Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
BANE
“ M yers,” I called from my desk.
She appeared, carrying her notepad and pen, efficient as always.
And sad. So sad and trying to hide it.
I indicated the chair. “Sit, Maggie darling.”
She frowned but didn’t correct my using her pet name at the office.
“You look tired.”
She sighed. “I’m fine.”
I leaned forward. “Please stop being brave. You lost your father. Obviously, this anemia is worse than I thought?—”
“Why would you say that?”
“You’re pale. You sleep a lot. Your appetite is off. You’re highly emotional—understandably so, but still. You’re jumpy.” I listed all the things I’d noticed the past few days of careful observation.
“Maybe your overprotectiveness is making me emotional and jumpy,” she responded.
“Really?” I asked, amused at her instant anger. It happened frequently.
“Yes. You’re always watching me. It makes me nervous.”
“That’s interesting since, until I said something a moment ago, I don’t think you were even aware I was watching you.”
She stood. “You know what? I am tired. You’re tiring me today.”
“Then maybe you should go home and relax. We’ll start again in the morning.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m going to the apartment.”
I rose from my chair. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
She lifted her chin, defiant. “That’s what I want.”
I decided not to argue. There was a quiver to her chin, and her eyes, although flashing with anger, were troubled. “Fine. Darryl will drive you.”
She turned and walked away, and I heard her getting her coat. I called Darryl, who stayed close these days.
“She’ll be down in a few moments. Take her to the apartment.” I paused. “Could you pick her up some ramen from that place down the block from her? With chicken and a spring roll?”
That was her favorite, and if Darryl gave it to her, I knew she would eat it. There wasn’t much left at her place, and I needed to know she would eat something.
“Of course.”
I hung up, hearing the outer door close. I knew she was upset if she didn’t at least say goodbye. I sighed, leaning back in my chair and rubbing my eyes. I knew without a doubt I would end up at her place later, too worried to stay away.
Ten minutes later, my phone rang, and I picked it up. “Darryl?”
“Is she coming soon?”
I frowned. “She should be down there already.”
“Nope. I was out front when you called, and she hasn’t shown up.”
I hung up and checked the app I had on my phone. The new one I’d gotten her let me track her, and although she’d laughed when I installed it, she allowed me to do so. Her light blinked and was slowly moving away, and I groaned. I called her number, and she answered, the background noise affirming what I already suspected.
“Really, Myers? You took the bus?”
“I wanted to be alone.”
“You’ll hurt Darryl’s feelings when I tell him that.” I rubbed my eyes. “Only you would want to take public transportation instead of a comfortable town car to prove a point.”
“What point would that be?”
“That you’re independent and can handle the world on your own. I know you can, Maggie darling. But you don’t have to,” I added softly, unable to be angry with her.
“Until you stop caring,” she replied, so quiet I almost missed it.
I was shocked into silence. That was what she thought?
“Magnolia—”
“I have to go. I’ll see you later.”
She hung up, but I heard the tears in her voice. I stared at the phone, then called Darryl and told him she had taken the bus. He laughed, not at all put out.
“Stubborn,” he said. “I’ll wait a bit and take her some food.”
“Thanks.”
I returned to my computer, determined to finish the concept I was working on. But all I could see, all I could think about, was Magnolia. The pain she was hiding. It was more than losing her father. But what it was, I didn’t know. I had tried to corner her doctor at her father’s get-together, but she told me nothing except to look after Magnolia.
And I was trying, but it felt as if she was pushing me away to prove a point. And the only point I could come up with was to prove she didn’t need me.
I gave up and shut off my computer, determined to go and see her and hash this out once and for all. I reached for my phone then recalled Darryl was going to take her food, so I decided to grab a cab. Outside, I walked to the curb, about to raise my arm, when I heard my name being called.
I turned to see Sam heading my way. He took one look at me and grabbed my arm. “Come with me, Bane. You look like you need a drink and an ear. Luckily, both are available.”
Sam stared at me after I finished talking. Blathering was more like it. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Magnolia, my worries, my fears, everything came out. Her father’s death, the sadness and worry in her eyes, the way I felt she was pulling away from me. Her anemia and how pale she was.
“Who is her doctor?”
“Wilson. Hannah Wilson.”
He nodded. “Good physician. She’s in capable hands.” He took a sip of his beer. “You know, Bane, grief is a funny thing. Everyone reacts differently to it. You’ve never experienced it in your adult life or been around it. It could just be that.”
“It’s more,” I insisted.
He leaned back, draping his arm along the top of the booth. “And you care?”
“Of course I do.”
“Why?”
I stared at him.
“Could it be because you love her?”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks.
I blinked as I repeated the words in my head.
Love her.
Love Magnolia.
I loved Magnolia Myers.
Holy shit.
All of the worry, the questions, the wonder, the joy—all of it made sense.
I fucking loved her.
Sam chuckled. “That was quite the epiphany.” He took another sip. “Perhaps you need to tell the lady.”
