Anticipation For The Baby
Harper had gone out for a quick coffee run to escape the heavy atmosphere at home. She was walking back to her car in the upscale outdoor plaza when she almost collided with someone.
“Harper?”
Harper looked up and froze. Camilla stood in front of her, looking elegant in a cream coat and sunglasses, though her eyes held a sharp, calculating glint.
“Camilla,” Harper said coolly, not bothering to hide her displeasure. “What are you doing here?”
Camilla offered a small, knowing smile. “Just running errands. But this is perfect timing. I’ve been meaning to talk to you again.”
Harper crossed her arms. “I already told you on the phone, I’m not interested. I have enough problems with my own marriage and in-laws. I don’t have time to play games with you about Emery.”
Camilla didn’t back down. She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“I know you’re angry. But think about it.
That woman is destroying your family from the inside.
She has Alexander wrapped around her finger, and now Jesse is defending her like she’s his own wife.
Don’t you see it? She’s playing both your brothers. ”
Harper’s jaw tightened. She remembered the forehead kiss she had witnessed: Jesse’s gentle hand on Emery’s cheek, the tenderness in his eyes. The image had been haunting her for days.
She didn’t answer right away.
Camilla noticed the hesitation and pressed gently. “Harper, I’m not asking you to do anything extreme. I just want to expose her for what she really is. A liar and a manipulator. If we work together, we can make sure she loses everything she stole from me… and from you.”
Harper looked away for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. Her mind raced.
Emery was playing both her brothers. Jesse’s behavior had become too protective, too intimate. The way he looked at her… it wasn’t normal for a brother-in-law.
She turned back to Camilla, voice lower. “Do you know who Emery was dating before she married Alexander? She must have had a boyfriend. If we can find that man and make him claim the child is his… she would be thrown out in no time. Alexander would have no choice but to divorce her.”
Camilla’s eyes lit up with interest, but she shook her head slowly.
“I don’t know who she was seeing,” she admitted.
“She was very quiet about her personal life. But I can dig into it. I still have contacts from before. If she had a serious boyfriend, someone must know. We can find him, pressure him, offer him money if needed. Once the paternity is questioned publicly, the whole Prescott family will turn on her.”
Harper was quiet for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. The anger toward Emery, combined with the growing suspicion about Jesse, was starting to tip the scale.
“I’m not promising anything yet,” Harper said finally, her tone guarded. “But… find out who that man was. If you can prove Emery was sleeping with someone else right before the wedding, then maybe… I’ll help you.”
Camilla smiled, slow and satisfied. “That’s all I need. I’ll start digging today. I’ll call you when I have something.”
Harper gave a curt nod and walked past her without another word.
As she got into her car, her grip on the steering wheel was tight.
If Emery really was playing both her brothers…
Then Harper would make sure she paid for it.
×××××××
Ivy was practically bouncing with excitement as she led Emery down the hallway on the second floor. “Come on, I want to show you something!”
Emery followed her curiously, one hand resting on her bump. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Ivy said with a grin. She stopped in front of a closed door and pushed it open with a flourish. “Ta-da!”
The room was currently empty: just bare walls, polished dark wood floors, and large windows letting in plenty of natural light. It had clearly been prepared as a potential nursery but was still completely untouched.
Emery stepped inside slowly, eyes widening. “This is…”
“The nursery!” Ivy finished happily. “Well, it will be. The painters are coming tomorrow to do the walls. I was thinking soft gray with one accent wall in a gentle navy blue. Then we can add warm wooden furniture, some cute prints, and maybe a beautiful mobile above the crib. What do you think?”
Emery turned in a slow circle, imagining the space filled with tiny clothes, a crib, and soft rugs. Her expression softened with emotion.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered. “It’s so much bigger than I expected. There’s even room for a rocking chair by the window.”
Ivy beamed, clearly pleased with herself. “Right? I measured everything. We can put the crib against that wall so the baby gets morning light but not directly in their face. And over here,” she gestured to the opposite side “...we can have a changing table and shelves for books and toys.”
