The Proposition (Hush Hush Duet #2.5)

Chapter 17

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“The bad news,” Natalie says.

“You would,” I say, smiling over the phone as if she can see me. “The bad news is that you’re not going to be a big sister. You’re going to be an only child for the rest of your life.”

“You got the results!” she yells into the phone.

“I did. I got them yesterday afternoon. I’m not pregnant. Not even remotely close.”

“So why am I just now hearing about it?” she retorts.

My eyes shift to James, who’s sipping his coffee. I love our chill mornings before we leave for work. It’s our special time. I didn’t want to put a damper on the moment.

“I had a mini meltdown when I got home, and then I got dickmatized, and you know how that goes.”

I see James shakes his head from the corner of my eye. We made love three more times, each one more intense than the time before. Our connection strengthened, and this morning I feel closer to him than ever.

Natalie chuckles. “Was it the result you were hoping for?”

“It was. For a moment there I was sort of hoping I was pregnant, but at the same time I’m glad I’m not. James reminded me that Sanctuary is like my child, so that helped.”

“Aww, that’s true. You basically already have one hundred kids. I still vote for you to get a puppy. I like the one with the blue and brown eyes,” she says. I’d texted her pictures of the puppies at the adoption clinic before I got the call from my doctors. Before I can respond, she says, “Does this mean we get to start planning our girls’ trip?”

With everything going on, the Australia trip slipped my mind. “Yes! I can’t wait to do that. We’re overdue for one. I desperately need bestie time.”

“What do you think about going during the summer? I want to sip drinks from a coconut and lounge on the beach. And I want a guy in a paper skirt with nothing on under it to bring them to me.”

I frown. “We have to wait a whole year for that? I don’t want to wait that long. Let’s pick a different place so it’s only a couple of months away and not eleven.”

“Shoot. I forgot Australia summer is our winter. What if we go to Antigua? They have adults-only resorts, so no screaming babies will be around. I need some peace and quiet. Luca’s family is so loud.”

My bestie’s aversion to children always cracks me up. Watch her end up pregnant one day.

“Sounds like a date on the beach,” I say then stuff the top of a muffin into my mouth.

“I’ll start planning! You know I have nothing else going on in my neck of the woods but to drink homemade wine and look fabulous. Luca doesn’t want me working, and I’m not going to argue with that. Leave the itinerary to me. Okay, what’s the good news?”

I shift my gaze to James. I’d never force him into something he wasn’t comfortable doing, but I’m glad he came to his senses. I could tell the pregnancy scare shed new light on his relationship with Natalie, so I decided not to say anything just yet. While I had every intention of telling him that my barter for a night with Valentina and Reece was mending his relationship with Natalie in Italy, I’m relieved I won’t have to.

James misses Natalie. He wants to bridge the divide her surprise marriage put between them. The problem is James resents Luca with a fiery passion. To see Natalie, James would have to face Luca.

James is still hurt Natalie didn’t tell him about the engagement until the marriage was already complete. She hadn’t even told me. That stung, but I didn’t give her shit like I wanted to. I have no room to talk. I dated James behind her back and got paid millions to fuck him.

“James wants to visit you in Italy. You just have to tell us what works for you and Luca.”

It’s all I say. Natalie is quiet for so long that I pull the phone away to check the screen. She hasn’t hung up on me.

Natalie clears her throat. Her words are raspy when she replies. “Yeah, ah, I wasn’t expecting that.” She pauses then says her question like she needs clarification. “So my dad is willingly coming to my house? The one I share with Luca? Like…he wants to?”

“Yes.”

She’s quiet for another moment. Her soft breaths on the other side of the phone sound like she’s trying to keep her emotions intact. “The pregnancy possibility scared him straight, didn’t it?”

“It put a lot of things into perspective,” I say, reaching for my coffee mug.

“I almost don’t know what to say. I wish you would have gotten a false positive sooner. This is good news. Really good news.” Her words crackle with emotion.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m okay. I’m more than okay. I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I’m happy. I just wasn’t expecting that. I don’t know if I’m more excited you’re not pregnant or that you’re visiting me. I thought maybe you were going to say James is getting his nuts snipped so you never have to go through a pregnancy scare like that again.”

A laugh I can’t control escapes me. James watches with perplexity. “Oh, yeah, he’s doing that too. He’s agreed to get a vasectomy.”

“You’re kidding me,” she replies, astonished.

“Nope. He’s going under the knife as soon as we can plan it.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know,” I say in agreement. “I could come off birth control too, but I think I’ll stay on just to be safe.”

