Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
“Trust me.” I smooth his tie down. “I get more rest than I need.” I’m all but climbing the walls. If anyone needs rest, it’s Luka. I don’t know how he does it. The man is working nonstop to complete his project. “I think it’s you that needs rest.”
“This is almost my normal.”
“Really? You always work this much?” He’s out the door first thing after we shower, and some nights he makes it home for a late dinner, but not always. I've gone downstairs to bring him some food on occasion, knowing he loses track of time.
“Possibly more. I cut out early to spend time with you.”
Whoa, I don’t know what to make of that. It’s a lot to wrap my mind around. Is Luka going to remain this way forever? Is this how life will be with him? Him spending most of his time inside an office? Whether it’s this project or the next, will it always demand this much of his time? Those thoughts make me sad. To think about how much life is passing him by. Don’t get me wrong; I understand that his work is extremely important, but so are the people in your life. I push all that to the back of my mind for now. I don’t want to dwell on it at this moment. Or at least I want to try not to.
“You’ll be home at seven tonight?”
“I can be home at seven if you need me to.”
"Your sister's coming for dinner with my brother,” I remind him. Paisley told me two days ago she was going to stop here on their way home from New York to see me. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since. Maybe a familiar face will help.
“Right, sorry.” He presses his lips to mine. “I’ll see you tonight." Luka turns to leave. I stand in the middle of our bedroom, wondering if that was his way of saying not to bring him lunch today. I started doing that this past week. Maybe I was cutting into his work time. He seemed happy when I showed up for lunch, but it might be selfish.
When I hear the chime for the front door, I take off toward it, remembering what I’d asked Owen for yesterday.
“You got it?” I come to a sliding stop in front of him. He’s barely in the front door.
“I got it.” He holds up the brown paper bag. “Are you sure you don’t want Mr. Woods here?” Owen asks after I take the bag from him.
“I think I want to be alone. He doesn’t need to be thinking about this when it could be nothing.”
“All right,” he responds, but his expression clearly doesn’t agree. “I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thank you,” I say before I head back toward the master bathroom. I pull out all three tests he got for me and take them all, one after another.
I pace back and forth, watching the timer on my phone click down each second until it finally goes off. I rush back over to the counter to see all three test results say the same thing.
Pregnant.
“Oh my God,” I say, touching my stomach. “I’m pregnant.” Happy tears burn in my eyes. I’ve always wanted kids. But does Luka?
I mean, he has to realize we haven’t ever used anything. He’s never asked me about birth control. It’s never come up between us. I would think if he didn’t want kids it would be something he would emphasize.
My stomach fills with both excitement and nerves at the same time. I’m in a daze all day, thinking about how I’m going to tell Luka and how he might respond. More than that, I think about the kind of father he would be. The man works so much. Will I be stuck in one of his many homes doing this all alone? That wasn’t how I pictured motherhood.
It has always been in my mind that I would raise my children in Cottonwood. I loved growing up there. My parents would be close, even my brother. I sit down on the couch, and my stomach is now starting to turn. How am I going to live this way? I have been doing it for almost six weeks now, and it’s slowly killing me. The only friend I have managed to make is Owen, and he’s paid to be around.
Even the baskets I passed out around the building got me weird looks. The reactions people had weren’t what I was used to or expected, and it didn’t help me make any friends.
The door chime goes off, alerting me that someone is here. When I see Paisley and my brother, I feel a pang of disappointment. It's not that I'm not eager to see them. I just really want Luka right now.
“You’re here!” As I rush over to them, I force a smile on my face. I engulf them both in a hug. “I’ve missed you guys.”