Six
Six
Like anyone else, Hailey had been sick before, but this flu was kicking her ass. It’d been almost a week of lying in bed or throwing up. In tiny, little degrees, she was starting to feel human again. Mostly.
Wes was, without a doubt, the sweetest and most caring man she’d ever met. As if he’d felt her thinking about him, he came into the en suite off their bedroom with a cup of tea. Hailey unplugged the curling iron, meeting his gaze in the mirror.
“Are you sure you need to go in today?” he asked, setting the tea on the counter.
“Wes. I’m fine,” she said, turning in to him.
He worried more than he let on but she could read him so easily now. His arms banded around her as he scooped her up closer to him. Happiness crashed over her and she hoped they never lost this bone-deep love and appreciation for each other.
“You’ve barely been out of bed in a week,” he reminded her, as if she could forget.
Hailey pulled back. “And I’ve been going stir-crazy doing nothing. I’m going in to do some inventory and then meeting the girls at Baked. We’re going to do some last-minute shopping.”
Wes regarded her with his watchful blue eyes, like he was scanning for signs that she wasn’t well enough to go.
Laughing as she poked him in the shoulder, she went up on her tiptoes. “Stop. I’m fine.” She kissed him, welcoming the little thrill of anticipation that came with being close to him, with feeling her mouth on hers. A week of being sick meant it’d been too long.
Wes pulled back gently and stroked a hand down her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you back.”
They started at each other for a moment and she knew they both had silly grins on their faces.
“Grab your tea. I want to show you something,” he said.
With her tea in hand, she padded behind him, out of their bedroom, past the twinkle lights and mistletoe he’d hung in the hallway to surprise her, through the living area, and down a smaller hallway to their library/office.
She felt like she hadn’t seen other areas of the house in almost seven days. Which, really, she hadn’t. At some point over the last week, Wes had added a smaller whiteboard to the room, so now the two created an L shape.
Hailey grinned, walking closer with the mug warming her hands. Wes had lists taped up to the second board that listed all the things that needed to be done for the wedding, broken into time chunks.
Standing beside her, he pointed to the heading that read: SIX MONTHS PRIOR TO THE BIG DAY .
“We are not only on schedule but slightly ahead of it. I don’t want the invites getting lost in the mail and we’ve already sent save-the-date cards, so we can wait until the new year for this one.”
He tapped the spot that read: send out invites . Hailey scanned the rest of the list.
√ Book florist
√ Book band or DJ (he’d circled band)
√ Schedule tastings (cake)
√ Book rehearsal dinner venue
√ Book wedding venue
√ Dress (alteration bookings should be scheduled)
√ Tuxedos (alteration bookings should be scheduled)
√ Honeymoon
Taking a sip of her tea—vanilla and honey, her favorite—she smiled at him. “You’ve been busy.”
He slipped one arm around her waist, looking at the board. “We both have. I hope you don’t mind but I asked the venue if we could have the rehearsal dinner there as well. It seemed…” he started and then looked at her, his grin a little crooked.
“Efficient?” Hailey asked, not hiding her laughter.
“Well, it is,” he said.
“It’s wonderful. What were you thinking for our honeymoon?”
Wes dropped his hand, took her tea from her and set it on the desk. “Where have you always dreamed of going?”
“You’ve been everywhere, haven’t you?” She stepped into him, realizing she was more tired than she expected. Which was annoying as hell because she’d done nothing but rest this week.
“Not everywhere. And it doesn’t matter because wherever I go with you will feel brand new,” he said, kissing the crown of her head.
Tears filled her eyes as she tipped her head back and looked up at him.
His eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head, feeling silly for the tears. “Nothing. I just love you so much.”
He kissed her softly and whispered that he loved her too, but she saw the hint of worry in his gaze.
“I should go,” Hailey said. The urge to crawl back into bed was so strong, she figured the only way she’d stop herself was if she left.
“Don’t push too hard, okay?”
Hailey laughed and kissed his cheek. “Sure. Same goes for you.”
Hailey pressed the tines of her fork into the crumbs on the plate, intent on getting every last bit of cinnamon crumble. Tara, who owned Baked and was in their friend circle, laughed as she picked up her mug of tea.
“I’m very happy to see you’re enjoying the Christmas crumble coffee cake,” she said.
“It’s no brownie but it’s pretty yum,” Stacey, Everly’s best friend said.
