22. Chapter 22
I’m beginning to suspect the island has us married off already.
Terri
“Where are you going?” I ask Nolan when he turns right instead of left out of the hospital. “The resort is in the other direction.”
“We need to buy prenatal vitamins, and I want to make sure you have enough healthy vegetables and fruit. I should probably also stock up on ginger ale and crackers.”
“I still have piles of both in my office.”
He glances over at me. “If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure it’s impossible to drink three cases of ginger ale in a lifetime, let alone in the span of one pregnancy.”
“Okay. No ginger ale then.”
“And no crackers either.”
We reach Mariner’s Market and he easily finds a parking spot. When I reach for the door, he clears his throat. I drop my hand.
He smiles before hopping out of the SUV and rushing around to the passenger side to open my door. He lifts me up and places me on the ground.
I’m enjoying him lifting me up entirely too much. I remember the first time he lifted me up and pressed me against a wall. Our little mermaid is the result. I place my hand on my stomach.
He stills. “Are you okay? Any symptoms? Bleeding? Cramping? Dizziness? Fever?”
I groan. “This is going to be a long pregnancy if you’re going to worry about symptoms every time I touch my stomach.”
Except he won’t. Because he won’t be here. He’ll be playing football and traveling all over the country while I’m here on the island. He won’t be here to reassure me.
He pinches my chin. “What happened? Where did you go?”
I scrunch my nose. “Nowhere.”
“You’re lying, but standing in a parking lot is not the place for a serious discussion.” He nudges me forward so he can shut the door before grasping my hand and leading me into the grocery store.
“First, pharmacy,” he says as he commandeers a cart.
He pushes the cart through the aisles until we reach the pharmacy area. Several women stop to observe him. I snarl at them.
Nolan isn’t mine. He’s only here because he’s the little mermaid’s daddy. But I’m here now. They can mind their own business.
“Do you have a preferred brand of vitamins?” he asks after stopping in front of the rows of vitamins.
I blink up at him. “Do people have preferred brands of vitamins?”
“I do.”
“You do?”
He shrugs. “I’m an athlete.”
“You can’t use being an athlete as an excuse for every weird thing you do.”
“What weird things do I do?”
“You brought electrolyte packets, a first aid kit, ice packs, and compression socks to the Mermaid and Pirates Kid’s Day.”
“All necessary.”
My brow wrinkles. “Compression socks?”
“Pregnant women’s legs swell. Swelling is uncomfortable. Thus, compression socks. Makes perfect sense to me.”
“How can you sound reasonable about compression socks?”
He grins. “It’s a gift.”
He throws an arm over my shoulders and motions to the vitamins. “Come on. Let’s make a choice before we go get you some healthy food. I also want to stop by your house and discuss rooms for the nursery before we return to the resort.”
Nursery? My mouth drops open. “We don’t know… It could… It might…”
He drops to his knees in front of me and my pulse spikes. This man. This star quarterback. No, he’s more than his football position. He’s a kind, loving man – a caring man who’s been there every step of the way with this pregnancy. And he’s on his knees. For me.
He grasps my hands and squeezes. “Terri Jordan, you listen to me. We are going to do everything possible to keep this baby healthy and safe. I know you’re worried.
With your history, it’s not surprising. But the doctors have told you there’s nothing to worry about. Let me worry. You relax. I’ve got you.”
Tears well in my eyes but I suck them back up. I am not bawling my eyes out at Mariner’s Market. “My head understands what you’re saying. My heart, on the other hand…”
I trail off. I don’t need to explain it to him. He understands.
He places his hand over my heart. “Little mermaid and I will work on getting your heart to understand.”
He kisses my belly before standing.
“Holy smugglers caught in a mermaid’s gossip!”
I groan and drop my chin to my chest at Mayor Lana’s exclamation.
She doesn’t care how I’m obviously embarrassed. She bustles toward us as if we invited her.
