12. Chapter 12
Chapter twelve
Lauren
“Does it look like I’ve been crying?” Rowan asked. “I trust you to tell me the truth.”
Her trust cut like a knife. I almost blurted out that I’d lied to her. That I had terrible morning sickness, not food poisoning. That Aiden O’Malley and I drank too much and got frisky on her bachelor/bachelorette trip. That I didn’t want to be a mother. That I was terrified.
“Your eyes look brighter, like they always do after you cry, and your makeup is perfect now. Not even a hint of a red nose.”
Rowan nodded. “I can live with that. Are you feeling any better? I asked the front desk if they had medicine that might help, and they said they’d bring some up to the room.”
The guilt knife twisted in my chest. “I’m fine.”
I wasn’t. Not even close. I couldn’t keep melted ice cubes down, and my head pounded. Cammie hovered near like she expected me to fall over, and honestly, I was glad she kept close.
Rose hurried into the suite with a huge white box. “Oh, Rowan,” she said, her eyes getting misty. “You look so beautiful. You all do.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Stevens,” Cammie said. “Let me help you with that.” She took the box from Rowan’s mom and set it on the bed.
While Cammie fussed with our bouquets, Rose, Rowan, and Poppy stood together holding hands, their foreheads touching while the photographer snapped a few candids. The bond between the Stevens women was so beautiful. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous before chastising myself. I had them all in my life. I shared brilliant moments like these, as well as the sad ones. I might not be family, but I didn’t question my place in theirs.
“We better get downstairs,” Rose said, giving Rowan’s hand a final squeeze. “Chris is walking me down the aisle first, if that’s ok. We’ll walk as fast as possible.”
“Walk slow. Enjoy it,” Rowan said. “It’s not like they can start without me.”
Cammie handed me a delicate bouquet of roses, peonies, and eucalyptus wrapped in a cream satin ribbon. I immediately gagged at the smell. Poppy, Rowan, and Rose thankfully didn’t notice, but Cammie frowned.
“This isn’t normal,” she hissed in my ear as we walked to the elevator.
“Today has been the worst,” I whispered back.
“You should see a doctor, Lauren.”
“I just need to lie down. Let me get through the ceremony, pictures, and the bridal party entrance. I’ll skip the rest of the reception if I still feel bad. Except when you sing. I can’t miss that.”
The worry didn’t leave her eyes. “Fine, but I’m grabbing Dr. Evers during the reception if you don’t start keeping water down.”
Dr. Evers had been my GP since middle school. He was the last doctor I wanted to tell about my current condition, but I had to admit, I felt pretty weak.
I nodded and we climbed into the waiting elevator. I held my breath since the combined scent of all our bouquets in such a small space was bound to set me off. The pounding that had started in my head an hour ago intensified. My vision dimmed when the doors slid open on the ground floor. I burst into the lobby and took a few deep breaths.
A woman in a hotel uniform came running toward us with a bottle of pink liquid. Cammie shot toward her and said something to the woman, who smiled at me and turned back toward the front desk.
“Can’t risk a spill now,” Cammie said, brightly. “Lauren and I will come back before pictures.”
“I’m fine,” I said, yet again.
This time, everyone looked at me with concern.
“Let’s go,” I said. “You know Cal will worry if we’re late.”
That lit a fire under their asses. We headed outside, and the fresh air made my stomach feel a smidge less wobbly.
When we reached the ceremony site, we stood behind an extra tall hedge that hid us from everyone. Soft music filtered through from a string quartet, the perfect, sweet accompaniment for Rowan’s moment to shine. Chris joined us to escort Rose. He seemed far more relaxed than when he offered to walk his sister down the aisle. As soon as he returned, Cammie stepped into view of everyone and started down the aisle, which was really just a grassy gap between chairs. Cal and Rowan had tried to keep the wedding intimate with only fifty guests, but it felt like half of Peace Falls was in attendance.
I plastered on a smile when Cammie was halfway down the aisle and begged the universe to let me get through the ceremony without throwing up. Rose had built a beautiful floral arch for Cal and Rowan to stand under and exchange their vows with a glorious mountain view behind them. I set my eyes on the flowers and walked ahead. By the time I took my place beside Cammie, Poppy was halfway down the aisle and already crying.
