“We better check right now,” Joe said, sitting bolt upright on his bed. The dark room felt suddenly oppressive and cold.
Eva and Joe jumped off the bed and got dressed in record time. They drove in dreaded silence to the local pharmacy to buy a kit. When Joe parked, Eva reached over and stopped him before he got out.
“You can’t go in with me. Not when I’m buying a pregnancy test. Who knows where Kitty Mittens has eyes?” Damn feline at large.
“Don’t be paranoid.”
She clenched his forearm. “Joe, you’re a public figure around here, running for reelection. This is what is known as a scandal. The timing couldn’t be worse. Stay here.”
She pulled the hood up on her beach-glass-blue-colored sweatshirt, tucking inside as much of her red hair as possible. She opened her purse and started to slip on her sunglasses, when Joe took her hand. She glanced up at him shaking his head.
“Too much,” he said, kindly.
Feeling more like someone planning a heist than buying a kit, she opened the door.
“Wait,” he said, digging out his wallet and handing her money. “The least I can do is pay for it.”
She cringed inside. In the long run, they might both pay for it.
She slunk inside the pharmacy and found the aisle where the kits were kept, then bought the digital one that said it could detect early pregnancies. Never in her life had she expected to be in this situation, and as she paid, a lump formed in her throat. She tried her best to keep from crying in public. She made it through the transaction by avoiding eye contact, but on her way back to the car, her chin quivered, and eyes brimmed. She swiped early tears aside, determined to have it together before she got back to the car.
On a deep inhale, she slipped inside the car and buckled up. “Deed done.”
He nodded slowly, sympathetically, reaching for and holding her hand, his warm and hers cold from night air. “Whatever turns out, we’re in this together.”
Well, fact was, it was usually on the woman in this situation, but decent as ever, he’d inserted himself into it.
A few minutes later they parked in his garage and closed the door before exiting the car. This was new, and only because there were people seeming to hide in the bushes to get compromising pictures of him. Without another word, they took the test inside and Eva went directly to the bathroom, where she closed the door.
Joe was shut out from Eva as she took the pregnancy test. He paced, never having been in this situation before. One little thing that looked like a digital thermometer could rewrite both of their futures. Amazing. The thought of becoming a father forced a hundred quick thoughts. He’d met an amazing woman. They’d had a most unusual start. His determination to restart their dating clock reinforced how much he liked Eva. Even while trying to slow things down, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Amazing was the word of the moment, because that was the only way he could describe their lovemaking. Truth was, he liked everything about her, and even before tonight, he could see a future with her. It all depended on her and what she wanted. Positive or negative, he was ready to take the next step. Which in itself was freaking amazing.
The bathroom door creaked open and his heart rate doubled. Eva’s pale complexion and serious eyes told the story. He didn’t need to hear...
“It’s positive,” she whispered.
“Amazing,” he blurted without irony, the word pinned to his heart.
Then she cried. Which crushed him as he pulled her to his chest and she crumpled against him while he held her up. With Eva tight in his arms, he kissed the crown of her head as she sobbed, wanting her to know it was fine. Wonderful, in fact. This was how they seemed to do things, fast and out of order. But he needed to wait, to see where she was emotionally. And above all, not to push her in any direction.
“Is it the end of the world?” He’d only heard her cry with Lacy, but never wanted to be the reason.
“This wasn’t in my five-year plan,” she blubbered.
“It wasn’t in mine, either, but here we are.” Trying his best to keep his head together—which surprisingly was in a calm and collected state—for the sake of both of them.
“Noah’s only just turned one!”
“True.” What could he say? She was stuck on plans and unwanted surprises. Well, he could relate to that, too. But in this case the surprise seemed...just how did it seem? Awesome actually. A baby with the most amazing woman he’d ever met. “Look, I know it’s early in the relationship, that we’re still feeling our way around getting to know each other, but it feels right to me. I say let’s go for it,” he said, without thinking through the meaning of those words.
She tensed in his arms. “How very pragmatic of you.”
He’d been deep in his head, figuring out his feelings about their news, hadn’t thought to gauge where she might be, beyond shocked and crying.
Gazing up, she captured his eyes. “Unfortunately, that’s not what I’m looking for in a proposal.”
Yeah, he should’ve worded it better, but the true intention was there. “I understand, not very romantic, but it’s sincere. I mean it. Why not?” He held her out a bit to better see her and watch her reaction. “We’re crazy about each other. Well, I am, won’t speak for you. We’re compatible. I think about you all the time when you’re not around. I haven’t put a word to it yet, but...”
