Chapter Twenty-One

Jade

I cleared my weekend to spend time with my family. Okay, so maybe my trip all had to do with guilt. Although I spoke to my mom and sister almost every day, I hadn’t spoken to my dad since his last phone call or seen any of them since my visit with Max.

As my train pulled into the station, I flipped my laptop closed, shoved it into my bag, and then exited onto the platform. It wasn’t hard to locate my brother-in-law, yet he waved when he spotted me.

“Greg, you’re the only one here,” I kidded as I approached.

“Safety first.” He jerked his head toward the older gentlemen a few parking spots away before taking my bag. “He could be a sociopath looking to cause trouble in this boring town.”

“Or he could be picking up that sweet woman behind me.”

“Okay, your scenario is probably more accurate.” After kissing my cheek in greeting, he asked, “How’ve ya been, sister-in-law?”

“Good.”

His eyes zoned in on my belly bump. “Yep. You’re pregnant.”

“Ha ha. Did you think that was all a ‘just kidding?’”

He laughed and tossed my bag into the backseat while I slid into the passenger side.

“Hey, heads up…” Greg said when he started the car. “Saph is pissed you came out so late today.”

“Yeah, she already gave me shit over it. She’ll never understand my job and why my Saturday mornings are needed to regroup.” I thumbed toward my bag in the back. “I have my laptop with me so I can work later. And if you tell her, I’ll squeal that you asked me to shop for her anniversary gift while you went golfing with your friends.”

“Ouch,” he griped with a smirk.

Three minutes later, Greg pulled into his driveway. My sister’s neighborhood was like a page out of a nursery rhyme. A suburban maze of cozy colonials with fenced in lawns and wrap-around porches. I could hear other children in the neighborhood playing…suburbia at its finest.

Greg grabbed my bag and led me into the house. At seeing us, my nephew yelled, “Aunt Jadie!” My heart warmed instantly at hearing him. Besides Kenner, my dad was the only one who called me Jadie. He scrambled off the couch and catapulted into my arms before my sister could stop him.

“Kenner Thomas Reynolds! Be careful with Aunt Jade.”

“Why?” he whined, but Sapphire’s warning came way too late as my favorite little boy clung to me.

“Hey, squirt. How are you?”

“Good. I was showing Everly how to play Go Fish.”

My gaze shifted to where my sister sat in the center of the couch with playing cards strewn around her.

“Come play,” he urged. “Come play.”

“I will soon.”

“Kenner, Aunt Jade just got here.” Sapphire’s announcement had the smile falling off his cute little face.

“But Mommy…Aunt Jadie hasn’t been here in so long.”

You’re killing me, kid.

“That’s true,” his mother said, “but we want to have some adult time before Daddy starts grilling dinner. You can play with Aunt Jadie later.”

“But that’s forever away,” he dramatically huffed.

“It’s not forever away.” Greg plopped my bag on a chair before coming over to peel his son away from me. While holding him, Greg said, “Aunt Jade has to help Mommy with dinner. I’ll put Cars on for you.”

Watching my brother-in-law interact with his son gave me an unexpected visual of Max that I didn’t understand. Why he came to mind at that moment confused me. And then I realized it was seeing a father interacting with his child that caused a proverbial smack to my head.

Once my child was born, Max would need to split his time between his job, his other baby, and me. I had no right to expect him to give up any time with his daughter because of me. Yet, selfishly, the more my feelings for Max grew, the more I wished he didn’t have to be forced to split his time.

“Thanks, honey,” Sapphire called out as she hoisted her daughter onto her hip and walked toward the kitchen.

“Give me my baby girl,” I demanded, taking my second favorite little human into my arms. Everly giggled when I pecked kiss after kiss on her soft skin. I glanced out the sliding doors. “The backyard looks fantastic, Saph. I love the gazebo.”

My sister rolled her eyes. “That thing is massive.”

This pool and backyard were my brother-in-law’s pride and joy. Every time I visited, I noticed another addition. He claimed since there were no rooms left in the house to take ownership of, his backyard would be the man cave he always dreamed of. That announcement came the day he got his Christmas bonus.

