Page 17 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

‘I don’t know quite how to say this but… I think I might be pregnant.’ Alice opened her bag.

His eyes widened a fraction but he recovered himself quickly. ‘OK.’

‘I’ve done a test but I can’t look at it. It’s in my bag. Could you… See… I’m so scared.’

‘Would you like me to look, and I can tell you what the result is?’

‘Would you mind?’

She scanned his face but couldn’t see judgement there, only compassion. His blue eyes were clear as they looked at her and she felt safe with him.

‘Do you have a reason to think you might be pregnant?’

Alice swallowed hard. ‘I’ve missed two periods. That in itself wasn’t a red flag for me because I’m not always regular…’ She rubbed at her chin, aware that she was sharing details of her menstrual cycle with this poor man. ‘But I… uhhh… haven’t been feeling quite right and I blamed stress. But when we visited my nanna in Tenby, she said I looked pregnant to her and that I should do a test and so I thought it might be a good idea.’

‘You don’t have a partner though?’ he asked gently.

Alice shook her head, aware that she’d told him this before. ‘I… No. Gosh it’s embarrassing. I slept with a colleague. It was a drunken one-night thing and a mistake.’

‘Does he know that you might be pregnant?’

‘No.’

‘OK. Well one step at a time.’ He gestured at her bag. ‘May I?’

‘Please.’

His hand disappeared into her bag then emerged holding the white stick. He glanced at it then back at her face. ‘Ready?’

‘Can you hold my hand?’

‘Of course.’

She chewed at her bottom lip as he laced his fingers through hers. Her heart was racing. Her stomach swirled with nausea.

‘Alice…’

‘Yes.’

‘The test is…’

Chapter14

Henry

‘Positive,’ he said softly, watching as her face creased up and she groaned.

‘Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Let me see it.’

Henry handed her the white stick and she stared at it. Rubbed her face with her free hand. Stared at it again.

‘What am I going to do?’

She looked up and his heart squeezed. She looked so vulnerable and utterly terrified.

‘It will all be OK,’ he said and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. ‘I promise you that you have people here for you. People who will help you with everything. You won’t be alone.’

‘But this baby. Shit! I have a baby inside me. Shit!’

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