“Please don’t say anything else. We’re not in our right minds right now. We’ve already made a baby and I don’t want to rush into anything else right this minute. I need time to deal with this.” Her hand fell to her abdomen.
“I understand.” He bent and kissed her tenderly, then took her hand and led her to the bedroom. She hesitated at the door.
“This never helps me think straight,” she said.
“Trust me here.”
After a moment’s thought, Eva allowed him to take her to his bed, undress her down to her underwear with care and consideration, and love. Yeah. The pregnancy may have forced the word out, but it was true. He wouldn’t deny that he’d fallen in love with Eva.
He put her to bed and tucked the covers around her before he undressed to his briefs, then hopped in and spooned up behind her. “All I want to do is hold you.”
They settled into each other, snuggling together. Slowly he sensed the tension leave her body as her breathing slowed and her head rested gently on his shoulder. Then her eyes fluttered shut.
He kissed her forehead. “Good night, mi amor.”
In the last twelve months, Eva had adopted a son and bought a house, moving to a new city. In the past month every other aspect of Eva’s life had also changed. She’d met Joe, temporarily moved in with her sister, gotten involved with a good man. In the last twelve hours, all those prior changes seemed like nothing compared with being pregnant.
She and Joe had parted that morning with a hug and kiss. No words. He’d said all he’d needed last night. For now, their passion had been forgotten over the news of becoming parents. He was rolling toward the end of the election and had a city to run. She knew they wouldn’t see each other for the next couple of days, and totally understood. She was glad, even, needing time to think without his influence over her thoughts. And she certainly had a lot to think about.
Lacy immediately knew something was up. “I hope you and Joe didn’t break up because of that stupid picture.”
“No. We didn’t. He’s super busy right now, and I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on, that’s all.”
Lacy wasn’t convinced, Eva could tell, but this time, surprisingly, she didn’t press, and Eva was grateful for that. It would take a while to wrap her brain around being pregnant, and she didn’t want Lacy to know until she’d made peace with her situation. This was supposed to be Lacy’s big time, engaged, planning a wedding. Instead Eva had materialized, taking center stage, throwing everything off track. And now this. Might Lacy resent her for overshadowing the most important time in a future bride’s life?
She studied her sister, the stranger she’d shared a womb with and years later had quickly gotten to know, who didn’t have a resentful bone in her body. Lacy was nosy and sometimes a little pushy, but right now she instinctively knew to step back and let things be. More importantly, Eva trusted that Lacy would be as thrilled as Eva should be about the news when she finally told her. Maybe she should start working on that part, the excitement, the joy, instead of all the practicalities.
Joe called every day and they talked. He was always upbeat, but respectful of her need to be the only one making a decision. Eva didn’t want to see him, but rather focus more on being pregnant and what it all meant in the scheme of her future. Could she handle being a single mother of two? Joe had said, Let’s go for it, but she’d never wanted to have to get married, and she’d always suspect he’d felt forced to propose if she jumped right in and said yes. Though a part of her really wanted to. There was loads to think about and not enough hours in the day to do it.
On Sunday, Lacy prepared their third birthday cake for ages eleven to fifteen. It would be their boy-crazy cake, and they planned to share all their favorite boy bands and songs that afternoon as they celebrated more of the birthdays they’d missed. It was good to have the distraction of combing her brain for those nearly forgotten memories. Not surprisingly, they’d both crushed hard on Nick Carter. Go Backstreet Boys.
While Noah took his afternoon nap, they sang each other “Happy Birthday.” The third time around catching up on missed birthdays, they weren’t nearly as emotional as the first two. After stuffing her face on white layer cake with strawberry cream filling and pink frosting—because morning sickness hadn’t kicked in—Eva decided to share her news. Daisy had come out of hiding in time to lick leftover icing from their plates, and Lacy mindlessly pet her calico cat as she feasted.
“I’m pregnant,” Eva said, just throwing it out there.
“What?” Lacy appeared to have just seen a UFO.
Eva nodded, her eyes filling up, then Lacy dived for her and they hugged tight. “And you’re...happy? Sad?”
“Mixed up.” Her sister’s face went blurry. “Part of me is amazed how easy it turned out for me to get pregnant. We figure it happened the night in the limousine.”
“Wait. What?” There went another UFO.
Oh, right, Eva had kept their little romp on their first meeting to herself. “Uh, yeah,” she said with a coy smile. “We went a little crazy the night we met.”
“I can’t believe it.”
Eva sighed, her shoulders lifting and dropping with the breath. “It’s true.”