Cammie sniffed behind me, and I bit my tongue. Crying upset my stomach when I wasn’t pregnant. I needed to avoid tears at all costs. I made the mistake of looking across the aisle. Theo’s eyes were glassy, and Cal looked close to losing it. Aiden, however, stared right at me, his face void of any emotion. I locked eyes with him and missed the music change that signaled Rowan’s entrance.
A collective gasp rose from the audience, and I turned to face my best friend as she floated down the aisle. Rowan was luminous. The setting sun bathed her red hair and creamy skin in a warm glow. I’d never seen anyone look so beautiful or so happy. Chris beamed beside her like he’d walked a hundred brides down the aisle and saved the best for last. I faced the groomsmen when Rowan stepped under the floral arch. Despite the bride’s arrival, Aiden’s gaze remained on me. The intensity of his stare made my checks flush. I returned my attention to the happy couple and let myself sink into the moment.
After a disastrous first marriage, my bestie had finally found someone to share her life with who actually deserved her. In high school, she’d been too shy to even speak in Cal’s presence. Now they held hands, ready to commit their lives to each other. Rowan kept it together until Cal recited his vows. When she started crying, I couldn’t stop my own tears. As they promised to love one another for the rest of their days, I felt an unexpected surge of sadness.
I never wanted to get married. In my experience, depending on another person made you half as strong. But seeing Rowan and Cal together led me to the depressing conclusion that marriage could actually work for some people, just not for me.
Cal and Rowan kissed, and I cheered with everyone else as they started down the aisle. Aiden stepped toward me as Poppy and Theo followed the bride and groom, his expression unreadable. I looped my arm in his, just as we’d done during the rehearsal, but he surprised me by laying his left hand over mine. The gesture felt intimate, yet oddly reassuring. I melted toward him as my muscles relaxed.
When we came to the row of hedges that separated us from the audience, I pulled my arm away, but he gripped my hand. “Let me walk you to a chair,” he said, concern obvious in his voice.
My stomach dropped. How did he know? Cammie wouldn’t have told him, would she? Had he somehow suspected it like she had? The man did have a lot of nieces and nephews and seemed pretty close with his sisters. He’d been around pregnant women his entire adult life.
I opened my mouth to speak but gagged. He pulled a plastic bag from his suit pocket, which I promptly used. Guess the universe took me at my word. When I looked up, Aiden’s face had taken on a slightly green color as he stared up at the sky.
He sucked a few breaths in his nose and out his mouth before looking back at me. “Sorry, I have a weak stomach.”
“How did you—” Small black dots formed at the edge of my vision and my legs wobbled.
Cammie rushed over and took the bag from me. “Let’s get her inside, Aiden,” she said, taking hold of my other arm.
“I’m—” I started.
“Don’t you say it,” Cammie said, shaking her head. “You’re paler than Poppy.”
They shoved me in a chair as soon as we entered the small room the hotel had set aside for the bridal party while everyone else headed to the cocktail hour.
“Please stop making a big deal,” I said weakly. “I don’t want Rowan to see.”
Cammie pulled up a chair beside me, and Aiden found one as well. “Now we’re just three people having a conversation,” she said. She gave me a look full of meaning.
I turned to Aiden. “Thank you for helping me.”
He nodded.
In the silence that followed, Cammie looked between us and let out a huff. “I’m getting Dr. Evers. Keep an eye on her, Aiden.”
I wasn’t telling him about the baby during Rowan’s wedding. As soon as Cammie took off, I started to stand.
“Sit,” Aiden said in a commanding voice.
“I’m not a dog,” I said, rising to my feet.
He grabbed my arm and stared up at me with so much concern in his piercing eyes my breath caught. “I know you don’t want to take any attention from Rowan and Cal. Passing out is the fastest way to do that.”
Aiden kept a firm hold on my arm while I sank back onto the chair. He let go, only to press his fingers to my wrist.
“What are you doing?” I asked and attempted to pull my arm away.
“Checking your pulse. I see dehydration all the time on job sites.”
“Oh.” I stopped fighting him, and he bent closer and held his fingers to my wrist.