I sat back, still in shock. “I know.”
The thought of saying those words made me anxious. Of what they meant to my life, of the power they could give a person.
Except it was Magnolia I would say them to. My Maggie darling.
Suddenly, I wasn’t anxious because of the words. I was anxious to say them. To see the wonder on her face. To know I could make her feel the way I did when she said them to me.
Incredible. Invincible. Alive.
“As for the anemia, I’m sure Dr. Wilson has it in hand. Magnolia needs to watch her diet, take her supplements, and get lots of rest.”
“I make sure she takes her pills every day. I bought her a dispenser. In fact—” I paused as I dug in my pocket for my phone “—I took a picture of the bottles so I could pick up more to make sure she doesn’t run out. I haven’t had a chance to look at it,” I snorted. “She doesn’t even like me to see them, so she keeps them in her drawer.” I showed the picture to Sam, who studied it, looked at me, then back at the picture.
“You said she is sleeping a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Emotional.”
“Yes.”
“Has she been ill?”
“Her appetite is off.” I frowned. “Why?”
“And Dr. Wilson gave her these?”
“Yes. What is it?”
He shook his head in amusement. “Buddy, I have no idea how to tell you this… She may be anemic, but your girl is also pregnant.”
I gaped at him. “Impossible. She’s on birth control pills.”
“Which is not one hundred percent effective. Even if you wear a condom, plus the pills, she could still get pregnant.”
“What?”
He grinned. “The only sure way not to get pregnant is to practice abstinence. Which I know you haven’t been doing.” He tapped the picture, enlarging it. He showed me the labels. “Along with her other supplements, these are prenatal vitamins. Dr. Wilson would only give them to her if she was pregnant.”
I sat frozen. Pregnant.
Magnolia was pregnant ?
She hadn’t told me. Why hasn’t she told me?
Sam looked at me, serious. “Did you tell her you didn’t want kids? The whole you wouldn’t make a good dad bullshit concept?”
“Yes.”
“That’s why she hasn’t told you. Why she’s distancing herself. She thinks she’s going to have to do this alone.”
He studied me. “Is she right, Bane?”
I thought of Magnolia pregnant. Rounded and glowing. Carrying our child. My child.
The intense feeling of protectiveness and need overwhelmed me. I had to get to her.
“Fuck no.” I jumped from my seat. “Pay for the drinks. I owe you.”
He grinned, waving me off. “Go get your girl.”
Her apartment was dim when I let myself in. Quiet. I shrugged off my coat, looking at Magnolia asleep on the chaise. Evidence of her tears was on her damp cheeks. She was clutching a blanket, a frown on her face. The unopened bag of food Darryl had brought her was on the coffee table.
All the way here, I kept going through all the information in my head. The signs I missed. I was horrified, thinking of the thoughts Magnolia must have been having all this time. How alone she must have felt. The insecurity and worry for the future. Add in the grief she was feeling—no wonder she was so emotional and exhausted.
And yet, with all the concern and fear in my head, one thought kept pushing through.
She was pregnant. With my child.
And the idea of it made me so incredibly happy, I could barely contain it.
I bent over her, kissing her cheek, nuzzling the damp skin, tasting her sadness. Her eyes fluttered open, widening when they saw me. “Bane?”
I smiled. “Alex. Only Alex from now on.”
“Um—”
“I have a question, Maggie darling. And I want you to tell me the truth. Do you promise?”
“Okay.”
I slid my hands under her, lifting her and sitting down, holding her against my chest. I tilted up her chin, holding her gaze.
“Are you pregnant?”
Her chin began to quiver, tears filling her eyes.
“Yes.”
I wrapped her in my embrace, holding her close.
“Good.”
MAGNOLIA
“Good.”
One word. That was all he said, yet it felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders.
Since the awful day my dad fell and I found out I was pregnant, my world had been dark, scary, and uncertain.
I had stared at Dr. Wilson, certain I had heard her wrong.
“How?” I whispered.
She shook her head. “You’re a smart girl, Magnolia. You know the pill isn’t one hundred percent effective. Even using a condom doesn’t guarantee anything. Is the father in your life?” She indicated my hand. “Is he the giver of that promise?”
“Yes, but he doesn’t want kids.”
“Well, then you’ll have to change his mind. Love has a way of doing that.”
I didn’t know how to tell her he didn’t love me.
He cared. Even adored. But not loved.
When Dad died, Bane had been incredible. Helping me at every turn. Holding me when I cried. Standing beside me, always patient. But I wondered how he would look at me when I told him about the baby.
The baby I would keep, no matter what. With Dad passing, the rest of the money from the house sale could be used as a nest egg. I could find another job, maybe even in the company. Surely Bane wouldn’t banish me totally.
I missed my dad terribly. The comfort that he was no longer in pain or forgetting the life he’d had offered me little relief most days. Other days, I clung to it.
