One Year Later
“Stop by sometime this weekend. Trent and Addie will be here too.” Derek’s voice came through the smartphone that Scott put on speaker so he could cook and talk at the same time.
“We can’t. Maybe next Saturday.” Scott reached for another carrot while he talked to his cousin. So far everything was on schedule. Assuming he had no setbacks things would be ready when Paige got home. “I’m going to ask Paige to marry me tonight. I don’t need or want an audience. Tomorrow I’m picking Cooper up at the airport.”
Cooper and his nanny were expected in the early afternoon. Even after a year, Scott didn’t understand how Nicole could simply send their son on an airplane with his nanny. But more times than not, if they weren’t in Manhattan it was Leslie and not Nicole who brought Cooper from wherever he’d been with Nicole. He never said anything because he trusted Leslie. Nicole had said he’d like her and she’d been right. Unwilling to lose any time with his son, he always brought Cooper back to Nicole regardless of whether she and Jordan, whom she’d married eight months ago, were in New York or somewhere else in the world.
“Congratulations.”
“She hasn’t said yes, yet.” They’d celebrated their one-year anniversary two months ago, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“She will. Why, I don’t know, but she will.” Derek’s laugh came through the smartphone and filled the kitchen. “But Brooklyn and I won’t be around next weekend. We’re going to visit her sister and brother-in-law. Next time you’re in Newport though, stop over.”
“Will— Damn it.” The knife slipped off the carrot and dug into his skin. Right away blood dripped down his fingers and hit the kitchen counter. “I gotta go.”
Scott grabbed some paper towel and wrapped it around his finger. He didn’t want Paige coming home from the hospital and finding a trail of blood from the kitchen to the bathroom.
He pulled out the box of bandages he kept on his side of the bathroom. Empty. Figured. Everything else today had gone his way. Something had to go wrong eventually. The empty box still in hand, he crossed to Paige’s side. She’d finally moved into his Manhattan apartment more than six months ago, but her side of the bathroom still contained very little. Her side of their bedroom closet, on the other hand, was just the opposite. For someone who wore scrubs to work every day, the woman owned plenty of clothes and shoes.
“Where would she keep bandages, Ryder?” he asked the dog who’d followed him in the bathroom. He opened the cabinets on either side of the mirror. One remained empty, while the other held her hair products and makeup. Pulling open a drawer, he found a decent-sized first aid kit. “Always prepared.” Scott grabbed the kit, the pink and white box underneath it grabbing his complete attention. While Paige was convinced she couldn’t get pregnant without help from a fertility doctor, he wasn’t. Despite her insistence it’d never happen, they’d agreed to start trying a few months earlier. Then if it didn’t happen, they would talk about other options.
With the paper towel still wrapped around his finger, Scott took out the pregnancy test box. The top of the box had been opened, and he turned back the flap for a look inside. The outside label claimed it contained three tests. Only one remained inside. Why hadn’t she said anything? Had she done them today? Last week? One question after another rolled through his head. The tests might still be in the trash if she’d done them yesterday or today.
He didn’t stop to consider he was about to dig through his girlfriend’s trash can.
A few used bathroom cups and an empty tissue box sat on top. He tossed both on the floor. An empty shampoo bottle followed next. Then he found them. He’d seen enough commercials to recognize a pregnancy test. Flipping over the box, he checked the test instructions, then looked at the results.
***
A heavenly scent greeted Paige when she walked in. Scott had been cooking again. It wasn’t unusual for him to prepare them rather elaborate meals, but she didn’t remember him ever doing it on a weeknight. He preferred to do it on the weekends when he had a lot more time. Since she’d moved in, they either stuck with simple dishes like pasta or got takeout after work. Whatever she smelled now was not plain old pasta, and it definitely wasn’t takeout.
She walked further inside and noticed the dining room table already set with two candles flickering on it. “How long have you been home?” she asked, coming around the corner and entering the kitchen.
