Chapter Seventeen
Taylor
Smooth sailing so far, both on the yacht and with Jack’s friends and sister. They were welcoming when we met and now we’re hanging out in what’s known as the cockpit, a large area with royal blue padded seating and a table.
The sun is shining overhead and the waters are calm, which keeps me as mellow as the people around me.
Jack had mentioned his guy friends know I’m pregnant but their significant others don’t.
He’s telling his family this weekend and wants Rainey to find out then.
I respect his choice and have no intention of sharing what he’s not ready to reveal.
We order a round of drinks and when the steward hands each of us our glasses, my mouth waters at the virgin pina colada in front of me. Rainey and Kaylee both ordered different frozen margaritas, theirs with alcohol.
Leaning forward, I take a sip. “Mmm.”
“You should try the drinks Mak makes. She’s one of Midnight’s bartenders,” Rainey says to me. “My company won the bid to plan the Miami Thunder anniversary party a couple of months ago, and she made specialty drinks for the event. The attendees loved them.”
I smile at her warmly. “I’ll do that.” Just not when I’m pregnant.
“It’s too bad you weren’t around for that event. My sister really knocked it out of the park,” Jack tells me.
Rainey, a gorgeous brunette with wavy hair around her face, smiles at her brother. “Aww, you like me. You really like me.”
Lucas, with an arm around her shoulders, squeezes her close. “Of course he does. You’re utterly loveable.”
They’re so sweet.
Jack snorts, obviously uncomfortable with the lovey-dovey behavior of his sister and her fiancé. He glances at Rainey. “Yeah, I do love you. And I was damned proud of you, too. The party was a huge success.”
I smile at their sibling dynamic. Holly and I support each other, but their byplay is sweet in its own way. “I’m sorry I missed it,” I say.
Tristan slings an arm around Kaylee’s shoulders. “It was a crazy day. First, Rainey’s stalker showed up and Rainey was able to catch her admission on tape, and then the party was fantastic,” he says.
“You had a stalker?” I ask, shocked.
She waves a hand through the air. “At the time it was scary, but it’s over, thank God.”
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
I’m not happy Rainey had someone after her, but it helps to know I’m not the only one going through something out of their control. It also tells me that Jack isn’t a stranger to his family having serious issues. Maybe I can trust him with mine.
It’s definitely something to think about.
Jack casually copies his friends and slides his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against him. “Rainey didn’t mention that while all this was going on, I was in Charleston, and she was sneaking around with one of my best friends.”
Rainey wrinkles her nose. “Oh, boo-hoo. It’s not like I was with someone you don’t like,” Rainey retorts. “And you got a solid punch in before you gave us your blessing. Which we shouldn’t have needed, by the way.”
I stifle a smile. “Kaylee, how did you and Tristan get together?” I ask.
I’m then regaled with the story of how they ended up sharing a room with one bed at a wedding they both attended. “You all live romance novel lives,” I tell them. In my spare time, I enjoy a good happily ever after. It helps take the sting out of my situation with Chandler.
“Says the woman who met a man who was visiting and is now here getting to know him better.” Kaylee grins, her pointed gaze on Jack, who is now tangling his fingers in my hair. “You never know what’s in store for you,” she says, a smile on her pretty face.
A heated blush rises to my cheeks. I know what I wish for. That Jack and I didn’t have Chandler coming between whatever romance could happen between us.
“I have your lunch,” the steward says, walking in with a tray of food.
He serves us a variety of shellfish and my stomach does a combination of churning at the smell and sinking at the meal a pregnant woman shouldn’t eat. I don’t know how well everything is cooked, and I know better than to try it. Even if it wasn’t turning my stomach.
Oh, God. I nudge Jack with my knee. “I’m sorry. I need the ladies’ room.” I all but kick him in my rush to get out of the seat where I’m trapped and run to the bathroom that had been pointed out to us when we were given the grand tour of the yacht.
Once again, I make it to a small bathroom just in time.
