Page 29 of Her New Year Baby Secret

‘That makes sense.’ But Sophie’s mind had wandered back to something Bianca had said earlier. Something about not noticing that she was pregnant because she was irregular. Sophie was the complete opposite. In fact she was like clockwork, every twenty-eight days. Usually...

Frantically she counted back. Almost five weeks had passed since she had spent the night with Marco. Over five weeks without her period. Her regular-as-clockwork period...

‘That’s all great, Bianca, I mean congratulations again and I can’t wait to get started. I just remembered, I didn’t pack for a week-long stay and there’s a few things I need, so I’m just going to go out and grab them...’ She collected her bag and backed out of the door still babbling inanely. ‘When I get back we’ll talk lace, okay? I won’t be long.’ The last thing she saw as the door swung shut behind her was Bianca, upright and staring at her in complete surprise.

Smoothly done, Sophie.

But she couldn’t wait, not another second, not while this big what if was thundering through her body, beating its question with every thud of her heart.

Although she found her way out of the palazzo easily enough, having earmarked enough landmarks to find her way to the main hallway and back up to her room, as soon as she set foot outside it was a different matter. Sophie plunged into the alleyways and back streets searching for the green cross that meant pharmacy in a dozen different languages. But each road seemed to lead her nowhere, a dead end with water rippling gently at the end, round in a gently curving circle back to the same square over and over.

And what would happen when she reached a pharmacy? She could barely order a pizza in Italian let alone a pregnancy test and she doubted her mime skills were up to scratch.

You’re being ridiculous, she told herself. You used protection, you were careful, he was careful.

But the rest of Bianca’s words came back, almost visible, floating around her in the still, cold air. Emotional? Check, look at the pity party she’d held for herself on New Year’s Eve, the tears just now. Light-headed and tired? For a couple of weeks now. Nauseous? Yes, a low level, almost constant feeling of sickness. All kinds of things set it off. She hadn’t been able to stomach even the smell of wine for ages; it had been an oddly teetotal Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Sophie stopped dead in the middle of the street. Of course she was pregnant. How could she not have known—and what on earth was she going to do now?

* * *

‘Sophie, Bianca mentioned you wanted to visit Burano. Would this afternoon be convenient?’

Sophie skidded to a stop outside the salon and fought an urge to hide her handbag behind her back as if Marco might see through the leather, to the paper bag within. It had been a mortifying experience, but thanks to the Internet, her phone, some overly helpful shoppers and a very patient pharmacist she had finally got what she needed.

Well, two of what she needed. She hadn’t paid that much attention in Science, but she was pretty sure all experiments could go wrong.

‘Marco! Hi! Yes, Burano, this afternoon, sounds wonderful, great.’

One eyebrow rose. ‘Are you okay?’ He sauntered over to the salon door and she had to fight the urge to step away.

‘Fine, I’ve been out. I got a little lost, that’s all.’

‘The best way to learn Venice is to get lost in her,’ he said, but there was a quizzical gleam in his dark eyes as he looked at her.

‘In that case we’ll soon be the best of friends.’ Sophie knew she was acting oddly, but she needed to get out of this hallway and up into the safety of her room and find out for once and for all. ‘What time do you want to leave?’

‘If we leave here just after noon, we could stop for lunch along the way.’

‘That sounds wonderful. I just need to talk to Bianca then, take another look at the dress and get a swatch of material. Shall I meet you back here in an hour? Great. See you then.’

She barely registered his response as she walked as fast as she could up the stairs, slowing a little as she tackled the second and then the third staircase until finally she was twisting open the door to her room, throwing her bag onto the bed, grabbing the paper bag and rushing into the bathroom, tearing open the plastic on the box as she did so...

* * *

She was pregnant. Two tests’ worth of pregnant.

Sophie sank onto the bed with a strangled sob, throwing her hand across her mouth to try to keep the noise in. Idiot. Fool. Stupid, stupid girl. It was different for Bianca. She was engaged to a man she loved, she had a great career, a life ready and waiting for a baby. What did Sophie have? A fling with a commitment-shy man she barely knew, a shoebox of a flat, an unfulfilled dream and a job scrubbing toilets and serving drinks. How was she going to fit a baby into her flat, let alone her life?

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