Lacy’s head shook, still in disbelief. “You never let on. All this time, I thought it was a slow build, that we were fixing you up, and that Zack and I were secretly manipulating your future.”
Finally, after days of brooding, Eva laughed. “You really are pushy, but seriously, you don’t think you’re that powerful, do you?”
“Twin power, sister.” Their laugh turned ironic and died quickly as they got back to the point. “What does Joe think? I couldn’t help but notice he hasn’t been around the last couple of days.” Her brows bunched with worry.
“He’s a busy man. The last thing he needs is another scandal. Even though the other ones are made up.”
“Is that what he said?”
Eva shook her head. “Nope. That’s what I said, and that’s how I want it.”
“But that still didn’t answer my question.”
No, it didn’t, because he’d behaved like a prince and she was the holdout. Her heart still pinched remembering the moment. “He says we should go for it.”
Lacy clapped in relief. “That’s wonderful!”
“No. It isn’t. I’ve always secretly dreamed of a romantic proposal from a guy who loved me for me, not because I was carrying his baby.”
Now Lacy looked concerned. “But Joe is honest. If he chooses to do the honorable thing, it’s because he really cares about you.”
Eva had heard him call her mi amor the night she’d taken the test and he’d done the sweetest thing of putting her to bed, then curling up with her for support and comfort. She’d never felt more protected in her life, and she didn’t doubt his sincerity. But still...
“It’s too early for me to deal with everything. Do you mind if we change the subject?”
Lacy came beside Eva and put her arm around her shoulders. “Whatever you want. I’m here for you.”
“Then tell me more about Dad.”
For the next few minutes, Lacy went on and on about their redheaded father, John, and how wonderful he was, aware how much Eva needed to take her mind off her current worries. Then something occurred to Eva, probably because she was pregnant, but also because she’d missed ever meeting her natural father.
“I know we told my mom we’d leave things as they are with the closed surrogacy. But our birth mother is probably in her fifties and still alive somewhere out there. Now that I’m pregnant, I’d really like to know her medical history. Of course, I’d really like to meet her, too, but maybe we could use this as an opportunity.”
“You want to ask Joe to help us find her?”
“I do. She sacrificed nine months of her life in her twenties, when most young women are traveling or going to college or starting their own families. She did that so our parents could have children.”
“She got paid well for it, too.”
“True, but it’s still a sacrifice. Can you imagine carrying twins? Plus, she gave us our shared middle name. She made our existence possible, carried us, then had the courage to give us up.” Eva’s hand rested on her stomach. “I think she’s worth meeting, don’t you?”
Lacy nodded in solidarity.
“And if there’s anything in her health history I should know, now is the time to find out.”
“The election is a week from Tuesday. Once that’s over, I’m sure Joe will be glad to take what we know and track her down for us. There’s got to be a legal way to go about it.”
“Yes,” Eva said, remembering. “He was more than willing the night we called my mom, but we shut him down.”
“You don’t mind dealing with him in that capacity?”
“Lacy, I don’t want Joe out of my life, not when he’s just walked in. I have feelings for him. I’m just disappointed things got rushed because we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”
Lacy gave a sad-sack laugh. “I know the feeling. I’m helpless around Zack.”
“Yeah, but you guys are engaged. If something happened now, you’d know for sure he loved you first.”
Lacy took Eva’s hand and petted it, as if she was Daisy. “For weeks now, I’ve seen the way he looks at you and acts around you. Trust me, you’re not forcing him into something he doesn’t already want to do.”
Monday afternoon, at his law office, Joe dealt with as much of the finishing touches to his campaign as possible when his mind was completely on Eva and the pregnancy. She’d insisted she needed time to think through the situation, and because he loved her—he’d definitely figured that out now—he gave it to her.
The price was high, though. Each moment away, doubt entered his thoughts. Not on his end, but about her wanting him.
“Aha!” Mike said, from across the room. For the last hour, he’d been scrolling though the daily emails, reading and replying with Joe’s input. “I had one of the high school volunteers snoop around on the internet and guess what we found out.”
Always appreciative of his lifelong friend’s help on his campaigns, Joe patiently watched and waited for Mike to give the full dramatic affect.
“That Kitty Mittens is indeed Louella Barnstable.” Mike rose, hand raised, finger pointing toward the ceiling, like a lawyer deliberating a big case during closing statements. “Evidently she’s used some senior citizen friends with a lot of free time on their hands to drive around and look for you in compromising situations.”
Joe pulled in his chin. “Seriously? How bored must someone be?” He sighed. Wait till they find out Eva’s pregnant, they’ll have a field day.