Scott didn’t move from the stove where he stirred something in a pot, but he did turn toward her. “Few hours ago. Dinner would’ve been ready, but I had an accident and got distracted.” She spotted the bandage around his index finger when he held up his hand. “It’ll be done by the time you get out of the shower.”
She kissed his cheek. “Can’t wait. Whatever it is smells great.”
She didn’t linger. Scott never wanted her help when he cooked, and she had a shower calling her name. She’d always enjoyed a hot shower after work, but since moving into Scott’s place, she sometimes fantasized about it on the way home. Unlike the shower at her old house, which had one single head shooting out water, the one here had six, each one adjustable so she could control the water pressure and get almost a full-body massage every time she showered. Sometimes she even joked that if not for the master bathroom here with its hot tub and awesome shower, she would’ve insisted Scott moved to Rhode Island instead.
Paige zipped through her shower before tossing on a pair of shorts and tank top. If Scott wanted to go out later, she could change, but she doubted he’d want to. Much like her, he preferred to stay home on Friday nights and just relax. Saturdays nights they rarely stayed in unless Cooper was with them. Then they stayed home and spent time as a family. And while she might not have a ring on her finger, they were a family. Much like Scott had, she’d fallen in love with Cooper right away. From the beginning she’d been amazed how easy a baby he was. Although he’d still woken up at night until he turned ten months, he almost never cried unless he was hungry. He took naps without a fuss and didn’t need to be held all the time. When he was held, he didn’t mind whose arms he found himself in. He was just as content if his father held him or one of Scott’s many cousins. If her niece had been as easy, her brother and his wife would already have a second baby on the way. Instead, they’d decided to wait until Gabby was a few years older and required a tad less attention. Although Paige had her doubts that would ever happen. She loved her niece, but the little girl was high maintenance.
“What’s all this about tonight?” Paige looked over the table, her mouth watering as her eyes went from one steaming dish to another.
Coming up behind her, Scott pulled out her chair before adding a dish of olive oil, basil, and Parmesan cheese to the table. “Who says it’s about anything? Can’t I prepare a nice meal for the woman I love?” He dimmed the overhead lights before he took the seat across from her.
Candlelight flickered across his face, allowing her to see his innocent expression. One she wasn’t buying for a minute. “Yeah, but you never cook like this after work because you don’t have time. If you did all this tonight, you planned to leave the office early when you left here this morning. Are you traveling again?” Since they’d first met, Sherbrooke Enterprises had sent him to both Europe and South America so many times she’d lost count. Most of the trips had been short except for his last one to Rio de Janeiro. He’d spent two weeks there. Two very long weeks.
He shook his head. “No traveling in my future. I wanted to do something special for you before Cooper gets here. When he’s with us, we don’t get much alone time to talk.”
The smile Scott sent her as he picked up his fork made her squirm in her seat. Scott was up to something. If he wanted to play, she’d play. “What time are we picking Cooper up tomorrow?” She reached for her ice tea and settled in for a delightful evening.
No matter what he cooked, it came out fantastic. The meal Scott had made tonight was no different. And as usual she ate much more than she should’ve because it was delicious.
“I don’t need to eat for another week.” Paige pushed back her chair and picked up her plate.
Before she moved though, Scott took it from her. “That’s too bad. Guess I’ll eat the chocolate torte myself.”
Despite a full stomach, her ears perked up. Chocolate and sweets were going to be the death of her. “Maybe a small piece.”
His laugh carried in from the kitchen. “Thought you’d say that. I picked up a bottle of forty-year-old tawny port for us to enjoy with it. It’s from my favorite winery in Portugal.”
If the dessert wine came from one of his favorite wineries, it’d be divine too. “I’m not sure I can handle that and chocolate torte. Maybe we should save it until your parents visit again.” Over the past year, Marilyn and Harrison had made regular visits to the apartment whenever Cooper was with Scott.
“Nah. We don’t need to finish it tonight.” Scott set down two extra-large slices of the torte before returning to the kitchen for the wine.
Immediately, the dessert started calling her name, but she fought it. He never started eating without her. “I’m not sure I can finish this, but I’ll do my best.”
