Page 12 of The Secrets that Surround Us

“I’ve got you, love. You and our baby will always have me.”

“I hope you’re right.”

What she will come to find out is that no matter what happens between us, my child will always be my priority. I know what it feels like to grow up without a dad and I won’t repeat the cycle.

Chapter eight

Fiona

“Here you go.” Hazel hands mea bag of clothes.

“Thank you, Hazel, for everything.” My eyes move over to Dexter. “Both of you.”

Grabbing me, she wraps me in an enormous hug and whispers in my ear, “Fiona, you’re my friend. And now it seems we’re going to be family. You can always count on us.” She releases me and, looks over her shoulder, eyeing Dexter. “You can count on both of us. Right, Dex?”

His eyes bounce between mine and his brothers. You can tell he’s trying to measure his words. When they land on his brother, they soften a bit. “Yeah. You can both always count on us. You hear me, Alex? I know you like to hide your feelings, but you can come to me for anything.”

I look at Alex; his face is stoic. He just nods at his brother’s words. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Even though Dexter just gave him a heartfelt reminder that they’re brothers and he’ll support him no matter what, he says nothing. This must be what Dexter was referring to. After a beat of silence, Alex grabs my hand and pulls me toward the front door. “Let’s go home, Fiona.”

Not acknowledging that he’s being rude to his brother- and sister-in-law, I smile at them over my shoulder. "Good night, guys.”

“Good night!” they both call in unison to us as we step on to their front patio. Alex doesn’t slow down or say a word; he just keeps pulling me along until we reach the passenger door of his car. We both get in and stay silent during the two-minute drive to his house.

Once we walk through his front door, he finally looks at me. “I know this isn’t exactly what you wanted, but I want to be there for you in whatever capacity.”

My chest fills with warmth at his words; his sincerity fills me. Taking a deep breath, I grab his hand. “Thank you. For now, I need a place to stay and help with getting my stuff from my parents’ house.”

“I can do that, love. Are you hungry, or do you want a drink?”

The idea of food makes my stomach churn. I swallow thickly, trying to keep the nausea at bay. “No. My morning sickness has been terrible these last few weeks. I’m going to pass. I just want to go to sleep.”

“No problem. Let me show you to your room.” He turns down the hallway and, stops at the first door we come to. "Here is where you’ll be staying.” Opening the door reveals a simple guestroom. The walls are a light gray. In the center is a full-size bed, with a nightstand next to it. I don’t need much, just a place to sleep. “This is perfect.”

He gives me a soft smile. “Good." Then he points to another door across the hallway. “That’s the bathroom. You’ll have it all to yourself, since I have one in the master.”

Placing my hand on his chest, I look up at him through my lashes. “Thank you for all of this, Alex.”

“Fiona, can’t you tell that I’ll do anything for you?” My jaw drops. How do I respond to that? Our lives have been flipped upside down. Thankfully, Alex doesn’t give me time to come up with an answer.

“I’m going to let you get some sleep. It’s late. Come get me if you need me. Good night.” Then he turns and heads toward his room, leaving me standing there, stunned. Today has been so weird. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

A sudden burst of nausea wakes me up with a vengeance and I fling myself out of bed. Cupping my handover my mouth, I rush to the bathroom, making it just in time. My whole body convulses when I release everything in my stomach into the toilet. Which, to be honest, isn’t very much since I haven’t really been eating.

After flushing the toilet, Ilean my head against the wall of the bathroom, trying not to move. It feels if I move too fast I’ll throw up. Placing my hand on my stomach, I mutter, “You’re killing me bean. Maybe we can give mama a break and stop with the throwing up.”

“Should we see a doctor?” a deep voice asks from behind me. Placing my hand on my heart, I glare at the man the voice belongs to. “Fuck, you scared me.”

“Sorry.” Alex has the gall to look sinful as he leans against the doorframe. I can’t help it. I drink him in. Shit, he looks so good. He’s standing there in gray sweatpants slung low on his waist, with no shirt. How am I supposed to keep my hormones in check when he’s walking around like that? But I need to make sure I don’t cross any lines. It’stoo complicated and will get worse once the bean arrives.

I force myself to stop staring at his very muscular chest and look up at his handsome face. But when I do, I’m not sure it’s any better. Alex has a sexy grin on his face, the one that made my panties drop. “Do you like what you see?”

“Shut up.” That’s when my stomach lets out a loud gurgle. My face turns red with embarrassment. But it doesn’t seem to deter Alex. “Are you hungry? Can I make you something?” But even though my stomach is telling me it’s hungry loudly too, the idea of eating makes me want to vomit once again.

I gulp. “No. Thinking about food makes me want to throw up.”

He nods his head. “Okay. Stay here. I’ll make you a quick remedy to help with the nausea.”

“You don’t have to.”

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