The following morning, Chandra stepped out of Julian’s SUV, parked in the driveway of the Valentine Vineyards villa, as he held the door open for her. He leaned her against the back passenger door and gave her a dizzying kiss that evoked memories of the delicious, orgasm-inducing way he’d awakened her earlier that morning.
She clenched her thighs against the pulsing of her core.
“Meet me for lunch?” Julian nuzzled the side of her face with his scruffy cheek. His voice was gruff, much as it had been when he’d awakened that morning.
“I have a meeting with our winemaker, Maria, at one. But I’ll make dinner at your place tonight. After all, you should know what you’d be getting yourself into.” She grinned, then whimpered when he kissed the space behind her ear he knew drove her crazy. It sent a chill down her spine that had nothing to do with the frigid wind swirling down from the Smoky Mountains.
“Perfect. Just use the code to let yourself in.” Julian kissed her temple. “This time, bring an overnight bag.”
Chandra bit her lip and sighed. She hadn’t intended to spend the night at Julian’s. But she’d loved waking up to him, their limbs intertwined and him peppering her with kisses that began at her neck and ended with his head beneath the covers.
“I will.” Her face and neck heated.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to be there when you tell your family?” Julian’s brows furrowed. “It only seems right that I be there.”
My God, you’re precious.
“I appreciate the offer.” Chandra stroked his stubbled chin with her gloved hand. “But I’m a big girl. I can handle this. Besides, your first patient of the day is waiting.”
“If you’re sure.” Julian tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow and walked her onto the back porch of the villa. He kissed her again, then jogged back to his running vehicle.
“God, that man is hot,” Chandra whispered beneath her breath as she unlocked the back door and made her way inside.
“Well, look who decided to join us for breakfast after all.” Her youngest brother stood from the breakfast table and gave her his signature bear hug.
Nolan, Sebastian and Alonzo were also at the table.
“I thought you all were coming in on Friday.” Chandra tossed her coat on a nearby chair.
“We wanted to surprise you by coming in a couple days early.” Sebastian’s thick eyebrows lifted, his judgment face firmly in place.
No time like the present.
“Speaking of surprises...” Chandra glanced around the table. “I’m glad you’re here early. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“All right.” Her father’s wiry gray brows knitted with concern. “Have a seat and tell us what’s on your mind.”
“Actually, I’d rather stand.” Chandra tightened her grip on the back of the empty chair, suddenly needing its support. “It seems that I...uh...am...pregnant.” She spread her hands, as if she’d just said...Ta-da!
They all stared in silence, as if awaiting the punch line of an ineptly told joke.
“Wait...you’re serious?” Alonzo asked, finally. “Sis, you’re like the most responsible person I have ever known. No offense, Pops.”
“None taken,” her father said. Though, by the furrow of his brow, there clearly was.
Alonzo didn’t seem to notice. “How on earth did you—”
“We’re good, Zo.” Nolan held up a hand. “I’m pretty sure Dad gave everyone here the where do babies come from speech.”
“Not me. If it was up to Dad, I’d still think we were all delivered by the stork.” Naya narrowed her gaze at their father. “But I would like to take this time to say...Yay! I’m going to be an auntie. Also, you all were so sure I would be the one who’d get knocked up,” Naya added gleefully. “Ha!”
“Not now, baby girl,” her father warned.
“Fine,” Naya muttered as their father and brothers glared.
Alonzo dragged a hand over his head, looking as stunned as he’d been when he’d discovered that their father was the real tooth fairy. “And you’ve obviously decided—”
“Yes,” Chandra said firmly. She cupped a hand over her belly protectively. “This might be my only chance to have a child. I’m nearly forty, and I’m not involved with anyone—”
“With respect, sis, clearly you have been.” Sebastian pointed his fork in her direction.
Her cheeks burned.
Chandra was a womanist and she certainly wasn’t a prude. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed to have this conversation with her father and brothers. Talking about her sex life and the child now growing inside her...this was new territory for all of them. “Point taken, Bas.”
“I didn’t realize you wanted kids.” Nolan’s tone and expression softened. “You’ve never really talked about having children.”
“I guess I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be a mother until I discovered I was pregnant.”
The range of emotions Chandra had gone through when one pregnancy test, then the other had turned positive replayed in her head. She’d gone from abject fear, to confusion, to the slow realization that she wanted to be a mother. A desire she’d carefully suppressed after her failed engagement.
“I’ve been so focused on my career the past few years. And prior to my engagement, I wasn’t even sure I... I mean—”
“You didn’t know if you wanted kids after having to practically raise all five of us.” There was a hint of apology or maybe guilt in Alonzo’s voice.
Chandra’s gaze swept the room. Alonzo’s sentiments were echoed in the expressions on Nolan’s, Sebastian’s, Nyles’s and Naya’s faces. As if they felt guilty for somehow derailing her life. But nothing could be further from the truth. They’d taught her so much: love and patience; empathy and kindness. And they needed to know that.
“I’m glad I was able to be there for all of you. And I’m proud of who you’ve become. Nurturing each of you taught me so much. It made me who I am today,” Chandra said with a warm smile. “Maybe I was reluctant to have kids of my own because it sometimes felt like I’d raised all of you. Not that Dad wasn’t there,” she added.
“That’s sweet of you, Chandra.” Her father rubbed a hand over his thinning hair. “But we all know I wasn’t. Not the way I should’ve been. I guess that was another reason I was anxious to wash my hands of Valentine Textiles. My blind commitment to the company is part of the reason my marriages failed. And it’s why I missed out on so much of your lives. I wanted to make my parents proud. But that’s no excuse. You kids deserved better, and I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you.” There was a sheen over her father’s eyes. “I don’t know that I’ve ever really thanked you for the sacrifices you made for this family, sweetheart.”
