“Sorry, I was miles away.”
“I know, you’ve been weird ever since the photo shoot. Is it still playing on your mind?”
I exhale and rub my temple.
She smiles at me sympathetically and takes my hand in hers. “Dee, tell me, c’mon… woman to woman. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
Needing to get it off my chest, I decide to tell her. She knows Colt well and might be able to help with this…situation. “I think I’m pregnant, Anna,” I say, closing my eyes and dropping my chin to my chest. It was harder to say than I thought it’d be. There’s nothing, no noise or comment from her, so I open one eye to look at her. She’s staring at me, eyes wide and her mouth open. She’s as shocked as I am about the whole thing.
I rest my head in my hands, and her hand rubs my back as a new wave of panic hits me.
“Does he know?” she asks in the quietest voice I’ve ever heard, less than a whisper.
I shake my head and look up at her with tears in my eyes. “No. He’s going to leave me, isn’t he?”
Her face is etched with concern. “Dee, I… wait! You said think? Does that mean you don’t know for sure?”
“I’m late, but I haven’t taken a test. I’m too scared, and I only realized last night, and my head has been in a spin cycle ever since.”
She nods in acknowledgment, and I see her thinking hard about something. “Okay, can you wait till tomorrow to find out? We have our shopping trip. We can buy a test without arousing suspicion, and I’ll be there when you take it. It’ll be fine. I promise to be there with you every step of the way.”
I choke back the tears, threatening to fall. “I don’t ever want to take the test. If I do that, then this could really be happening.”
“Yeah, I know, but you have to find out, Dee. Don’t worry about Colt. I’ll take care of him if I need to. We’ll go to the shops after breakfast and get it over with, okay?”
“I’d rather not, so then I don’t have to deal with the fallout,” I reply, looking up to see Colt walking toward me with his brows furrowed.
Fuck!
“The fallout from what, Dee?” he asks.
I look at Anna with wide eyes, fear and panic gripping every fiber of my being.
“Dee’s father rang and was demanding that she go back to England. She didn’t want to tell you because she knew it would upset you, and you’d probably want to call her father and abuse him.”
Oh my God, thank you, Anna!How on earth did she come up with that so quickly?
I nod my head, and Colt squats in front of me. “Baby, I’m not going to abuse your father. As much as I’d like for him to leave us alone, I know he’s concerned about you. Stop worrying about him. The tour goes on break soon, so we can head back to England, and he can see you then. In the meantime, are you ready to rock out tonight?” he asks with a giant smile that instantly calms my nerves.
“Yep, can’t wait,” I say as he stands, but the soft look on his face tells me he’s concerned.
“Colter!” Sia calls out and signals for him to go over by waving her hand.
He looks down at me and smiles, then jogs off toward Sia and Rob.
Relief runs through me, and I slump my shoulders, thankful he believed Anna. Turning to her, I wrap my arms around her tightly. “What would I do without you, Anna?”
“Probably fall apart,” she chuckles and lets me go.
She’s not wrong.
***
After another incredible show, we walk into the penthouse suite, and Dragon’s Lair is already there. I shake my head and roll my eyes, watching the half-naked girls swarming around Jared.
Colt lets out a small chuckle at my disapproval as we step over to a couch. “You wanna beer?”
I nod, and he wanders off toward the refrigerator when I remember and say, “Colt, actually, can I have a Coke instead?”