There’s going to come a day when my luck runs out.
I wait to make sure I’m really finished vomiting, then stand, washing my hands in the sink.
Luckily, there’s also mouthwash and cups, which lets me really clean up and feel ready to show my face again.
When I walk out, Jack is waiting for me. “Are you okay?” he asks. Lines of concern bracket his mouth.
“Yes. The smell of fish …” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t go back and eat it. It’s on the no list for pregnant women.”
“You’re pregnant?!” Rainey’s voice rises from around the corner as she steps out and we come face to face.
“Didn’t I tell you to not to run after them?” Lucas asks, pulling her against him. “Jack had it handled.”
“You knew.” Rainey draws a deep breath and turns to her fiancé. “You knew Taylor was pregnant with Jack’s baby, and you didn’t tell me?” She sounds hurt and I feel bad for her.
“You’re jumping to conclusions,” Jack tells his sister.
I rub my hands up and down my arms. The last thing I want to do is come between siblings. “I—”
Rainey pivots to face Jack and raises her eyebrows in a way that reminds me of her brother. “Are you telling me Taylor isn’t pregnant? Or that it’s not yours?”
Jack folds his arm across his chest. “I’m telling you whatever is going on with Taylor is none of your business.”
“Oh? Like what was going on between Lucas and me was none of yours?” Rainey asks, mimicking him by crossing her arms over her chest.
I shoot Lucas a pleading look, and he eases Rainey against him. “Okay, this is getting out of hand,” he says.
“I agree.” Jack groans. “Yes, Taylor is pregnant and the baby is mine. I wanted to wait and tell you with Mom, Dad, Hudson, and Miles there.”
The tension seeps from my body and my shoulders relax. I needed Jack to tell his sister the truth, not to fight with her over me.
“You’re having a baby!” Rainey exclaims. “That’s so exciting. I’m sorry I pushed. It just seemed so obvious, and I didn’t understand why you were hiding it from me. Because we’re close.” Her voice cracks, as does my heart.
Jack and his sister have a special bond, and I would never want to break that for any reason.
“Yeah, and we’re always going to be close. I just wanted you all together when I told you the news.”
She steps forward and hugs him tight. “Again, I apologize. You’re right. It wasn’t my business. Still love me?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye as she smiles at him.
“Yeah. Of course I do.”
Lucas puts his hand on her shoulder and draws her back to him. “Okay, Tristan and Kaylee are waiting for us, so how about we go back?” he asks, and without waiting for a reply he adds, “See you in a few.”
Rainey smiles my way, then she and Lucas head back to the deck.
Jack exhales a long breath and leans against the wall behind him. “Sorry about all that.”
I shake my head. “I’m the one who should apologize. I caused all this by getting sick.”
“You couldn’t control that.” He reaches out and brushes his thumb over my cheek.
“I had no idea seafood was on the menu, but I wish I’d thought of it.
And I shouldn’t have kept Rainey in the dark.
She’s too smart not to figure things out and there was no reason to hide things. ” He shrugs. “But what’s done is done.”
“She’s not upset anymore and everything is fine.”
He smiles and takes my hand in his. “It is. And tomorrow night, we’ll tell the rest of my family.”
“We?” Panic races through me. “You want me to meet them at the same time we tell them I’m pregnant?”
He hesitates, obviously reconsidering. “I can see how that’s awkward. How about I tell them and have Rainey bring you by after?”
I swallow hard. “I guess that could work.”
“Relax. They’re good people and they’re going to love you. Besides, once the baby is born, they’re going to be your family, too.”
I stare at him, wide-eyed. His words should make me happy but the more I think about getting close with his parents and siblings, I realize it gives Chandler more people to hold over me. Maybe I’m giving the man too much power, but I just don’t trust him not to hurt other people to keep me in line.
“Relax. It’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” The truth is, I have to meet them eventually, so his plan makes sense.
He’ll tell his family we’re having a baby.
And soon enough, I’ll tell mine.