Page 68 of Laila Manning
“Say something.” Carly whispered, and I forced myself back to the present, pushing Zeke’s absence to the back of my mind as I tried to give my future sister-in-law what she deserved most.
Support.
It was exactly what she had given me, unwaveringly, since she whispered my name to Jed that night in the brothel and set the wheels in motion to rescue me.
“Have you taken a test?”
She shook her head as her blue eyes misted over. “I’m too scared to.”
I nodded and picked her hand up from the bar top, squeezing it tight and forcing her to look at me. “Does Jed know?”
She silently shook her head and stared at her feet. “I don’t know how to tell him that there’s a chance I could be giving him something he’s always wanted,” She looked up at me with those tear-filled eyes, “When I’m not sure I want it at all.”
My chest ached with her words, but I fought it down.
It was not about me.
It was about her. I had to focus on her because she deserved it. I owed her.
I just wasn’t sure how much it would cost me to give it to her.
“You don’t know if you want kids?” I asked quietly, glancing around us to make sure there were no prying ears. “But Jed does.”
She swallowed and nodded her head, “Since Gavin was born, it’s all he talks about.” She shuddered, “But I’m not sure I’m meant to be a mom. Even if he was born to be a dad.” She covered her face. “I drank. Fuck!” She yelled behind her hands. “Just another fucking sign I’m not cut out for this!”
“Shh.” I hushed her, rubbing my hands over her arms as she started panicking. “Go to the bathroom.” I said firmly, “Get it out. I don’t think it can actually hurt a baby this soon if it’s not a lot, but I don’t know, and I’m not willing to let you put something else on your conscience.”
“Jesus.” She cried. “I’m fucking everything up.”
“It’s okay.” I reassured her, “You’re allowed to be scared, either way. This is huge,” I leveled my stare at her, “You’re not a bad person for being scared or in doubt.”
“Maybe.” she said weakly.
“Can I get you Jed?” I asked, “Or Elora?”
She bit her lip. “I just want Jed.” Her perfectly lined lips trembled slightly, “I shouldn’t have kept this from him tonight like I could just pretend everything was fine.” She groaned, “I should have just tested at home first!”
“Shh,” I hushed her again, “Don’t build yourself up. Okay, just go to the bathroom and I’ll get Jed for you.”
She nodded with a ghostly white face. “You’re right.” She nodded again, “Okay, thank you, Laila.” She hesitated and then decided to just grab me and pull me into a hug, “I needed your surprising calmness right now.”
I chuckled, “Glad I could keep it together for you.” I joked and pushed her off toward the bathroom.
Having watched her disappear into the restroom, I turned back toward the table, intent on finding Jed for her as promised. It shouldn’tbe hard, considering he was a seven-foot-tall Viking. But alas, he was missing from the damn spot he’d been held up chatting with that woman for half an hour.
“Fucking perfect.” I cursed under my breath as I started weaving through the crowd, trying to find anyone from the crew I knew to ask if they could find Jed for me. My phone was in Zeke’s pocket because sexists fucks that made dresses never sewed pockets into them. I ducked around a group and tried to cut back toward the edge of the room to where it wasn’t so crowded, but a figure stood up from a table and I slid on the skirt of my dress and smacked straight into it, hard enough to rattle my teeth. “Oof.” I grimaced.
“Careful now.” A smooth voice called out as two hands grabbed my upper arms to steady me. “Don’t want to fall on your ass in the middle of a crowd.”
I was anything but steady as I jumped backward, fighting the tight hold on my arms until he let go. My ears rang violently as my heart seized completely in my chest, creating a catastrophic pain to ricochet through the empty cavity where my heart used to beat.
That voice.
“Are you okay?” he asked again, stepping back into my personal space as the darkness of the outer edge of the room cut us off from most of the other guests.
That fucking voice.
Darkness crowded my vision, blocking anything in my peripherals until all that existed was him.
