“I’m pregnant, Joss.”
Joss stared at her in shock. Her mouth fell open. “Oh my God, Chessy. What are you going to do? I know how much you wanted children but Tate wanted to hold off.”
“I didn’t do this on purpose,” Chessy said fiercely. “I know we talked about it at some point before Tate and I separated. But I acknowledged that a baby wouldn’t fix our problems. I’d never purposely become pregnant with our relationship in the shape it was.”
“I never thought you did this on purpose,” Joss soothed. “But hon, the timing is horrible. Tate is going to want you back more now than ever.”
Tears gathered in Chessy’s eyes. “I don’t want him back because of the baby. I want him to want me. To putmefirst. I have no doubt he’d put his child first. Is it selfish of me to want that priority over my baby?”
“God no,” Joss denied. “You should expect to come first with your husband. There’s no question of that. How do you plan to tell him?”
Chessy sighed wearily as they exited the clinic and walked to Joss’s car in the parking lot. “I don’t know. I have to think about this. This changes everything, Joss.”
“On the bright side, we’ll be pregnant together!” Joss said, smiling over at Chessy as she put her car in reverse.
Chessy attempted a smile. “Our children will grow up BFFs just like us.”
“Now we just have to get Kylie knocked up and it will be a trifecta!”
“Don’t hold your breath,” Chessy said in amusement. “I don’t think Kylie has plans to be pregnant any time soon if ever. And Jensen seems content with her decision.”
“And she’d make such a good mother,” Joss said sadly. “I hate that her decision is based on her own terrible childhood. Her worry that she’d ever treat a child of hers like her father treated her is ridiculous. There isn’t a sweeter, more generous soul out there.”
“Oh I agree,” Chessy said. “But I think it’s good that she’s waiting. Having children doesn’t necessarily complete a couple. There’s nothing wrong with devoting themselves to each other because, let’s face it, the minute a baby enters the picture, priorities change completely.”
Oh my God. The moment the words came out of her mouth, she realized that she could have well just voiced how her parents felt. That they’d devoted their time to each other, a child an unwanted intrusion. All the neglect that had been heaped upon her during her childhood was never what she wanted for her own child. In fact, even if she and Tate did get back together, her first and only priority had to be her child. Not Tate.
“Very true,” Joss conceded. “And you’re right. Having babies isn’t a necessary component in living happily ever after. Besides, Kylie will now have two babies to spoil. She can be Auntie Kylie and the best part is, she can give them back and sleep through the night, unlike us who’ll be up at all hours.”
“You’re not selling me on this motherhood thing,” Chessy said dryly.
“Sorry. I won’t say another word. My lips are sealed.”
“I wish I could share this with Tate,” Chessy said in a wistful voice. “Not that I’m going to keep it from him. I’m not. But I just wish things were different. That he could have gone to the doctor with me. That we were still together and he met the news with joy. This isn’t ever how I envisioned getting the word that I was pregnant with my first baby.”
Joss reached across the console and curled her hand around Chessy’s. “I know it’s not the way you wanted it to happen, but a baby is a blessing and you’re going to be an awesome mom, Chessy. You can do this. We’ll take childbirth classes together. I’ll let you borrow all my pregnancy books and we can even use the same OB doctor and schedule our appointments on the same days.”
The enthusiasm in Joss’s voice was contagious. Chessy felt the first kernel of excitement since having the proverbial bomb dropped on her in the doctor’s office.
She was going to have a baby.
No, it wasn’t the best timing in the world, but as Joss had said, a baby was a blessing no matter the circumstances. It was a piece of Tate she’d forever have. But a baby would also tie them irrevocably no matter if their marriage truly ended in divorce. What if Tate remarried? Her child would then have a stepmother in his or her life. Someone Chessy would have to accept as a parental figure. The very thought sent a shaft of pain through her heart.
A man like Tate wouldn’t have to look far for another woman. He was heart-stoppingly gorgeous, in perfect shape and he had money.
Why was jealousy gripping her at the very idea that he’d find someone else? She was the one who’d walked away. Not him. He’d spent the last weeks begging her to come back to him. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to even face him or speak directly to him.
But now it was inevitable. Because shehadto talk to him face-to-face. She had to tell him she was pregnant with his child.
TWENTY-FOUR
WITHeach passing day of complete silence from Chessy, Tate grew more and more despondent. Every day meant further loss of hope. But he still had his trump card. One he’d moved on very quickly; he planned to force a confrontation between himself and Chessy so he could prove to her that she was first and foremost in his priorities.
He’d agreed to a partnership with the two other financial advisors, splitting the client load equally three ways. Effective the next day, Morgan Financial Services would become Morgan, Hogan and Letterman Financial. Or MHL.
He’d thrown everything he had into getting it lined up as quickly as possible. It wasn’t as though he was sleeping nights anyway, so he’d stayed up, working on contracts and the legalities, all the fine print of the newly formed partnership.
It was done. It would be official tomorrow but he wanted Chessy to hear it from him directly. Tonight. Before the news broke the next day. The question was how to get to her? Jensen had appointed himself her bodyguard, never allowing Tate past the doorway. Chessy wasn’t answering his texts or his voicemails. And there was a giant wall of silence between him and those who used to be his friends—Dash, Joss and Kylie. Jensen he hadn’t known for that long, but the others? He considered them his closest friends, but they’d made their choice. Not that he begrudged Chessy their friendship, but he missed them. Not only had he lost his wife but he’d also lost their friends.