He squeezed her hand, a soft smile lighting his eyes. “So if this is what you want, every last one of us will stand behind you and support you any way we can.” He shot Nolan, Sebastian and Alonzo a warning glare. “Promise.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Warm tears slid down her cheeks. She leaned down to hug her father.
“You know we’ve got you, sis. No matter what.” Alonzo offered her a crooked smile that reminded her of when he was a kid and wanted to make amends.
Her siblings nodded their agreement, and she felt a sense of relief.
“But what about the good doctor?” Sebastian said the words with a hint of derision. “What does he think of becoming a father?”
“I made it clear to him that this is my choice, and I have no expectations for him to be a part of this child’s life or mine if that’s not what he wants. Eighteen years of child-rearing certainly wasn’t the expectation of our little fling,” Chandra said carefully.
“Oh, you think raising kids is just an eighteen-year gig, huh?” Her dad chuckled dryly. “That’s cute.”
Nolan laughed. “Yeah. How old are you two again?” He gestured toward the twins. “Twenty-five?”
“Twenty-eight in a couple of months,” Nyles corrected him.
“And we resent that.” Naya directed one of her long, pointy colorful fingernails at Nolan. “I’m an adult, and I take care of myself just fine, thank you.”
“But you also ask Dad for shit...like all the time,” Sebastian reminded her.
Naya’s eyes narrowed. “Boy, mind yo’ business—”
“Nolan and Sebastian, would you two please leave your sister alone?” Her father glared at them. “Besides, I like doing things for you kids. Makes me feel like you still need me. Can’t blame an old man for wanting to feel needed.”
“Dad, I will always need you. Clearly.” Chandra pressed a hand to her belly. “More than ever once the baby is born.”
Her father practically beamed. “You know I’ll be there with anything you need.”
“But will the baby’s father be there? Or did he take the option to dip, which you so conveniently offered?” Sebastian Valentine was like a beagle with a bone. He never got off track and wasn’t easily distracted, which had made him the perfect operations manager at Valentine Textiles. The trait was far less appealing in a sibling.
Chandra didn’t owe any of them an explanation. And she didn’t need to justify what she’d done or her plans for the future. But she couldn’t bear her family thinking poorly of Julian when he’d been nothing but supportive.
“He’s in, one hundred percent. He even...” Chandra drew in a shaky breath, not sure she should tell them everything. But the words rushed from her lips. “Julian asked me to marry him.”
“You’re kidding me!” Naya rushed over to Chandra. “You must’ve been completely shocked.”
“I was. I still am stunned by all of this.” Chandra felt like she was in a wildly vivid dream.
Her father rubbed his chin and nodded, seemingly pleased by Julian’s act of chivalry.
“You hardly know each other,” Alonzo noted. “Don’t get me wrong—you’re an amazing catch, and he’d be damn lucky to have you. But I’m surprised he’d go straight for marriage.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. “I assured him I’d never come between him and our child, if he wants to be part of their life. But he doesn’t want to be a part-time dad. And this isn’t just about the baby for him.” Chandra’s cheeks warmed. “He seems genuinely excited about the prospect of us being together.”
“Could Julian have a possible motive—besides the baby and wanting to be with you?” Sebastian pressed.
Chandra paced the floor, more than a little irritated.
Did her brother actually believe a man would have to have some ulterior motive in order to propose to her?
She was trying to be patient with her brothers. They only wanted to protect her; she realized that.
“I don’t believe he has a motive other than wanting to be a fully present, full-time father to our child. We all know how devastating it is to have a parent walk away. Julian’s experience wasn’t the same as ours, but he lost a parent, too. He knows how much it hurts.”
She’d never forget the trauma of her mother abandoning them. It affected her even now. And she knew it still impacted each of her siblings. Especially her brooding brother Sebastian, who seemed determined to view the world as a glass half empty, and Nyles, who pretended nothing really mattered.
“Not me.” Nyles’s vehement protest was punctuated by a bitter laugh. “We’re better off without our mother. Didn’t need her then, don’t need her now.”
A collective sadness seemed to wash over the room, but no one countered her youngest brother’s claim.
“The general consensus around town seems to be that the young doc is a good, honorable man.” Her father redirected the conversation. “And let’s not forget that he genuinely seems to care for your sister.”
“True.” Nolan nodded thoughtfully. He sipped his mimosa. “He asks about you every time I see him in town.”
“Same.” Her father chuckled.
“Of course he does. Because he clearly has a thing for her.” Naya wagged a finger at Alonzo and Sebastian. “I swear the man looks like he’s about to die with happiness every time he looks in your eyes.” Naya grinned. “It’s fucking adorable.”
“He said he was a goner the moment he met me on the plane. That it felt like he’d been waiting his entire life to meet me.” A soft, dreamy smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Her cheeks burned and her chest tightened at the memory of the words spoken so sincerely. “I know it sounds corny to you and maybe you think it’s foolish of me to believe him—”
“The young playa got game—I’ll give him that,” Sebastian muttered under his breath, and Nyles elbowed him.
“I don’t think it’s corny at all, and I believe him, too. Because that’s exactly what I see in his eyes whenever he asks about you.” Naya grinned, squeezing Chandra’s hand. “The question is...did you accept his marriage proposal?”
“No. But I promised to give it serious consideration, and I will.” Chandra rubbed the back of her neck. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m still a little tired. I’m going to take a nap. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
Chandra left the room, her family silent until she closed the door behind her. Then they all seemed to speak at once.
She was tempted to press her ear to the door and eavesdrop on their conversation about her shocking revelation. But what they all thought of her decision was their business—not hers.
She’d decided to have this baby—with or without Julian and with or without the support of her family. But her heart felt full, and a deep sense of relief washed over her at having both.
That was enough for now.