“This is a lot to take in. I’m going to need Luca to open a real bottle of wine from the eighteenth century, and not the kind his grandparents make in the shed.”

I giggle. “You’re so dramatic.”

“I’m actually not for once. Luca will probably think I’m lying when I tell him the news. How is your puppy going to fit in with all of this? Maybe you should consider getting one after your trips.”

I hadn’t thought that far in advance. I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering how I could make it work. “Good thinking. I guess I’ll have to wait. I don’t want to board a dog for two weeks.”

James nods quietly, silently agreeing. At least he didn’t say no to a dog.

“Get the procedure done before you come to Italy. I don’t need you having another false scare, and then we can’t do wine tastings and the whole trip is ruined.”

Natalie is ridiculous, and I love that about her. My eyes light up. I’ve done plenty of wine tastings with James, but never with Natalie. I already foresee lots of laughing and memories in the making.

“A double date wine tasting?” My focus is on James. I know he’s listening. He resent Luca, but I’m holding out hope he softens a bit toward him when we’re there. “Let’s hope the wine calms their raging testosterone and doesn’t make them want to fight.”

“I’ll have Luca rent out the vineyard just in case.” I chuckle, thinking Natalie is just being funny, but then she says, “I’m not kidding.”

“He can do that?” I ask curiously.

Her voice lowers. “He has a lot of power here. He can do anything he wants, get away with anything he wants.”

She trails off, leaving the statement open. My brows rise. I’m about to delve deeper into the meaning behind her words, but she continues.

“Let me talk to Luca and see what his schedule looks like. He travels a lot. Mostly to Sicily, so it’s not too far. I’ll have him bring cannolis back for you guys. He swears they have the best ones. I told him to get me a vegan one, but he refuses, says there is no such thing. I know he’s lying because I’ve had them.” She quiets again then says, “I’m really happy James had a change of heart. Thanks, Ram Jam.”

A massive smile spreads across my face at the nickname she created long ago. “Me too. Life is too short not to enjoy it.”

Natalie and I hang up shortly after discussing all the places we want to visit together. I think I’m more excited about seeing her in Italy than going on a girls’ trip. I know how much it would mean to Natalie for James to visit and accept Luca as her husband.

“You made her day,” I say softly.

James folds the Wall Street Journal and places the newspaper on the little glass dinette he’s sitting at. His eyes meet mine, and his look of affection has me standing up and walking over to him. He uncrosses his knee and reaches for my waist, tugging me into his lap. I nestle into the crook of his arm, and he rubs the outside of my thigh. He releases a breath, and it soothes all the feathers inside me that I didn’t know were ruffled until now. James is my peace, my sanctuary. I rest my head in the curve of his neck, and he twirls the ends of my hair around his finger.

“Do you still want a puppy?”

I nod against his chest.

“We don’t have to wait until we get back from Italy to get one.”

I sit up and look at him. My eyes widen to saucers. “Really?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t make sense to wait. It’s not like we’re never going to travel again.”

He’s got a point. “What caused this change of heart? The puppy, Italy… Was it really the pregnancy scare?”

He shrugs, clearly unsure. “My whole life has been about making moments. Collections filled with laughter, adventure, people, food, places. Life is so short. I don’t want to lose out on seeing my daughter any more than I already have. That’s not a collection of moments I want to remember, and I have many of those from when she was younger. The regret eats away at me. I want to be part of her life, and right now it doesn’t feel like I am. How could I bring another child into this world and give it attention when I didn’t give the one I have now the time she deserves?” He studies the finger that’s twirling my hair. Melancholy surrounds James but I don’t intercede. I can sense these things have been stewing inside him, and I want him to get them out. “Things happen for a reason. Maybe these last two weeks were supposed to be a wakeup call. We’re not getting any younger. If a puppy makes you happy and fulfilled, then we’ll get one. I want to see you smile every day.”

He pauses to look at me then cups the side of my face. I lean into his touch.

“You would’ve made a great mother, Aubrey. But you don’t have to give birth to be a mom. You already are one to all the people you care for at Sanctuary. You were to your grammy. You are to her cat. Even my daughter. Never forget that.”

Tears blur my vision. I blink rapidly, hoping they don’t fall. His words are sweet and hit me right in the heart. I try to smile, but my jaw trembles. I hadn’t considered myself a mother until James pointed it out that day. And now that he has, the thought of missing out on motherhood dissipates.

“Looks like we’re going to Italy. Are you going to play nice with Luca?”

“I never said anything about that.”

James pulls my face down and kisses me softly. How I love this man.

Time moves fast. Moments are forever, but we never get the same moment twice.

The End