She tipped her head back. “When I threw up earlier, I thought it was just nerves, but I’ve been in here three times.” She swallowed hard. “I’m late,” she whispered.
“Oh.” I frowned. “We didn’t slip until last week.”
“Yeah, I don’t know for sure, of course.” She turned to me. “I know this wasn’t in the plans, and I don’t expect—oof.”
I hauled her into me. “You don’t expect what? Me not to be here for you?” I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight for her as much as me.
What the hell was I going to do with a baby?
I barely remembered to do my own laundry. Half the time I just bought more clothes.
I wasn’t even sure she wanted it, but there was no way I was letting her do this alone.
I held her so tight that I could feel her heart racing.
“Penn, I don’t know what to do.” She trembled in my arms.
I shored up all the fear I had and slammed it into a box. It wasn’t about me right now.
I eased her back. “Let’s blow this off. We’ll go take fourteen pregnancy tests and sit and stare at the water until we figure this out.”
She gave a pathetic little laugh against my shoulder. “We can’t do that.”
“I don’t want you to do this today if you’re not feeling up to it.”
“Plenty of women handle things just fine being pregnant.” She eased back and blotted her face.
I moved to the towel dispenser and pulled the lever until I had a big wad and went to the sink to wet half of it for her.
“Thanks.”
She leaned over the sink to look in the mirror and wipe away the mascara. “Can you go get my purse?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course.” I stopped at the door. “We’re in this together, Duchess. I promise you that.”
She stared at me through the mirror for a long moment, then she gave me a half smile. “Sure.”
I escaped to the tiny break room where we’d stashed our stuff and before I could get back to her Colette snagged me.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Just stall for a few. Rita wants to freshen up her face.”
Colette frowned. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, just nerves.”
Before she could ask me any other questions I didn’t know the answers to, I headed back down to the bathroom. Rita was still at the sink, holding her wrists under the stream as she blew out slow breaths.
“Still feel like you’re going to be sick?”
“I think the worst of its passed.” She turned off the stream and dried her hands before taking her bag from me.
I caught her hand and brought it to my chest. “It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“I don’t really think you do, but I’m not going anywhere.” That was the one truth that I was unwavering in. “We’ll figure it out together.”