Emery walked over to the window and looked out at the garden. “I can already picture feeding him here in the mornings… watching the trees.”
Ivy came to stand beside her, voice gentler now. “I know Mom said it was too early, but I didn’t want to wait. You’ve been through so much, Emery. You deserve to have something nice and ready for the baby. Something that feels like it belongs to you… and to him.”
Emery’s eyes glistened. She turned to Ivy and pulled her into a gentle hug.
“Thank you,” she said softly, voice thick with emotion. “This means more than you know. I was starting to feel like this baby was just… something happening to me. But seeing this empty room… it makes him feel real. Like he’s actually coming home to us.”
Ivy hugged her back carefully, smiling against Emery’s shoulder. “He is coming home. And when he does, this room is going to be beautiful. We can go shopping together for the crib and clothes whenever you feel up to it. Jesse can help carry the heavy stuff.”
Emery let out a small, teary laugh. “Jesse would probably buy the entire store if I let him.”
Ivy pulled back and winked. “Exactly. So let’s keep it between us for now. We’ll surprise everyone when it’s done.”
Emery nodded, placing both hands on her bump as she looked around the empty room once more.
“Thank you, Ivy. Really.”
Ivy grinned, looping her arm through Emery’s. “Anything for my future nephew and his amazing mom.”
They stood there together for a little longer, dreaming about the nursery that would soon welcome a little boy who was already so deeply loved even if the world didn’t fully know it yet.
×××××××
The house was quiet and still. It was late, and most of the lights had been turned off. Emery had slipped into Jesse’s room after everyone went to bed, telling herself it was only for a few minutes.
She was sitting on the edge of his bed, legs crossed, while Jesse knelt on the floor in front of her. He had one of her feet in his lap, gently massaging it with slow, careful strokes. The bump rested between them like a precious secret.
Emery sighed happily, leaning back on her hands. “You’re going to spoil me.”
Jesse looked up at her with a soft, crooked smile, his dark eyes warm. “That’s the plan.”
She bit her lip to hide a grin, watching him. “You’re really good at this. Where did you learn?”
“I watched a video,” he admitted, a little shy. “Three videos, actually. I wanted to get it right.”
Emery’s heart melted. She reached out and brushed a strand of his dark hair away from his forehead. “You’re such a dork.”
“Your dork,” he murmured without thinking, then paused, realizing what he’d said. He glanced up at her, almost nervous.
Emery’s cheeks flushed pink, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she let her fingers linger near his temple.
Jesse continued the massage, his thumbs pressing gently into the arch of her foot. After a moment, he spoke again, voice low and full of quiet wonder.
“Sometimes I catch myself thinking about him… our little boy. I wonder if he’ll have your smile. Or your eyes. God, I hope he has your eyes.”
Emery’s expression turned impossibly soft. “And I hope he has your badass energy. And your protective heart.”
Jesse chuckled quietly. “Poor kid. He’s going to be trouble.”
“The best kind of trouble,” she whispered.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Jesse kept massaging her feet, occasionally glancing up at her like he still couldn’t believe she was really here with him. Emery watched him with quiet affection, her hand resting on her bump.
After a while, Jesse lifted her foot and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of it: soft, playful, and so full of love that Emery let out a surprised little laugh.
“Jesse!” she whispered, half-scolding, half-giggling.
He grinned up at her, eyes sparkling. “What? I'm adding the last touch to this massage.”
Emery covered her face with one hand, laughing softly. When she peeked through her fingers, Jesse was still looking at her with that same adoring expression.
“Come here,” she said quietly, opening her arms a little.
Jesse moved up onto the bed beside her. He didn’t pull her into a full embrace, he knew the boundaries, but he sat close enough that their shoulders touched. Emery leaned her head against his shoulder, and he rested his cheek on top of her head.
For a long moment, they just breathed together.
“I love you,” Jesse whispered, so softly she almost didn’t hear it. “Even like this. Even when I can’t say it out loud every day. I still love you.”
Emery closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. She didn’t say it back, but she turned her face into his shoulder and pressed a little closer.
And for tonight, that was enough.
×××××××