. “You couldn’t have ignored my logic?”

“Nope.”

“Can we pretend I didn’t say the l-word?”

“Nope.”

“I didn’t mean to say it.”

“Too bad. You did.”

“UGH!” I stomp my foot and shout. “Stop being stubborn!”

“I’m not—”

I hold up my hand to quiet him. I place my other hand on my stomach.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” He asks after a few moments of silence.

“I think I felt the baby move. It was a little flutter. The book said making some noise might help but I…” I trail off when I feel another flutter.

He falls to his knees in front of me and cradles my belly. “Hello, Sprog. Your mom and I can’t wait to meet you. If you’re a girl, you’ll be as beautiful as your mom. She’s a stunner. And if you’re a boy, I’ll teach you to play football. Or soccer if you prefer. Or you can take ballet lessons. Whatever you want, you can have.”

Tears leak from my eyes as I listen to Hudson speak to our baby. He’s going to be the best dad ever. I couldn’t help but fall in love with him.

Hold on. I said I love you to Hudson and he basically said, I know. He didn’t say it back. Does he not love me? Is this relationship doomed to fail because I love him and he doesn’t love me?

I can’t be with a man who doesn’t love me back. I want the kind of relationship my parents had. I want a man who kisses me goodnight and whispers I love you before wrapping his arms around me and falling asleep together.

But he doesn’t love me.

He’s going to break my heart.