Page 5 of Upon an April Night

She knew that wasn’t true. It was entirely possible. She had missed taking one of her birth control pills before she and Duncan had slept together, but she’d taken it as soon as she remembered, to get her back on track. Everything was fine. This had to be her mind and body playing tricks on her.

Jamie moved into the bathroom. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then looked down at the test. The air rushed out of her lungs as she retreated a couple of steps and sank onto the edge of her tub.

Positive.

Tears filled her eyes, a few sliding down her cheeks, but she quickly batted them away and left the bathroom. The closest thing to the door was a pile of photography magazines on the end table, and her hand flew in that direction, sending them scattering across the floor. She moved through her living room, knocking over a small lamp, kicking a basket of neglected knitting supplies, clearing a few framed pictures from the top of a bookshelf with a whack.

How could she have let this happen? Why hadn’t she stopped things when he said he didn’t have protection?

What made this news worse was the silent treatment Duncan had given her since that night. He had told her he’d call when he arrived in Denver, but he never did. She’d sent him texts and left him messages with no replies.

His silence broke her heart.

But even though he’d blown her off, he had still been foremost in her mind. All she wanted was to talk, to see where they stood, to know how he felt about that night.

For the past two months, she’d been anxiously awaiting his return so they could finally have that conversation. Last night, he had unexpectedly shown up.

Jamie stood in the foyer of the church, waiting for Shannon to arrive for the wedding rehearsal they were supposed to be photographing. The bridal party had already spent thirty minutes going over the order of the ceremony and were about to do a walkthrough, and Jamie was beginning to worry. They were Shannon’s clients. She had only agreed to assist. Where was she?

The door to the church opened then, and Shannon walked in.

“Where have you been?” Jamie cried.

“Something came up. I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”

Jamie shrugged. “All right.” Her eyes suddenly leapt over her friend’s shoulder. “Duncan!” She was sure her grin lit up the room as she maneuvered around Shannon to get to him.

“Hey, you.” He opened his arms and hugged her, but it felt stiff and forced.

“This town has been boring without you,” Jamie told him, settling into his hug, wanting to stay in his arms all night.

He gave her a tight squeeze before abruptly letting go. “You missed me, huh?”

She gave him a hopeful smile. “Didn’t you miss me?”

He didn’t reply, and there was a weird tension in the air between them.

After helping Shannon with her things, he kissed his sister goodbye and gave Jamie a simple touch on the arm and a little smile as he walked past on his way out the door.

That’s it? Jamie’s heart sank.

“What did I miss?” Shannon asked.

She shook off her sadness. “They’ve gone over the order of the ceremony and are getting ready to walk through it.”

“I meant between you and my brother.”

Jamie tucked a hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Shannon rolled her eyes as if to say ‘Yeah, right.’

It was one of the most confusing moments of Jamie’s life. She hadn’t expected them to suddenly be a couple when he returned, but she thought there’d be more than an awkward hug and a few pleasantries. He’d acted like he barely knew her, as if nothing had happened between them at all.

She shook away the disappointing memory and sank onto her couch, surveying the damage she had caused in the aftermath of the test result.

Pregnant? What am I going to do?

She leaned her head back, her eyelids falling closed. What would Duncan say when she told him? How would he react? Could they have a baby together? It seemed improbable, especially after the way he acted last night.

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