Chapter 2
Silver
Locking the bathroom door behind her, Silver leaned back against the wood and pressed a hand to her rolling stomach. The nausea hadn’t been too bad when she’d first woken up, but now that she was up out of bed and moving she could swear there were acrobats turning somersaults in her belly.
After a few deep breaths, the acrobats settled and she pushed away from the door, nerves dancing along her skin as she opened the bottom drawer of her bathroom vanity to stare at the unopened box of pregnancy tests she’d picked up a few days before.
She still hadn’t gotten the courage to actually pee on one of those stupid sticks yet.
As many conversations as she’d had with Ice about their future, their musical careers, their lives here in Charleston, kids had never even entered the equation.
That had always seemed like a ‘someday’ sort of thing, for her at least, but she had no idea if Ice wanted them at all.
Maybe she was just overreacting. Just because she was nearly a month late and her tits ached like a goddamn bad tooth and everything she ate made her want to puke did not mean she was pregnant.
According to the internet, all those symptoms could just be stress related.
She could be getting her period any day now.
Which was exactly what she’d been telling herself for the past two weeks, and still no period.
Better to just find out, once and for all.
Once she knew for sure, she could figure out how to tell Ice he was going to be a dad.
Or not, if it turned out it was all in her head.
Of course, that would be an entirely different can of worms because then she’d have to confess she’d been sick for two whole weeks without telling him.
She was really not looking forward to that conversation.
Pulling one of the tests free, she ripped open the plastic packaging and popped the pink cover off the stick.
After several scares when she’d been young and dumb, she was no stranger to the process, but she still read the directions carefully before settling on the toilet to do what needed to be done.
Three minutes. She just needed to wait three minutes, and then she’d know for sure.
Except… it didn’t take three minutes. More like thirty seconds for those two pink lines to show up on the little screen, clear as day.
There had been a few times, back in high school, where she’d thought she’d seen another line, albeit very faint, and she’d ended up taking multiple tests just to be sure.
Now, however, there was no question. That second pink line was just as bright as the first, and for several long moments all she could do was stare down at the test.
Holy crap. She was having a fucking baby.
Her knees gave out on her, and she plopped down on the floor, hard enough to send pain radiating up her spine but she didn’t care.
She was having a baby. And not just any baby.
Ice’s baby. The love of her fucking life, the man who had always been there for her, protecting her, loving her, even when they’d been ‘just friends’.
Even when she’d been completely oblivious to her feelings, he’d never faltered.
And now she was having his baby. Their baby.
Tears blurred her vision as she pressed a trembling hand to her stomach. Somewhere in there, a tiny little bean was growing arms and legs and eyes and lungs. Or maybe all of that came later, she didn’t actually know.
Oh, fuck. On the heels of joy came panic, clawing at her chest as she struggled to drag enough air into her lungs.
She didn’t know a goddamn thing about pregnancy or babies or motherhood.
When all her friends from high school had been getting married and starting families, she’d been on the road, making a name for herself and her band.
And she’d be the first of her friend group here in Charleston to have a baby.
Hell, she was an only child so she didn’t even have the benefit of having cared for younger siblings to give her a fucking clue.
Her mom. She should call her mom, ask her what to do.
No. Closing her eyes, Silver let her head fall back against the wall, her hand pressed even more firmly against her stomach. She had to tell Ice first. That was only right.
But what if he didn’t want their child? The tears that slipped down her cheeks at the thought were born of grief rather than happiness. Already, she was head over heels in love with the little bean growing inside her, and the thought of Ice not sharing her joy was more pain than she could bear.
Eyes still closed, she forced herself to drag in a deep breath as she ran through a mental checklist.
She could tell Ice now, and deal with whatever fallout there may be. If things went badly, she’d have her closest friends by her side all day.
Nope. Scratch that. Today was about Lottie, not her. Which meant having a breakdown in the middle of getting ready to walk down the aisle was not an option.
Which also meant telling Ice wasn’t an option, at least not yet.
After the wedding, when they’d done their duty by their friends, then she’d tell him.
And if the worst happened and she needed an emergency sleepover to cry on everyone’s shoulders, she had no doubt her friends would be there for her in a heartbeat.
That was settled, then. She just had to get through the wedding without Ice or anyone else realizing something was up, and then she could tell Ice everything.
Easy-peasy.
Pushing herself up from the floor, she grabbed the test and shoved it back into the box, which she hid in its original spot in her bottom drawer to be dealt with later.
Okay. That was handled. Now she just needed to get her ass in the shower.
But as she turned to flip the shower on, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and paused to run a hand over her round stomach.
She’d never been skinny, a fact Ace had lamented every single day they were together.
But Ice never complained. If anything, he genuinely seemed to love her curves, spending hours worshiping every inch of her with hands and lips and tongue on a regular basis.
Would he still, when her body changed to accommodate their child? Would he still worship her body when it was riddled with stretch marks and saggy breasts?
Of course he will. This is Ice you’re talking about, not The Asshole.
Right. Ice loved her, and he would always love her, no matter what.
Deliberately turning away from the mirror, she flipped the shower on and stepped under the steaming hot spray, letting the water run over her, pictured it washing away all the stress and worry the morning had brought with it.
