I felt unmeasurable relief after finally coming clean to Damien about my little situation. It’d been nerve-wracking, sitting in that meeting and laying out all my cards.
While I know he assumed, I was thankful Damien hadn’t point-blank asked Noah if he was the father. That would have made for a more awkward conversation.
He also assured me that my pregnancy would remain a secret until I felt I wanted to share it with other employees.
“Does that mean you won’t tell Charlotte?” Noah had jokingly asked, and Damien sent him a glacier look.
“Yeah, that means I won’t tell my fiancée. It’s not my news to share. I respect all employees’ right to privacy.”
Damien’s answer made me smile a little. “Thank you. I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to share the news with everyone,” I said. I was having a hard enough time wrapping my head around the fact that I’d basically signed a love contract with Noah, and I couldn’t help but worry about the other employees’ reactions. Maybe not Noah’s family, per say, but the housekeepers.
Rhonda and Denise were tight, and while they didn’t really seem like the type to gossip, they weren’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for me. I mean, they were nice, but removed. Our interactions were limited to lunchtime, when they mainly spoke to each other, and the occasional run-in in the laundry room.
They didn’t seem put out by me. Rhonda had complimented my bed linen folding skills a few times now, and Denise smiled every time she came into the laundry room and everything was washed and put away.
I was winning points with them both for that, but I worried that by dating Noah, I’d go down a few levels in their books. I didn’t even want to think about what they’d think when they found out I was pregnant.
After the meeting, there were only a couple of hours left in the day. Noah had to finish up whatever work he’d been doing in his office, so I was left alone in the main office to answer calls and emails.
I didn’t have a whole lot of time to sit and think. The phones were ringing off the hook with reservation requests. Lots of calls were for the May long weekend, but that was basically already booked up. I had to redirect a few guests and urge them to book at a different time, which I was able to do easily enough.
By three thirty, I was drained. I was in the backroom putting my winter boots on when Noah came in.
“Heading out?” he asked.
“Yup, I’m officially off the clock as of five minutes ago,” I replied, slipping my coat on. “Unless you wanted me to stay later?” I added, glancing up to see that he’d moved closer to me.
“Nope, you’re good to go. Drive safe,” he said as he zipped my coat up for me. His eyes locked on mine, and he flashed me that smile—the one that made the butterflies swoop in my stomach and my head feel all light and dizzy.
Only this time, the butterflies in my stomach was the swirling sensation that I’d felt earlier at our meeting, and it was stronger than it had been earlier.
“Woah,” I breathed, putting a hand over my stomach. I couldn’t feel anything through my coat, but the warmth made the swirling increase.
“What’s wrong?” The easy smile was replaced with a look of concern.
“I think…” I paused, focusing on the sensation again. “I think I’m feeling the baby move.”
Noah’s expression transformed again from concerned to elated. “Really? That’s awesome.”
I unzipped my coat and reached for his hand, putting it over my womb where the swirling was. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to feel it.”
Noah’s hand felt warm against my belly, and the swirling and fluttering grew even more apparent. His brow furrowed in concentration as I pressed his palm firmer against me.
“I think I feel it, too,” he said a moment later, lifting his gaze to meet mine. He looked bewildered and mystified.
Before either of us could say anything, the back door to the laundry room beeped and opened, and we broke away.
“Don’t tell me you already need a reminder on appropriate workplace behaviour,” Easton said when he caught us breaking away and looking guilty.
“Nope, we’re good, thanks.” Noah said, shooting me a smile. “Drive safe, and text me when you get home?”
“Okay, sure. I’ll see you guys later,” I said, returning to the front office long enough to grab my things and make a hasty getaway.
It was a little strange, having Noah accompany me to my obstetrician appointment. I was so used to doing everything by myself. Heck, I hadn’t even had my mom attend a doctor’s appointment with me since I was thirteen years old.
The only thing Noah insisted on was driving me. We were supposed to get a snowstorm later, and Noah said his truck handled snowy conditions better than my little car. That was probably true, but it still felt odd having him drive there.
Noah didn’t speak much during the initial appointment, aside from introducing himself to the obstetrician. I kind of took the lead, awkwardly explaining that we were pretty sure he was the father, but that we’d like a DNA test to confirm.
