Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“No. But thank you. I have far too much to do.”
“Okay.” I feigned a smile, disappointed that I probably wouldn’t see him again for a while.
CHAPTER 21
* * *
Abby
Track 21: “Crush” by Jennifer Paige
“Oh my God. It looks like a little acorn.” Felicity gushed over the ultrasound image I’d taken out to show her.
We’d just finished eating, and now she and I sat in the living room as Eloise played with her dolls on the floor. I looked at the photo for the first time since I’d placed it in my purse earlier, and tears filled my eyes.
“Oh no.” Felicity’s expression darkened. “Did I say something to upset you?”
“No. You’re fine.” I sniffled. “It’s just… I’ve been emotional ever since I saw the heartbeat. But I didn’t want to cry in front of Sig earlier. Didn’t feel like I had a right to. So I guess it’s coming out now.”
She stood and grabbed me a tissue. “You have every right. You’re just as much a part of this experience as anyone else—the biggest part, if you ask me.”
I blew my nose. “I didn’t expect to be so emotional about it.”
“How was he during the appointment?”
“At first he seemed reluctant to be there, but when that little heartbeat was up on the screen, he was transfixed. He admitted in the car that it made everything seem real. Then he told me the due date is Britney’s birthday.”
Felicity covered her mouth. “Oh my.”
“Yeah. So he opened up a bit in the car, but then true to form, he shut down after that.” I stared blankly at Eloise playing by her mother’s feet. “I get why he went quiet today. But he’s been standoffish overall, even before this.”
“That’s strange. I thought things were going well?”
“We were getting along for a while. He even came out to a pub one night with the work crew last month. It was late by the time we got out, so I spent that night in the guest room at his apartment in London.”
Surprise crossed her face. “Really?”
“I was shocked he offered that, too. He’s so private about his personal space. But that night...” I sighed, unsure what I should be admitting right now.
Felicity searched my eyes eagerly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Nothing crazy.” I shrugged. “I just might have…divulged a little too much, and I think that’s why he’s been avoiding me.”
She leaned in curiously, and I ended up telling her what I’d admitted to Sig about feeling more aroused since the pregnancy. I told her I feared he thought I’d been insinuating something.
She had a bit of a different theory. “Trust me, it wasn’t what you said that freaked him out. It was probably his reaction to it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think, much to his chagrin, he likes you, and it’s making things complicated.”
“What do you mean likes me?”
“I think he likes you as a person, but I imagine he’s attracted to you in other ways.”
My heart fluttered, even if I didn’t believe it. “What are you basing that on?”
“Several things. When people are scared, they retreat. And you mentioned him being protective toward you when it came to that guy at work. He wouldn’t care about that unless it affected him personally.”
“I think he’s protecting his unborn child—not me. I’m just a…vessel for something that’s important to him.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Abby. You’re a beautiful woman. Sig is not blind. And I think he genuinely likes you as a person, too. You’re the whole package. How could he not like you?”
Her opinion on the matter reminded me of what Sig had said about me not being the kind of woman a man would want to share. I hadn’t confessed that part to her. Could she be right? Was he attracted to me? Was that the reason he’d been staying away?
“I do have a crush on him,” I admitted, my cheeks tingling. “I don’t want to. And it’s a bit embarrassing for me to admit. It doesn’t help this situation.” I blew some air out. “I haven’t told anyone, not even Lavinia.”
“Well, thank you for confiding in me.” Felicity smiled. “I can completely understand. He’s a handsome, charismatic guy, albeit complex.”
“Developing feelings for that man would be the most futile thing I’ve ever done. He’d never cross the line with me.”
Felicity looked away as she seemed to ponder that. “I agree that he wouldn’t come around to the idea very easily. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to, if things were different.”
“This situation was a lot easier when I thought he was a jerk.”
She laughed. “Let me tell you a secret about Sig. He comes across as almost heartless sometimes because he doesn’t express his feelings. But he’s just the opposite. He has the biggest heart out of everyone.”
“I’ve definitely figured out there’s more than meets the eye.”