Page 44 of His Impossible Heir

Amanda didn’t even hesitate. “No, I don’t want…I think…” she stopped, rubbing her forehead. “I can’t really think at the moment.” She took a long, slow, deep breath, trying to process. She was pregnant? “Could the test be wrong?”

Emma smiled gently. “There is a very low possibility of a false positive.”

Amanda nodded, her mind still whirling.

She continued. “Plus, you mentioned that you’ve been feeling nauseous over the past few weeks. That’s a pretty good sign of pregnancy during the first trimester. And sometimes longer. Some women are nauseous for their entire forty weeks.”

With that news, Amanda grimaced. “That would be absolutely miserable.”

Emma nodded. “Of course, that’s the exception.”

Amanda looked at her friend. “How far along are you?”

Emma’s fingers fluttered to her stomach and she smiled. “The doctor estimates that I’m about fourteen weeks along.” One side of her mouth quirked upwards. “Remember in Paris when I sort of abandoned you?”

Amanda’s green eyes looked at her friend, startled. “You didn’t abandon me. I was fine.”

Emma chuckled. “You were fine because Daniesh was there. But the reason I wasn’t with you during that miserable time was because I was suffering from morning sickness that was so bad, I could barely get out of bed.”

“Oh, Em!” Amanda cried out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She laughed softly. “Because you had more than enough to deal with at the time. I didn’t want to add to your burden.” Emma touched Amanda’s forearm. “Are you…upset about this? Are you angry about being pregnant?”

Amanda stared at her friend for a long moment, contemplating her question. Was she upset? “No. Not even a little,” she replied. “I mean, I don’t have great health insurance because the health insurance here in the United States is so awful, but…” Her hand covered her stomach where her growing baby rested. “But if I’m pregnant, which I’m still not fully convinced I am, by the way, butifI am, then I’m…thrilled.” She thought about it for a moment, her wonder and amazement growing. “I would be truly excited to have this baby.”

Emma clapped her hands together, excited as well. “Good! Now, how are you going to tell Daniesh?”

Her excitement dimmed. Amanda bit her lip, contemplating her options.

“I will fly to…um…” she stopped, worrying her lower lip. “Actually, I’m not exactly sure how I’ll tell him.”

Emma smiled. “You’re going to let me and Rayed fly you to his country. I will make some calls to smooth the way through palace security and you’ll sit down with Daniesh, face to face, and tell him what you just told me.”

Amanda cringed. “Why do I have to do all the hard work? Why am I the one who has to push through my nervousness to confront him?” She grumbled and resumed pacing. “Why do women always have to do the hardest parts?”

Emma shrugged. “He doesn’t get to feel the first flutters of his new child’s life. You will.” She moved closer to Amanda, taking her hands. “There are benefits and downsides to any and every situation. You know that. And this is one of the downsides to being a woman. We have the advantage ofknowingwe’re pregnant. We get to feel the baby kick and grow in our bodies. But we also have the responsibility of ensuring that our fetus is well cared for. And in our circumstances, we have the responsibility to nurture the next generation of leaders for our country.”

Amanda wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. It put Daniesh even further out of her reach. “Maybe I should just–”

Emma held up a hand, stopping Amanda. “You should get on a plane and talk to him. The man is desperately in love with you. I saw it happen the first night.”

“He’s not,” she whispered, her lips trembling. “He hasn’t contacted me once since I left.”

Emma eyed her sharply. “Have you called him?”

Darn it! She had a point! “No. I didn’t think he wanted to hear from me.”

“Maybe, he feels the same way about you.”

That thought had occurred to her, but Amanda had wimped out. There was also the fact that she wasn’t sure HOW to contact him. He hadn’t given her his personal cell phone number. And she wasn’t sure how to contact the palace in Hadair to leave him a message.

“I’ll fly there once I’ve finished this rough draft. Then, I can edit the book on the flight.”

Emma rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. “Why won’t you take me up on the offer of a private flight?”

Amanda looked down, her fingers lacing together. “I think…it’s because I need more time to process everything.” She lifted her eyes to her friend. “And I’m scared. I need time to figure out what I’m feeling. What to say and how to say it.”

Emma stared at her for a long moment, then nodded slowly. “I get that,” she replied, her words soft, but filled with understanding. “Okay, I’m going to stop insisting and let you do your thing. But call me as soon as you’ve told him, okay?”

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