Scott dropped a kiss on her head before taking his seat again. “I’ve got faith in you, babe.” After filling the wine glasses, he passed one to her. “Enjoy.”
She watched him move the glass toward his lips and take a sip. Rather than do the same, she set her glass down.
“Perfect. Try it. I think you’ll love it.”
“Maybe later.” She forced a smile and went for her fork.
His sigh almost drowned out the sound of his fork clattering against his plate. “Okay, enough. I can’t do this anymore tonight.” Coming around the table, he dropped into the seat next to her. “I started planning tonight on Monday because I want to ask you something.”
“Ask away.” She’d known he’d gone through all this effort for a reason.
“First, is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked, his voice tender.
Under the table she made a fist, her fingernails biting into her palm. “Since you’ve been planning for so long, why don’t you go first?”
No more. He’d decided to wait until after they ate to ask her about what he’d found in the bathroom. He’d left before her this morning. If she’d taken the tests right before work, it would explain why she hadn’t said anything yet. He’d hoped during dinner she’d tell him. Dinner was over and nothing. For whatever reason, she’d decided not to share the news.
“Okay. You want me to go first, I’ll go. Then you’re answering my question,” he said, immediately regretting his tone. Before he proceeded, he inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Paige Foster, I love you and want to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?” Scott pulled out the ring he’d put in his pocket.
She didn’t keep him waiting for an answer. Lunging at him, she almost toppled them both backward as she hugged him. “Yes.” Tears slipped down her face, and she brushed them away, laughing. “Oh, my God. Yes, of course.”
He’d never proposed, but he suspected he should slip the ring onto her finger now. Before he did, he wanted in on her secret, so he returned the ring to his pocket.
Paige’s eyes followed his hand before meeting his and again doing her best fish impression, reminding him of their first date when the reporter had approached them.
“Usually when the woman says yes, you give her the ring. Haven’t you ever seen it done on television?”
He was playing a little dirty, but damn, he couldn’t help it. “Oh, I know how it goes, babe. And I’ll give it to you after you explain what I found in the bathroom trash.”
Her brain went to work. He saw it in her eyes. “You went through my trash?” Her face turned bright red, either from embarrassment or anger. Sometimes it was hard to tell with her.
“Only after I discovered the box of pregnancy tests in the drawer. Tests I only found because I needed a bandage. When did you take them?” Some anger sneaked into his voice. “And when did you plan on telling me? Are they right? Are you pregnant?”
“Yesterday morning, I did them when I got up. You were still in bed. It seemed too impossible to be true. I thought there was something wrong with both tests. Sometimes you can get a false positive.”
He’d take her word on that.
“So I checked in at my doctor’s office for blood work before the lab closed last night. They called back with the results today.” Her smile lit up her entire face. “Don’t schedule any meetings for May 2, because our son or daughter arrives then.”
A jolt of exhilaration burst through his body and he grabbed Paige around the waist. “You should’ve told me after you took the first two tests. And as soon as the lab called you today,” he said after kissing her, because, despite his joy, he was still annoyed she’d kept it from him.
“Like I said, when I took the tests, I didn’t believe them. If I’d said something, it would’ve gotten your hopes up too. I didn’t want both of us to be disappointed if it turned out they were wrong.” She massaged his neck, the feel of her skin against his melting away the annoyance. Her touch always had that effect on him no matter if it was anger, frustration, or anxiety plaguing him.
“All day I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it. I keep waiting for the doctor’s office to call and say they made a mistake and gave me someone else’s results. I wanted a few more days before I told you just in case.”
Until now he hadn’t fully understood how impossible she’d believed it was that she’d get pregnant. “Does it ever happen?”
“No. At least I’ve never heard of it happening. But unexpected things occur all the time.”
Scott took her face in his hands. “So—”
“So in about nine months you’ll have another son or daughter.”
“As well as a wife,” he said. “And because of both you’ve made me the happiest person alive tonight.”
Hope you enjoyed Scott and Paige’s story. Don’t worry the Sherbrookes will be back in 2017 along with the next book in Christina’s North Shore Series.