“Perfect timing,” Mike said. “You can drop a bombshell on her tonight at the interview.”
“Nope. Nope. Not taking that route. It will make me as bad as her.”
“But she deserves a public shaming.”
Joe laughed. “What century are you from?”
“The barrio, brother. You don’t want to prove what a lousy person and therefore mayor she’d be with this new information? Get real.”
Joe shook his head. “All her shenanigans haven’t changed the polls. Didn’t you just tell me I’m still ahead?”
“Yes, but...”
“Let’s just let this election play itself out in a natural way, then you can divulge her dirty little secret after I’m mayor. Though I’d rather you just let it lie.”
Joe went back to focusing on preparing for that night. There was one thing he wanted to use the interview for, and it was on a personal level. He’d had an old sick feeling souring his gut since Eva found out she was pregnant. Not because she was pregnant, no, that part was fine with him. Great, even. He’d gone out on the limb and said he wanted to go for it with her. To be a couple and have their kid together. Deep inside, he knew he wanted to marry her, too, but worried she’d freak out if he asked her.
Why? Because he wasn’t good enough for her.
Same old song, second verse.
Well, he was sick of carrying that worn-out feeling around with him and needed to prove Eva wasn’t Victoria. Not by a long shot.
He remembered what his mother used to say after that breakup: What girl wouldn’t want you? He had a lot to offer, damn right. So why wasn’t Eva jumping at the chance?
He was thrilled about their baby, but she needed to come around on that end on her own. Well, there was something he could prove, and doing it publicly was a risk.
No risk, no gain. That saying he’d learned himself, and was why he’d chosen Stanford Law School.
Eva wanted a romantic proposal; well, hopefully, his publicly admitting how he felt about her on local TV would be romantic enough.
Aching for Joe every day, settling for mere phone calls, Eva went on with life, waiting out the election before dealing with their personal P-bomb. Noah was a huge help. She loved him with everything she had. She’d brought him home at a mere two weeks and stumbled her way through being a new mom. At least she knew how to care for a baby now. She glanced at her son, napping in bliss, and smiled, her heart swelling with love.
The early signs of pregnancy were setting in. Tender breasts, queasiness. Work could only distract her for so long. Truth was, she missed Joe with everything she had.
Someone knocked on the door, and worried it might wake Noah, she rushed to open it. As if hearing her silent wish, there he was. “Joe.” She caught her breath.
He pushed through to where she stood and took her in his arms. “Hello, gorgeous.” He kissed her hair. “I couldn’t stay away another second.”
Being held by him proved how much she’d longed for him. She grinned with joy as she buried her face in his neck, savoring his scent and the feel of his soft skin. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“How are you feeling?” He pulled back, glancing at her and then toward the region of her abdomen.
“Feeling the changes.” Of course, he knew all this with his daily calls. They’d kept each other up-to-date while managing to avoid saying the most important things. Being in person, seeing him after several days, was all she’d longed for.
His eyes brightened. “You are?”
“Yeah. Sick to my stomach half the day, exhausted the rest.”
He grimaced. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s not so bad.” She could be honest with Joe. “Maybe kind of sucky but also kind of amazing.”
They hugged and kissed again, and she sensed he didn’t want to let her go. That part was wonderful, feeling wanted. Loved?
“I’m here to insist you come with me tonight to Little River Valley Closed Circuit TV. I’ve got an interview scheduled and you can’t miss it.”
She drew back her head, grateful he’d yanked her out of her thought. “You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“What about the gossip mill?”
“Mike found out who the real Kitty Mittens is.”
“Seriously?”
He told her the whole story as she took him to Lacy’s kitchen and made him some coffee. This was how it was supposed to be, the two of them against the world. Friends. Lovers, and sooner than expected, or dreamed, parents. She handed him the mug after hearing him out. Wow, that Louella Barnstable played dirty. And when Joe had the opportunity to use his elbows, he took the high road. That was why she loved him. There was that word again.
“Then, of course, I’ll come.”
That night at the interview, Eva was as nervous as though she was the one having to do live TV. Her palms were clammy and, maybe it was the bright lights, the back of her neck was damp under her hair as she watched Joe get tested for sound and have a few shiny spots on his face blotted out with powder. She admired how he did whatever was necessary for what he considered a privilege, to continue to do a tough job, being mayor. It took a special type of person to want that responsibility. That said so much for Joe. Where others ran from responsibility, he walked toward it. Like now, with the pregnancy.
