Barbara Dunlop: Marriage, Manhattan Style

They’d only had Lucas for three weeks, but already she appreciated the simple pleasure of time for self-indulgence. She pictured Lucas in the high chair, and Reed heating up the oatmeal. She smiled. There would be happy months and years ahead of them.

Months.

Elizabeth blinked.

She sat up, sending a wave of water over the edge of the tub, splashing onto the tile floor.

October was almost over.

Her cycle was off.

Her cycle was way off, and she’d been dizzy getting into the tub, dizzy three days ago in the penthouse foyer. She counted on her fingers.

No way. No way. They’d missed her prime ovulating days. They’d gone against all the advice of their doctor.

Yet, still…

Her hands started to shake as she made her way out of the tub. She pulled open the lower cabinet, digging through the bath crystals and shampoo, finally finding an open box containing the second of two pregnancy tests.

She frantically checked the expiration date. She was in under the wire. Then she scanned the instructions, followed them and set the little wand down on the counter, backing away.

From across the room she stared at the little window for three minutes, dripping wet, while the color arranged itself against a white background.

When the time elapsed, she moved forward.

Two lines.

She blinked.

There were two lines. She was pregnant. Lucas was going to have a brother or a sister. She and Reed were going to have a baby.

She sat down on the edge of the tub. Her legs were shaking, and a chill came over her body. When the weakness subsided, she wrapped her arms around her abdomen. There was a baby in there. A tiny little baby was growing inside her.

A warm glow enveloped her body.

She stood and wrapped the terry robe around her. Then she tightened the belt and all but floated down the hall to give Reed the good news.

“Iron, calcium, vitamin A, and a good source of fiber,” he was reading out loud.

She rounded the corner.

“I kind of like it myself,” said Hanna.

Elizabeth stopped short at the sight of Reed, Joe and Hanna surrounding Lucas’s high chair.

They all turned to stare at her bulky robe and messy hair.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” she asked.

“Gotta say, babe,” Reed said as he gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek, “you looked a lot better last time.”

Hanna laughed. Even Joe gave a smile.

“Are you on duty?” Elizabeth asked him. If he was going to be hanging around their house, she supposed he’d better get used to her in a bathrobe.

“Just visiting.” His hand brushed Hanna’s, and Hanna held his fingers for a brief instant.

“Ahh,” said Elizabeth.

“I forgot to mention that Selina and Collin solved the SEC problem,” said Reed.

Elizabeth spun around to look at him. “It’s solved?”

“Yes.”

“You’re off the hook?”

“It was one of Kendrick’s aides. I can give you all the details.”

“You’re not going to jail?” she confirmed.

Reed nodded.

“And I don’t need a bodyguard anymore?”

“Not anymore.”

“Those are all the details I need.”

Lucas banged his hands on the high-chair tray and chanted a single note.

“So…” She glanced around at the little group. “There’s something I need to mention.”

They all waited.

“I’m pregnant.”

It took a second for her words to sink in.

Hanna squealed and Joe offered congratulations.

Reed simply looked flabbergasted. Then, finally, “How on earth…”

“In Biarritz, I guess,” said Elizabeth. It had been scientifically possible, but given her and Reed’s history, getting pregnant had seemed highly unlikely.

“Did you do something different?” asked Hanna.

Joe quickly elbowed her.

“That’s not what I meant,” Hanna protested.

“He tied me to the bedposts,” said Elizabeth.

Hanna hooted out a laugh. Joe guffawed.

“I can’t believe you said that,” Reed told his wife, laughing deep in his throat.

Elizabeth shrugged. “I’m just trying to be honest. And, hey, it worked.”

His arms went around her, and he drew her close. “From here on in?” he murmured against her ear. “This honesty thing is just between you and me.”

Elizabeth grinned at his words, squeezing him tight as her world settled into a permanent glow of happiness.

writes romantic stories while curled up in a log cabin in Canada’s far north, where bears outnumber people, and it snows six months of the year. Fortunately, she has a brawny husband and two teenage children to haul firewood and clear the driveway while she sips cocoa and muses about her upcoming chapters. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her Web site at www.barbaradunlop.com.