Greg worked hard for his family, recently having been promoted to regional manager for the drug company he worked for. I was thrilled my sister no longer needed to go back to work and that they had breathing room when it came to finances. Being single, and now more specifically a single mom, worrying about finances was always a heavy weight I carried on my shoulders. My parents did what they could for us, but I needed loans to help when I decided to go to law school. Making partner would’ve helped to solve that finance burden.

Suppressing a sigh, I sat on a chair still holding Everly. In only four months and some change, my own child would be part of this mix. Even with it that close, it was still hard to visualize my new life ahead.

“Mom and Dad will be here soon.” She stirred something on the stove. “So, how’s Max?”

“That took you five minutes longer to ask than normally.”

“Smart-ass.”

“Smaht-ass, smaht-ass, smaht-ass,” Everly chanted.

I couldn’t help but giggle before saying, “That’s Karma right there, my sister.”

“And you haven’t answered my question.”

“He’s good. Busy.” Sapphire stopped chopping a tomato and stared at me, cocking her head while narrowing her eyes. “You’re hiding something.”

Jesus Christ. “Yes, I am. The truth is Max isn’t the father of my baby. Bradley Cooper is, and he’s not ready to reveal our hot love affair.”

Before Sapphire could comment, my mom came rushing into the kitchen with my father behind her. “Jade!” She snatched up Everly, passed her to my sister, and molded her hands around my belly. “You’re getting so big.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I said on a sigh, but my focus was on my father. “Hi, Dad.”

I watched as he worked a swallow. “Hey, sweetheart.” Suddenly he wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry for how I’ve acted. I love you and only want you to be happy.”

Over his shoulder, I watched my mom and sister exchange an all-knowing look. “It’s fine, Daddy.” When he pulled away to search my face, I hid all the worry I held over how things were going to work out with Max. I hid my anxiety over my situation at the firm. Instead, I plastered on a huge smile and said, “I am happy.”

I blinked, and my twenty-week sonogram had arrived. Gone was the random vomiting, and Max seemed more grateful for that than even I was. I had energy again. My libido remained on alert. I truly felt fantastic.

Max and I may not have seen a lot of each other, but the time spent together brought us closer. Despite my growing feelings, I kept trying to prepare myself for the possibility that Max and I would co-parent without any other ties between us except for the baby we made. The truth of the matter was he would be spending most of his time in Miami while I was here in New York.

Because of that, I held back emotionally to preserve my heart. I knew remaining level-headed was my only line of defense to avoid heartbreak…but that was easier said than done.

My brain could dictate all it wanted, but my heart already argued that I’d take five minutes with Max rather than none at all. It was that realization that scared me more than having a child did.

Max had gotten under my skin.

When we started our relationship, we knew seeing each other would be a challenge due to our busy schedules. Unfortunately, recently it seemed like the universe kept throwing obstacle after obstacle at us to prevent from getting together, and it made me very cranky.

Arriving to my sonogram appointment a few minutes early, I flipped through a magazine waiting to be called in or for Max to arrive. He was on his way over from the airport, and I’d hate for him to get here late and miss it, especially knowing how excited he was for this.

But ten minutes later, as I lay on the table, when Dr. Laramie walked in with a pleasant smile, I worried he wasn’t going to make it.

“Hi, Jade. Sorry for the delay. It’s been a crazy day. Babies don’t tend to keep to a schedule.”

“I was hoping you’d be even later,” I admitted with a shrug. “The baby’s father is on his way.”

“Oh, I see. Well, hopefully, he’ll get here soon,” she said flippantly. “If not, you’ll be leaving with images to share with him.”

Which would suck.

“How are you feeling, Jade?”

“Today, I’m anxious. But overall, I feel great.”

“All normal.” She scribbled some notes in my chart.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Is it safe for me to fly next month?” It had been something I considered since Max’s invite. I could still see the disappointed look on his face when I said I couldn’t go. Knowing he would be there when Tracey gave birth, I thought it’d be nice to see his gym, meet Tracey and his daughter. “Just to Florida for a few days,” I clarified.

