Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Smiling at my brother, I crossed straight to him. Five and a half years my junior, he was tall, broad, and dark-eyed. He also very closely resembled Dane, though there were also hints of our deceased great-uncle there who’d died before we were born—we’d only ever seen pictures of Hugh, but Ollie definitely had the guy’s smile.
Right then, he stood and flashed that crooked smile at me. “Hey.”
I hugged him tight. “Hey yourself.”
He gestured at one of the two mugs on the heavy table. “A caramel latte awaits you.”
“Thanks.” As he returned to his seat, I claimed the one opposite and asked, “How’s everything at work?”
“Fine. I still have zero idea how no one at the company has tried poisoning Dad yet. He can be a total asshole to the staff sometimes. Though not unnecessarily. At least not all the time. He just doesn’t handle human error or inefficiency well. As you know, of course.”
I felt my eyes narrow. It was not like Ollie to ramble. Or drum his fingers restlessly on his thigh. Or bite into the inside of his cheek.
I realized, with a start, that he was nervous. It had to be a first. I’d never seen him nervous before. He was fearless in just about everything he did.
He cleared his throat. “How are things with Sapphire Glade?”
“All good. But I don’t think you asked me to meet you so we could have an idle chat. Is something wrong?” My chest tightened as my imagination began going wild.
He lifted a hand. “No, not wrong. I have some news. Good news. For me, anyway.” He rested his lower arms on the table. “I wanted to tell you while we were alone.”
“Okay,” I said, wary.
Ollie drew in a long breath. “Marleigh’s pregnant,” he blurted.
I felt my brows hit my hairline. “Really?” Thrilled, I let out a low but very girly squeal as I shot out of my seat and rounded the table. I hugged him again, probably squeezing a little too tight. “That’s amazing news.”
He eyed me carefully as I drew back. “You’re … you’re okay about it?”
I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, I knew it would make you think of …” He trailed off, clamping his lips shut.
As understanding dawned on me, a flood of affection washed through my system even as hurt gripped my gut. “Aw, Ollie.” I dragged my chair over to his and sat back down. “I won’t lie, the pain of my miscarriage will never go away. But it shouldn’t, should it? Something like that should leave its mark on you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not elated that you and Marleigh are having a baby.”
“It’s not that I thought you wouldn’t be pleased for us,” he told me. “I just thought it might hurt you on some level; that it’d be hard for you. I mean, you organize every kind of event imaginable, but never baby showers.”
“Not because I’d find it too difficult to be around pregnant women. My clients deserve for me to concentrate on them and their vision, not for me to be distracted by my personal loss. It isn’t fair to them. It’s the same reason why a newly divorced event organizer I know often refers soon-to-be wedded couples to Sapphire Glade—she worries her personal feelings would leak through and ruin their big day.”
Pausing, I rested a hand on his arm. “Trust me, I am delighted for you and Marleigh. I am delighted that I’ll soon have a niece or nephew. Please don’t doubt that. Please don’t think I’d resent you.”
His brows pulled together. “I never thought you’d feel any resentment, Addie—that’s not who you are. I just worried our good news would remind you of what you lost and that you’d find this difficult. Especially since it was the anniversary of your miscarriage only a few weeks back, so I know that the memories and hurt are kind of fresh right now.”
“Let’s face it, Ollie, it would be strange if your news didn’t make me think of the baby I lost. Like I said before, something like that should mark you. But that doesn’t detract from how positively ecstatic I am for you.”
His lips curled. “Marleigh will be relieved. She was so worried this would wreck you.”
I gently squeezed his hand. “I love you both for worrying, and I appreciate that you’d tell me in private in case it hit me hard. But I’m really fine. How far along is she?”
“Almost three months. We didn’t realize at first—she had no morning sickness, and her periods didn’t stop. But when she was craving coal, we knew something was going on.”
I almost did a double-take. “Coal?”
“Don’t worry, she didn’t eat any.”
Reaching across the table, I grabbed my untouched latte and then began peppering him with questions—how was she doing? Had they had a prenatal scan yet? Did they know the gender of the baby? And so on and so on.