Page 98 of More Than Words

“I’m pregnant.”

Silence echoed through the speaker, and I was kind of shocked that Leila could be rendered speechless.

“Feel like I’m missing something here. Didn’t you just get your IUD removed yesterday?”

“They tried, but things didn’t go exactly as planned.”

“How can you try to take out an IUD? It’s either there or it’s not.” It was most decidedly not.

“That was the issue. It was not.”

“Not taken out or not there?”

She was starting to sound more frantic by the moment, and it was freaking me out a little. “They did an ultrasound and couldn’t find it. But they found something else inhabiting the space near where it used to be.”

“You’re seriously pregnant?”

“Yes,” I laughed, relieved to tell someone. Adrian probably should have been the first one I told, but I needed my best friend right now. She’d been with me through all the shit with Grant, so she understood how hard this was for me.

A huge part of me was terrified that a few weeks from now I’d be sitting in a hospital heartbroken like I’d been too many times before.

“Holy shit. This is… This is, wow.”

“Really fucking scary.” My voice cracked as the tears appeared, one escaping down my cheek.

“Oh, honey. No, it’s amazing. I’m finally going to be an auntie. And you know your kid is going to be gorgeous. That baby daddy of yours might be a bit of a dick, but he’s not terrible to look at. If only he had a hot brother to sweep me off my feet.”

“Um,” I mumbled, not sure how to tell her he had an identical twin.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” she laughed. “Tell me all about Dickhead’s brother.”

“He’s not exactly your type.”

“Not intending to marry the guy. Everyone is my type if they’re hot enough.” She wasn’t wrong, her roster had some depth. With both men and women.

“You’re too bossy. He’s a bit too…dominant for you.” Which he was. She never took orders from anyone. Hutch would be too much for her. While she liked to have a good time, Leila wouldn’t survive a pleasure Dom, much less one who fucked other women in front of their partners.

“Okay, fine. Back to the original topic. How did Adrian take it? Is he impressed with himself? I’m sure he’s eating this up.”

“I…”

“You haven’t told him yet?” she exclaimed, and I knew she was about to unleash on me. “Why did you tell me first? You know he’s treated the idea of knocking you up like his new mission in life. Why haven’t you said something?”

“Because I’m scared. This wasn’t part of the plan. It was supposed to take months. Long enough for me to settle into this job and have fun trying. What if it happens again? I can’t go through that this time. It’d break me.”

She knew exactly what I was talking about. She’d been there through one of my miscarriages.

“Honey, no one can predict what will happen. But you can’t let that fear stop you. That man isn’t just interested in you for your ability to carry a child. You’ll figure it out together.”

Nodding, I tried to hold back the tears that wanted to escape. Adrian would be here to pick me up in less than a half hour and he’d know I’d been crying if I lost it right now.

“I need to finish packing. Thank you for answering the phone. I just needed to talk to you.”

“Never be afraid to call me, hun. While I’ve never been knocked up and am now going to be religiously checking my strings before I let any dicks near my holy grail, I’ll always be a sounding board for you when you need it.”

“Thank you.”

“And tell that man. I’m betting he’s going to fuck the shit out of you when he finds out.”

---