Alex.
I knew that I had to tell him. I pulled up the calendar on my phone. I would wait until I was past the twelve-week mark. I’d been doing my research and that was when it was considered the “safe zone.”
Two more months. That’s how long I had until I needed to have the conversation. I wasn’t sure if I was happy or sad about that. Part of me wanted to see him now, immediately, and tell him but another part of me was terrified at what he would say.
I’d always been a rip the Band-Aid off kinda gal, but in this situation I was finding that I was relieved to have some time to adjust to the news myself.
A knock sounded at the door. I smiled. I was sure that my dad had sent either Yana up or had Charli come over to check on me,buthe’d also told me not to get up. I couldn’t answer the door and not get up.
Luckily, thanks to Alex’s state of the art security system, I could unlock the front door from my phone. I opened the app and did just that.
“It’s open. You didn’t have to check on me,” I called out as I stood to welcome my guest. Yes, I was breaking a “rule” but I wasn’t going to walk, just stand. My smile widened as the door swung open. “I’m fin—”
The corners of my mouth fell as my jaw dropped down. It wasn’t Yana or Charli standing on the other side of my door. It was Alex. Several days worth of stubble covered his strong jawline. His hair was messier than usual. And even though it was a Thursday afternoon, he wasn’t wearing his usual designer suit and tie. He had on black slacks and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He looked like sex on a stick. I had to lift my hand to my face to make sure that I wasn’t drooling. It was a good thing I checked because I was. Just a little. I swiped the corners of my mouth and took a deep breath.
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. I watched as his large hands pressed it closed and my heart beat like wild horses galloping across my chest.
“Hi.” His deep voice vibrated through me from head to toe.
“Hi.” I wasn’t sure if my greeting could actually be heard or not, all I could hear was my heartbeat.
“How are you feeling?”
“Um…better.”
“I got these for you.” He extended his hand and I saw that he’d been holding a stunning bouquet of wildflowers.
I was so distracted by his hotness that I didn’t even notice the flowers.
Get it together, Burke.
“Oh, thank you.” I started to take a step toward him as a wave of dizziness washed over me and I stumbled back.
He rushed to my side and steadied me as I lowered back down to a seated position. As he did, I inhaled the masculine scent that was uniquely his. Having him this close to me, touching me, caring for me was too much.
I wasn’t prepared to see him for another eight weeks. How was I going to keep such a huge secret from him?
Eeyore’s nails clicked on the hardwood flooring as he came out from the bedroom to greet one of his favorite people. I watched as Alex bent down and rubbed him behind the ears. E flopped onto his back revealing his belly and Alex obliged him by giving him good belly rubs.
“How’s Lexi?” I missed her as much, if not more, than I missed Alex.
I’d been thinking about what a great big sister she was going to be. If, that is, Alex decided he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life. Now that he was actually here and I was seeing him, it felt wrong to be keeping the news from him. It felt like withholding the information was lying.
But what if I told him and then something happened?
I would have put him on an emotional roller coaster and for what?
My mind still hadn’t come up with any answers when he stood and looked down at me. “Sadie...”
The way he said my name had my stomach doing more somersaults than an Olympic gymnast. There was an underlying weight to it that told me what he was about to say was important.
I scooted forward on the couch. “Alex, I need to—”
“Wait, I just.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I just need to get this out.”
So did I but he seemed upset, so I nodded. “Okay.”