Mike was in attendance, and the middle-aged male interviewer, then her. Other than the small TV crew, they were the only ones in the studio. And she was honored to be Joe’s one guest. The sweet thing was, no one needed to know she was there, either. It was between her and Joe. She blew a mental raspberry. Take that, Kitty Mittens.
The local newscaster began the interview with the usual questions about Joe’s history. Joe was candid as he told a brief story about his impoverished background, how being a first-generation American had shaped him. He’d shared how his parents believed in the American dream and had worked all their lives to achieve it. Joe was honored to be the first in his family to attend college, thanks to the sacrifices his parents had made.
The interviewer seemed to be enthralled, then skillfully brought the subject around to the current election and his opponent. Diplomatically, Joe found a way to compliment his challenger for being eager to help their city by running for the job, but he stopped short of mentioning any scandals she’d hinted at. Except one.
“I know my challenger has concerns about my student loans, which I am paying off little by little. But even that is part of the American dream these days, right? I’ve read there are almost forty-eight million Americans in debt from student loans.” He looked at the camera. “Louella, it’s a thing.”
The interviewer laughed at his little joke. Eva admired how he’d managed to name her and call her out without coming off as mean.
“Your campaign slogan says, Locally Grown, Promising to Keep Little River Valley Sustainable. Why don’t you tell us how you plan to do that?”
Joe went on to cover his plans for running the city. Much of what he said was a repeat from his campaign rallies and the debate, but Mike reminded Eva how a candidate had to pound home their points to get people to remember. He hoped people who hadn’t seen or heard him before might tune in to the TV.
After ten minutes, the interviewer gave Joe free rein. “Tell us something we don’t know about your candidacy.”
Joe used one finger to scratch the side of his mouth as he thought, for the first time seeming unsure, nervous, even, about being in the spotlight. Then something changed in his expression.
“I fell in love on a lot of different levels on the campaign trail. First and foremost, thanks to a little lady named Savannah Schuster. You may have heard of her and the Dreams Come True wish?”
The interviewer filled in the television audience about the request and the dinner that followed, as a recap.
“And we’ve become great friends.” Touched by his retelling, Eva smiled, deep in memory. “A guy never expects to fall in love on the campaign trail, but then I met Eva.” Hearing her name, she snapped back into the conversation. “How ironic that we met on a Dreams Come True date. True I was with the other woman, Savannah, and Eva was the chaperone.” Though fewer than ten people were in the room, his remark got a good laugh. Then Joe went sincere, his eyes soft and serene, the interviewer obviously empathetic to the turn of the interview. Because it was good stuff for ratings.
“Because of Savannah, I met a little boy named Noah, too, and I’m crazy about him. I’m crazy about his mother, too. Did I mention that already?” Another laugh from the interviewer. “And I’m sure you’ve heard some rumors about that part. They’re about the person who set up my date with Savannah, and if it hadn’t been for that dinner, where Savannah and I were accompanied by a chaperone, I never would have met Eva.”
The interviewer sat back and let Joe naturally riff about what happened during campaigning.
“Looking back, I knew right from the start she was special, and, well, inconvenient or not, I went for it—letting myself fall for her. Because how often does a gift like that fall in a guy’s lap? Especially while he’s campaigning? All I can hope is she feels the same, because I’m hoping she’ll become my wife.”
Joe seemed to pull out of his confession in time to say one last thing. “And if that isn’t putting myself on the line, I don’t know what is.”
Nearly gasping, Eva searched for a chair and sat with the help of Mike, who looked as shocked as she felt.
“I wanted to beat the gossip mill with this scoop.” He didn’t name a name, but it was quite evident to anyone following the election whom Joe meant. “So if I’m fortunate enough to get reelected, my first order of business will be to get engaged and married.”
The interviewer couldn’t have looked happier about the scoop, and Eva couldn’t have been more mixed up.
Though the next part of the interview was a blur to her, Joe ended by thanking the station for inviting him and asking the people to vote their conscience. Then, during his brief recap on why he hoped to be mayor again and how he loved Little River Valley, Eva found the strength to get up and run outside the studio.
She didn’t want any extra ears around when she said what she had to say to Joe.
As she knew he would, at his first chance, Joe followed and found her in the small patio area outside the studio. She turned and watched him approach wearing a concerned yet baffled expression.
Insisting on not giving him the first word, she blurted her gut reaction. “You used me.” Her old and familiar fear did the talking, thanks to Lawrence taking those bets at her expense. “For ratings. How dare you!”
His visage sharpened; he’d clearly taken offense. “That’s not the way I see it, but I’m beginning to think maybe I’ll never be good enough for you.”