“Yes, you should be able to. There’s no risk to flying, and many women still do so up until their thirty-sixth week. It really depends on how you feel.” On my nod, she smiled and said, “Shall we get started?”

“Sure,” I said, my shoulders dropping. Max still hadn’t arrived.

After my routine exam, she snapped her rubber gloves off, threw them away, and moved toward an antibacterial dispenser on the counter. “Sarah will be in to perform the sonogram. I’ll be back once it’s done.”

“Okay.” A few minutes later, the door opened, and I couldn’t mask my disappointment for the second time when it wasn’t Max.

“Hello, Jade. I’m Sarah,” she said with a smile, dragging the sonogram machine closer to the small stool she sat on at the end of the table. She then coated my belly with a cold gel before moving the paddle back and forth. She pointed to the center of gray static imaging. “There’s your baby.”

I focused on the screen, stunned at what I saw. I didn’t know what I expected, but right there was a fully formed baby, arms moving, mouth opening and closing. Sure, its head was too large for its body, but it had two arms, hands, legs, and feet, all clear as day. As was a cute button nose, an adorable rounded butt, which made it all so very real for the first time since I learned of this tiny peanut I carried.

The image blurred a bit through my teary eyes, and as I stared in wonder, Max busted through the door.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, out of breath, before frantically rushing toward me.

“Max.” My relieved expression spoke for itself. “It’s the most amazing thing to see.”

His frown softened.

“Sarah, this is the baby’s father, Max Navarro.”

“Her boyfriend,” he corrected, ignoring my surprised gaze. “I’m so sorry I’m late.” He positioned beside me, taking my hand and leaning close to my head.

“Actually, you’re right on time.” Sarah again pointed to the screen, and his focus shifted while he squeezed my hand.

“Look, Max.”

“Oh my God,” he said softly. I watched his face as he watched our child. The obvious awe revealed on handsome face, combined with seeing our baby, overwhelmed me.

Sarah continued typing in between moving the paddle over my belly. After several minutes, she then asked, “Do you want to know the sex?”

“You can see that?” Max asked.

My eyes scoured the screen, but I saw nothing that would resemble that part of the anatomy.

“Sometimes if we shift the mother to her side, that will have the baby behaving less modestly.”

“We haven’t discussed it yet.” I slid my attention to Max, and the shimmer of emotion in his eyes brought a lump to my throat and caused a tear to roll. Clearly, he was okay with knowing. He already knew Tracey was having a girl. But I…I wasn’t sure yet.

He glanced down at me and wordlessly smoothed it away as I leaned into his touch. “It’s up to you.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding, then turned to Sarah. “If you can see the sex, can you seal it in an envelope for us?”

“Absolutely.” She continued to manipulate the machine. Max barely spoke, and instead of words, he pressed his lips against the side of my head every so often.

“Okay, Jade. Can you shift to your left?”

Max helped me do so as Sarah continued to type dexterously at the keyboard while shifting the probe. Every so often, the image on the screen would print out another square, advancing the long continuous line of film.

A minute later, she said, “Okay, all done. I’ll print the results for you. Dr. Laramie will be in to answer any questions.” Even in the new position on my side, I saw no sign of a penis or lack of.

Once Sarah gave us privacy, I turned to face him and met his gaze with a small smile. He kissed me long and hard, and a silent pact passed between us. I knew that regardless of what happened down the road, we both would do anything for this child.

From that moment on, that tiny baby growing inside me was ours to protect, to love. It was a moment I hadn’t prepared myself for. It was very humbling.

Dr. Laramie reappeared with my chart in hand. “So, everything looks great.” After flipping some pages, she said, “You’re progressing nicely, Jade. I see you don’t want to know the sex today. The results will be in a sealed envelope waiting for you at the reception desk.”

“Thank you,” we both said in unison.

“You’re very welcome. I’ll see you next month.”

We were left alone to see ourselves out. I looked at Max but couldn’t read what he was thinking. Was he thinking of his other baby? Was the situation finally hitting him?

“Are you okay?” I asked, taking his hand in mine.

“Jade…I’m a lot overjoyed, overwhelmingly amazed, and a little terrified.”