That made Luke’s chest tighten and his heart ache. He had to hold it together, though. He needed to be a doctor right now, not a father or an ex (or whatever he was to Bella). Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the fetal heart-rate monitor and headed back towards Bella’s bed.
CHAPTER 12
BELLA
Bella tried to find a comfortable position on the hard bed, but it was difficult. Her pain had almost completely disappeared, thank goodness, but at six months pregnant, she already had trouble being comfortable anywhere. Even more uncomfortable was the fact that she’d seen Luke — and he hadn’t even asked about the baby. Clearly, he didn’t want anything to do with her or their child, just as she’d assumed. Even when she’d tried to explain, he’d cut her off, treating her with as much professional courtesy and distance as he would any other patient.
Sooner or later, he would probably ask her who the baby’s father was, and she would have to tell him. Bella was dreading that moment. She couldn’t stand the thought of what he’d say. He’d probably be angry at her for not telling him sooner, but even that would be all right compared to the worst-case scenario — if he simply didn’t care enough to ask at all.
“It’s okay, little one,” Bella whispered, resting her hand on her belly. She really needed to get past her habit of talking to herself, or to her own stomach.
A nurse passed by outside the curtain, and Bella stiffened for a moment, half-hoping and half-fearing that it was Luke. It wasn’t.
In hopes of distraction, Bella pulled out her phone. There were three missed calls from the bride, which she ignored. Instead, she opened social media — and her jaw dropped.
I hired The Cherry on Top because of their excellent reviews,Tabi Sloan had written, along with a picture of her in a wedding dress sitting in front of an empty plate.But today, she walked out on my wedding without even serving the food. I’d planned this day for months, and in a moment, she ruined it. She didn’t care about my wedding. She didn’t care about my guests. She was selfish and rude, and she left us all hungry. I love to support local businesses, but I can’t stand for this.
Tears formed in Bella’s eyes, and she put her phone down. This was even worse than she’d feared. Tabi blamed her for “ruining” the wedding, and there was nothing Bella could do about it. Worse, Tabi had lied. Bella had left enough food that no one would go hungry, just not as much food as she’d wanted to. And she never would have left if it hadn’t been a real emergency.
Bella raised a hand to her cheek to brush away her tears. How could everything have gone so wrong? Just this morning, she’d been excited (though nervous) about catering such a high-profile event, and now she’d very likely lost any chance at having a successful business at all. Worst of all, there was nothing she could do to fix it while she was lying here in a hospital bed.
I should never have let Callie drag me to the hospital.Bella quickly pushed that thought away. This wasn’t Callie’s fault. The server had been right — Bella had needed to make sure her baby was okay, and he was.
He. That was another thing Bella had found out today, and it was the only bright spot in a day that felt very dark. She’d been planning to wait, but now that she knew she was going to have a son, things suddenly felt much more real. She could imagine the little blue onesies she would buy, and the little toddler he might become, playing with plastic trucks or dinosaurs in a sandpit. She just needed to make sure he was all right — and that he still had a roof over his head when he was born.
Bella took a deep breath. Her excitement over her son and her fear about Luke would have to wait, because right now, she needed to try to save her business. It wasn’t just about all the work she’d put in to build The Cherry on Top. The bigger problem was that she’d poured all of her savings into the business, and she didn’t have enough to be able to pay her bills for more than a few months if it went belly-up. This was the problem with working for herself: she didn’t have paid maternity leave, and she wouldn’t have a job waiting for her if she stepped away for even a week or two.
Taking a deep breath, Bella called Callie.
“Boss?” Callie’s voice came over the speaker after just one ring. “Are you okay? Do you need me to come back?”
“No.” Bella bit her lip. “Listen, the bride is furious I left. Are you back at the venue?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, please do whatever you can to make sure all the food that is made goes out. And I hate to ask this, but can you and your staff handle the cleanup? I’ll pay for the extra time, of course.”
“No worries — we’re on it,” Callie agreed easily. “The important thing is, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” Bella appreciated her concern, but she was worried about how casual she and Callie were becoming. Callie sounded almost as concerned as a friend would be. Hold on. Was she a friend? “Just, please, do whatever you can to keep the event from being a complete catastrophe.”
“I will. Just rest up, okay?”
“Hmm. Thanks again.” Bella hung up. Part of her wanted to call Stacy, if for no other reason than to hear another friendly voice, but she held back. Bella hadn’t told Stacy about the baby yet. The last time they’d hung out, she’d worn a very baggy T-shirt that covered most of her bump and had held her bag over her stomach almost the whole time. Stacy hadn’t guessed what was actually going on.
If Bella told Stacy that she was pregnant and in the hospital, her friend would be by her side in a heartbeat. Bella knew that. But she couldn’t stand the thought of relying on Stacy’s help. She had to do this on her own. She had to figure out a way.
So, instead of calling Stacy, Bella opened social media again. She replied to Tabi’s post, apologizing profusely and explaining that she’d had a medical emergency that had pulled her away. Then she started personally emailing each of her upcoming clients to reconfirm their bookings and make sure they weren’t having second thoughts after seeing the review.
As Bella sent the fifth email, Luke’s words about taking it easy for at least two weeks replayed in her head. She dismissed them. She was going to have to get back to work somehow. She could try to find a way to manage her stress better and maybe consider hiring some staff, but she had to work. If she didn’t, how would she pay the rent or buy diapers? Bella just didn’t have enough in savings to take time off.
Her chest began to feel very tight, and she dropped her phone. Her hands formed fists on the thin sheets of the hospital bed. Luke had told her she needed to rest. Well, how was she supposed to rest when not working meant not being able to provide for her baby? And how was she supposed to keep working when doing so might mean putting her baby in danger?
A fresh set of tears spilled from her eyes, and she wiped them away, annoyed. She needed to be strong right now. But she just couldn’t. All she wanted was to sob for a while and then take a long nap. And maybe eat some ice cream. She still hadn’t eaten all day.
Of course, that was the exact moment that Luke pulled back the curtains and reentered the small space. Bella turned her head away, quickly wiping at her tears and hoping he hadn’t noticed how upset she was.
“I’ll just get you set up with the monitor,” Luke said briskly. “Can you lift your shirt again?”