She was jolted out of her meditation by the jiggling of the door handle. “Silver? Why the fuck is the door locked?”
If she hadn’t already been so stressed, she probably would have found the annoyance and confusion in his voice hilarious. As it was, though, it only sent her heart racing again as panic once more gripped her lungs in a vice. “Sorry! I’ll be done in a few minutes!”
“What’s going on, Silver? Why is the door locked?” Another jiggle of the handle. “Let me in.”
Fuck. It would only take him about thirty seconds to realize she was hiding something from him. The man had a goddamn sixth sense when it came to her. “I’m in the shower, Ice.”
“Okay, but why is the door locked?”
“Because I wanted some fucking privacy, is that a crime?”
She winced at the sharpness in her tone, freezing in place as the steaming water poured over her.
“Locking the door isn’t a crime, but that attitude sure as hell is. Open the door, Amanda. Now.”
She couldn’t think of a reason not to, so she did the only thing she could think of, even though it was ninety-nine percent certain to end in her getting her ass blistered.
She ignored him.
Heart in her throat, she pumped her shampoo into her hand, massaging it into her scalp while he jiggled the handle of the bathroom door again.
“Amanda Louise Sterling, if I have to go hunt down a key for this door, I’m going to take a paddle to your bare, wet ass. One.”
Ah, fuck. He was counting, which meant he was deadly serious about his threat. “I’m washing my hair, Ice, I can’t just get out of the shower now!”
“After you put your conditioner in, I expect this door to open, little girl.”
Goddammit. That was the trouble with having a man who knew you as well as Ice knew her. He had her rituals and routines memorized, so he knew she’d leave her conditioner in for a solid ten minutes before rinsing it, giving her plenty of time to open the door for him.
“I have to, uh, shave my legs and stuff, too. You’re going to have to wait for me to finish.”
A long silence met her response, followed by what sounded like a growl. “I’ll be waiting out here when you’re done, then.”
Fuck.
Ice
What the fuck had gotten into his babygirl?
Seated on the edge of their bed, the clear plastic paddle he was very tempted to use on her the second the bathroom door opened laying beside him, he ran through their morning up until that point in his mind.
She’d seemed fine, more than fine when she’d bounced off to the bathroom to get ready.
But she’d never locked him out of the bathroom, or any room in their house for that matter, and worry churned in his stomach as his imagination went wild.
Was she sick? Upset? Had Ace texted her again and she was trying to keep it from him?
Anger joined worry in a sickening dance. She’d kept messages from Ace a secret once, and only once as far as he knew. If Ace was in contact again and she wasn’t telling him, the paddle sitting beside him on the bed would be the least of her worries.
On the other side of the bathroom door, the shower cut off and Ice sat up straighter, folding his arms across his chest so the first thing she would see when she opened the bathroom door was her very disappointed Daddy.
And it worked. The door flung open, steam billowing out around her, and she froze in place, her eyes going round at the sight of him.
“Um. Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, naughty girl. Come here.”
“Can’t.” Flashing an apologetic smile, she skirted past him, just out of reach and bolted for the giant walk-in closet they shared.
“Amanda Louise.”
Poking her head out of the closet, she pouted at him. “There’s no reason to use my full name. I’m not being naughty.”
“Locking me out of my own bathroom, swearing at me, and then avoiding me when I try to talk to you seems pretty naughty to me, little girl.”
With a roll of her eyes, she ducked back into the closet.
“I didn’t lock you out. I just locked the door like a normal person.
And I am not avoiding you. I just have things to do.
Like dry my hair and get dressed, and you need a shower.
We don’t have time for you to go all alpha male on me over a locked door. ”
Rising from the bed, he moved to the doorway of the closet, blocking her exit. She paused just in front of him, her eyes wide in her unmade face. “Ice, seriously. We have to go.”
“Are you talking to Ace again?”
“What?” A laugh, sharp and bitter, burst out of her. “Why the hell would you even ask me that?”
“Because you were fine this morning and now you’re acting all cagey. If he’s contacting you again, I need to know so we can report it.”
“And so you can spank the daylights out of me?” she added dryly.
“Figured that part went without saying.”
“It does. But I promise, Ice, he hasn’t contacted me. I would have told you.” Uncertainty filled her eyes. “You believe me, right?”
If she’d been pissed, ready to fight, he would have gone toe to toe with her. But he was helpless against the hurt radiating off her. The anger drained from him, though worry remained, and his voice was far gentler than it had been when he spoke again. “Of course I do, baby.”
Relief flickered, banishing the pain he’d hated to see lurking behind the deep brown of her eyes. “Good.” Rising up on her tip toes, she pressed a quick, hard kiss to her mouth. “We really, really do need to get going. You still haven’t had a shower.”
Cocking a brow at her, he let the corner of his mouth curve. “And whose fault is that? You could have let me share, but you didn’t.”
“You have a point.” Her grin flashed, quick and full of mischief. “We’ve got all night for you to teach me some manners at the club. Deal?”
An image of her, squirming against a cross as he left his mark all over her body filled his mind and his cock stirred to life despite the fact he’d just come inside her not that long ago.
“Deal.”