“I heard the rumors. Of course, I did. I’m the mayor. I know everything happening in Smuggler’s Rest and on Smuggler’s Hideaway. But I didn’t believe this. No way, no how did a smuggler get pregnant by accident. The sex education classes at school are too thorough for that kind of mistake.”
“Nova got pregnant with Hudson’s daughter by accident,” I remind her.
She waves away my comment. “Nova and Hudson knew each other for years. They were destined to be together. The spirits got involved there and made sure it happened. But you….” She trails off with a shrug.
Nolan steps forward. “I’m Nolan. And you are?”
She bats her lashes at him. “Mayor Lana, but you can call me Lana.”
He kisses her hand. “Lovely to meet you, Lana.”
“I take it back. I totally understand how you got pregnant. I’d be worried I spontaneously got pregnant from his smile if I hadn’t gone through menopause last year.”
Last year? Lana is eighty if she’s a day. She’s also a serial bride.
Nolan wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me near. Lana sighs. “You two are adorable together.” She nods to the vitamins. “And you’re going to make wonderful parents.”
“Lana,” I shush her. “The whole world doesn’t need to know I’m pregnant.”
She barks out a laugh. “You are adorable. As if the whole island didn’t hear about you rushing to the hospital clutching your stomach after getting nailed in the face with a football.”
“It was an accident,” Nolan says. “I’m responsible. I accept the blame. But it was an accident.”
“I hope you have a boy who looks exactly like him.” Lana sighs. “Those blue eyes. That jaw. Those muscles.” She reaches forward to touch him and I bat her away.
“You can’t touch random people in the grocery store.”
“What random people? This is your baby daddy.”
I groan. She practically screamed baby daddy.
“I hate to say it, sprite. But keeping this baby secret is no longer an option.”
I scowl at him. “You promised not to tell your teammates.”
“And I won’t. But don’t be surprised if they find out. Football players gossip worse than a bunch of old ladies.”
“Hey, Nolan!” The librarian waves before hurrying toward us.
He grins at her and his dimple makes an appearance. “Hi, Edith.”
Edith? How does he know the librarian’s name? What is happening? Did Jasmine give me a drug and I’m hallucinating? I hope I’m not drooling while staring at the vitamin bottles.
“The book you requested came in,” Edith tells him. “You can pick it up any time. It’s at the receptionist desk waiting for you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you putting a rush on it.”
“Not a problem.” Edith’s gaze ping-pongs between us. “I understand the rush.”
“Understand the rush? What is this book?” I ask.
“It’s a book on pregnancy,” Edith says. “We couldn’t find an eBook version, so I had to order the paperback for him.”
My eyes widen. “How many books on pregnancy have you bought?” I ask Nolan.
The tips of his ears turn pink. “A few.”
Edith scowls at me. “Don’t you dare give the boy a hard time. He’s supporting you. You let him.”
Boy? Nolan is hardly a boy.
“That’s what I said,” Lana claims. “I don’t understand modern women. Always proving a point about being independent. Let your man spoil you.”
A rubber band squeezes my middle. Breathing becomes nearly impossible. My man? Nolan isn’t my man. We’re not even dating. He’s not here for me. He’s here for the baby.
“He’s not my man,” I manage to wheeze out.
“See?” Lana points to me. “This is what I’m dealing with.”
Edith pats her arm. “I understand. Young kids these days. No respect for the old days.”
“But they do make a cute couple.”
Is she hard of hearing? I literally told her two seconds ago that Nolan and I aren’t a couple.
“Relax, sprite, and let her talk,” Nolan whispers to me. “We are a family after all.”
We are? Does he want to be my family? And why does the idea excite me? I know better. Men leave. Babies die. And people abandon you.
I don’t think I’d survive Nolan abandoning me. It’d break something in me that would never heal.
Better to stick to being friends. We can co-parent without being a couple. Other people do it all the time.
I ignore how my stomach protests at the thought. It’s the way it has to be.