“It’s a little fast,” he said after a while. His touch lightened, his fingers almost caressing as he pulled them from my arm. He glanced up at me through his thick lashes and pressure built between my thighs. I’d felt so bad earlier, I hadn’t noticed how devastatingly handsome he was in a suit.
“How did you know?” I asked in a voice so breathless I should have been embarrassed.
“Poppy told me. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Lauren. It happens to everyone.”
Poppy thought I had food poisoning. Which meant Aiden did too. Part of me was relieved he didn’t know about the baby, but I felt every bit of the weight of the secret I kept from him.
He must have seen something in my expression because he reached out and took my hand. “Hey, it’s OK. Cal and Rowan are having the time of their lives. They don’t have a clue you’re not doing well. Look.”
Across the room, Cal and Rowan spoke softly with each other, stealing a private moment while surrounded by their best friends.
I let out a relieved breath. “I just need to get through pictures and the reception entrance.”
“I’ll help you however I can.”
“Thanks, Aiden,” Cammie said brightly, with Dr. Evers at her side. “We’ll take it from here.”
He rose reluctantly and crossed the room to where Poppy and Theo stood, but his eyes never left me.
“I filled him in,” Cammie whispered.
“Can we go somewhere else?” I asked. Now Poppy and Theo had joined Aiden in staring. Rowan and Cal would break out of their love bubble any moment and notice Dr. Evers.
Cammie and Dr. Evers helped me stand, and the three of us snuck out the door and across the hall to a small conference room. I felt so tired. I wanted to lie down on the ornate carpet and sleep.
Dr. Evers got right to work. “Cammie said you’re five weeks pregnant and haven’t been able to keep down water.”
I nodded. His tone was matter of fact, but he had to have been shocked to learn I was pregnant. Everyone in town knew I was single. Whatever he felt when Cammie told him, he’d pushed it down and was acting like we were in one of his exam rooms, not seated at a hotel conference table mid-wedding.
“When was your last bout of morning sickness before this?”
“I feel sick all the time, but I kept down chicken broth yesterday.”
“And before that?”
“Some water and a couple of crackers the day before. It’s been like that all week. It usually got better long enough I could keep something down. Until today.”
“Are you taking anything for the nausea?
I shook my head. “I didn’t think I could.”
“Ginger tea. Anything like that?”
“That doesn’t seem to help.”
“She almost fainted,” Cammie added. “Right after the ceremony.”
“Any headaches?” the doctor asked.
I nodded.
Dr. Evers sighed. “You’re showing clear signs of dehydration, Lauren. You need IV fluids.”
“But it’s Rowan’s wedding,” I said. “Just let me take pictures with her. She’ll notice if I miss those. Then I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
Dr. Evers studied me a moment longer and nodded. “As soon as the pictures are done, I want you in your room resting. A friend of mine has a practice in the area. I’ll see if I can get what I need to do the IV here at the hotel. We might even get you back to the reception for a bit after it’s done, if you feel up to it. But Lauren, you need to call your OB/GYN first thing Monday morning. Dehydration can become dangerous fast.”
I’d been so focused on how I felt, I hadn’t stopped to consider what it meant for the baby. Plenty of women get morning sickness. I figured there was nothing to worry about but my own suffering.
“The baby?” I asked, suddenly feeling panicked.
“Will be fine,” he said, patting my hand. “If I thought either of you were in danger, I’d be calling an ambulance, wedding or not. After some fluids and rest, you should feel much better.”
“Thank you,” I said, giving him a weak smile. “You have free lattes for life, doc.”
He smiled at me kindly. “Let’s get you back before anyone notices.”
When we returned to the small room, everyone had left but Aiden. Dr. Evers smiled at him, his eyes sparking liked he’d just guessed his daily Wordle on the first try.
“Dr. Evers is giving me an IV to help with the food poisoning,” I blurted. “After the pictures.”
“Yes,” Dr. Evers said, looking between Aiden and me with obvious disappointment. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Keep an eye on her, young man.”
“I got you,” Aiden said, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. “My pockets are full of plastic bags.”
I smiled at him, but my eyes burned with tears.
“Everything’s going to be all right,” he said.
I had to remind myself he didn’t know enough to believe that was anything but true.