Hailey had met Everly and Stacey before meeting Wes’s brothers. Early on in her friendship with Wes, she’d attended a get-together at Noah and Grace’s house, so she’d been able to meet everyone. Sometimes, the group of them together reminded her of the show Friends . It felt good to have so many people in her life, the kind of friends that became family. Though, soon, in six months, some of them actually would be family.
“You got your appetite back quicker than me,” Everly said. Her quiet voice suited her soft, sweet personality. “I don’t think I ate much for about a week after I was feeling better.”
“I ate plain toast for two weeks straight,” Grace said. She slid her fork through a piece of pie.
Hailey grabbed her bottle of water from the table and took a long drink. She set it down and smiled at her friends. “I’m tired and queasy still but that doesn’t seem to have impacted my appetite. I’m trying not to go up and get a second piece. I want to make up for all the food I missed this week.”
The girls laughed as Tara stood, gathering the plates. “I can pack some up for you for home, if you want.”
The idea made her mouth water. “Yes, please.”
Stacey took her final bite of her brownie before pointing her fork toward Hailey. “You should add more dessert cups to your menu. Like baby sizes. Just a shot of sugar in the form of cake, whipped cream, and chocolate.”
Hailey laughed with the others, but it could be a fun idea or way to pull more customers in. Currently, she offered a few sweeter cups made with yogurt and fruit.
“Uh-oh,” Everly teased. “You’ve got her brain spinning now.”
Hailey smiled. “You know how they offer pup cups at ice cream places? It’d be kind of fun and unique to offer sample-sized sweet cups. For babies or little kids or, like you said, just a little shot of sweetness.”
The others were quick to agree and pitch more suggestions, but something about the conversation nagged at Hailey’s brain even as another wave of nausea hit her. Babies. Little kids. Babies. Her forehead wrinkled as she tried to remember when her period was due.
“You okay?” Grace asked, catching Hailey’s attention.
She startled, lost in her thoughts, which were quickly spiraling down a nursery-themed rabbit hole. No. She’d had the flu like everyone else.
“You should be careful,” Everly cautioned. “Your stomach might not be as ready as you think for food.”
Hailey looked at her and nodded but too many thoughts were crowding her head to actually respond.
“Hey, how was babysitting the other night?” Grace asked. “I think I might have a touch of baby fever. I’m not sure I want to have kids yet but I definitely need to hold a baby.”
Stacey laughed loudly. “Words I’ve never said.”
“You don’t want kids?” Grace asked.
Stacey shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it much.”
“I do,” Everly said quietly. “But not yet.”
“How about you, Hails?”
Nerves bounced around her rib cage in a zigzag pattern, stealing her breath. “I don’t even know if Wes wants kids. I mean, I just sort of assumed he did, but we were watching Piper’s kids a few weeks ago and he was so reluctant to even go near the baby. I mean, what if he doesn’t? And I do.”
Grace reached over and squeezed Hailey’s hand. “Sweetie, you look so concerned. It’s okay not to know right now. You can talk to him.”
Stacey leaned in. “I’m sure Wes wants whatever you want. That man looks like he’s been struck by lightning every time you walk in a room.”
Tears threatened again, amping up the intensity of her nerves. She wasn’t really a crier. She forced a smile.
“One major life moment at a time. I’m getting married in just under six months and Wes and I have almost every tiny detail locked into place.”
Like they sensed that she needed it, they shifted the topic to Christmas dinner, gifts, who was visiting family, and how much they were looking forward to Hailey and Wes’s wedding.
But the thought wouldn’t leave her brain. It grew bigger and bigger until there was no room for anything else. She missed her cues to laugh, forgot to respond to the conversations, and ended up bailing on their shopping trip.
Alone, in the quiet of her town house—Wes was out grabbing them dinner—she sat on the counter in the bathroom, staring at the pregnancy test she’d picked up on her way home. Her fingers shook as she picked it up, opened it, and read the instructions.
She had to believe that no matter what, she and Wes were solid. But she couldn’t forget how reluctant he was to even hold a baby. It’ll be different if it’s yours. He’d never wanted to fall in love or get married and here they were. So, it was possible that even if he hadn’t wanted children, he might if the test was positive.
“Or,” she whispered to herself. “It could send him running in the opposite direction.”
She didn’t want to believe that. In the end, she knew he’d do the right thing and take care of their child. But would it change everything between them? Would their fairy tale be over before they had a chance to truly begin?
Hailey was terrified to find out.