I clung to Bane. But every day I didn’t tell him, I felt worse. Every day, I longed to blurt it out, and in my greatest fantasy, he would be pleased. Happy. It was reality that kept my mouth shut.
But as I’d looked around my little apartment earlier, half packed up, I knew I had to tell him. No matter his reaction, he had the right to know. And once he did, I would know what I had to do next. For my baby. Myself.
But Bane—Alex—was holding me, whispering soft words of tenderness and care.
I looked up into his blue eyes, shocked at what I saw. Nothing but love. It blazed brighter than any anger I had ever seen.
“I don’t understand.”
He smiled. “I’m an idiot, as Sam pointed out. I was so certain I couldn’t love, I refused to admit what was right in front of my face. You. I love you so much, Maggie darling. I have from the moment you bowled me over and made me laugh. I felt as if I began to live once you were around. You bring everything bright and good into my life.” He laid his hand on my stomach. “Including this little surprise.”
“You said you didn’t want?—”
He shook his head. “Like I said, an idiot. I was afraid to have kids in case I treated them the way my mother treated me. I held tight to one lesson she drummed into my head. Not to love. Not to rely on someone. Those were the lessons I should have ignored.” He paused, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear in a tender gesture. “You have taught me to love. To be open. I can do better than she can.”
“I know.”
“Tell me how,” he asked, his tone almost pleading.
I cupped his cheek, loving how he leaned into my touch. “You’re a good man, Alex. You’re intelligent and thoughtful. You take care of people around you without even thinking about it. You treat your partners well. You’re a trusted friend. You hide your goodness under a grumpy exterior, to keep people away, but you care about them.” I smiled. “You’re a deeply beloved fiancé. You’ll be a good dad. I know it. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I won’t be like her—I know that now. You would never let me. And I can’t be because, unlike her, I can love. I do love. I love you. I love the nugget.”
“The nugget?”
“The baby.”
“You pick awful names.”
He grinned. “I pick great names. Hedgy, Nugget, and Maggie darling. All excellent choices.”
I shook my head, and he lowered his voice. “I love you.”
“Really?” I whispered. “You’re not just saying that because you feel bad?”
“You want to know a secret, Maggie darling?”
I nodded, the tears beginning to glimmer in my eyes.
“I send you the flowers every week.”
I blinked. “What?”
He picked up a pen and scribbled on a napkin. “It’s not Ty. It's T.Y. Short for thank you.”
I blinked again.
“It wasn’t what I told the kid to write on the card. He shortened it. You were so confused, it made me smile. All your sleuthing trying to figure it out amused me.”
“Why did you send me flowers?”
“At first, because you deserved them. It was only going to be the one time to say thank you. But the way you reacted—as if the flowers were the best gift you had ever received—I had to keep sending them. And the more you meant to me, the bigger the flowers became. You were right from the first run-in, Magnolia. You were, you are, perfect for me. Personally, professionally. In every way. I wanted you to know, yet somehow the mystery made it even better.”
“You acted miffed every time they were delivered.”
“I was a little pissed this Ty person was getting all the credit.”
I laughed. “But he didn’t exist. You just let me think he did.”
“I had to—I didn’t know how to tell you it was me. But I loved seeing your reactions. The way you touched the petals. Took the flowers home.” His lips twitched. “Your concerns about poor Ty and his girlfriend never getting the flowers he sent.” He chuckled. “I was sure you’d figure it out.”
I shook my head. “I wondered at one point, but it was too out of character for you.”
“You are too out of character for me. It’s another reason I love you so much.”
“That is the grandest gesture I’ve ever heard of. A little twisted when I think about it, too. Over the top.”
“I am over the top when it comes to you.”
I sniffled. “So, you’ll stop sending them?”
“Nope. I want to be your secret admirer. I liked the way you would smile when the bouquets arrived. Excited, yet worried. When they were late, you were disappointed. I loved watching your reactions.” He cupped my face. “I love you, Magnolia Myers soon-to-be Bane.”
A sob escaped my mouth. “I love you.”
He smiled. “Can we start now? Living our life? Come home with me. Let me move your things. Stay.”
“Yes.”
He bent and kissed me, his lips tender. Everything was in that touch. His love, his devotion, his promise.
“And I’m coming to the doctor.”
“I know.”
“Add it to the schedule.”
“I will.”
“And marry me, Maggie darling. Soon.”
I sighed, snuggling closer. “Okay.”
He huffed a breath. “Finally, some cooperation.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He smiled, then tickled my chin. “Never. And by the way, when you were listing my attributes a few moments ago, you didn’t say I was a good boss. To you.”
I bit my lip. “Maybe we should just leave it.”
“Magnolia…”
I laughed, and he joined me.
“Good man, good husband, good dad,” I murmured.
“And?” he said, lowering his voice.
“Good boss. My favorite boss.”
He smiled widely, tucking me close. “I’ll take it.”
“Good.”