Chapter Thirty-Three
Chris
We already packed our luggage into the trunk of the rental car, in anticipation of having to make a swift getaway for the airport. The visit with Claire’s father was such a flop that we arrive at our gate in the airport three hours early. Claire sits in my lap and closes her eyes as she rests her head on my shoulder. Within minutes, she’s asleep and I can only imagine how tired she must be with everything her body and mind have been put through these past two days.
“I’m going to get you two something to eat,” my mom whispers before she sets off down the concourse.
Claire’s chest rises and falls slowly and I think of the life growing inside of her at this very moment. I can’t believe I just handed over a check for two hundred and seventeen thousand dollars to a man who didn’t understand the beauty of the life he created. But I guess it’s a small price to pay for Claire’s peace of mind. Now she can do whatever she wants with the money in that trust fund.
Claire wakes before my mom returns, but her eyes are still rolling around with grogginess. “Where’s your mom?”
“I think she went to get you something to eat. Are you hungry?”
She blinks a few times until her eyes are focused then she looks around at the people sitting around us with their carryon bags at their feet and their electronic devices in their hands.
“I’m starving.”
We find my mom sitting inside a pub, talking on the phone and looking very upset. When she sees us approach, she quickly says goodbye and ends the call.
“Are you okay?” I ask as she tucks her phone into her purse.
“I’m fine. I was just talking to Joel. He wanted to know how it went. How are you two doing?”
I look to Claire and she shrugs. “Can you get me a sandwich? I’ll be right back. I have to call Senia.”
“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”
She pulls her phone out of her pocket as she sets off toward the exit. I take a seat across from my mom and she lets out an exasperated sigh.
“We shouldn’t have brought her here.”
“She’ll be fine. She needed this. Have you talked to Rachel?”
“Yes, I spoke to her right before Joel. She said that she’ll send Jake’s assistant, I can never remember her name, to drop off the dress tomorrow morning. So no room service for you two. You need to get Claire out of the room by nine a.m.”
“Her name is Irlina. You didn’t tell Rachel about the tattoo, did you?”
“Of course not. Do you want to tell me about this tattoo or do I have to be surprised again the way I am with everything you two have been keeping from me?”
I’m almost certain she knows that Claire is pregnant, but I can’t confirm her suspicions. She’ll find out about the baby the moment everyone else finds out. Since we found out about the baby last night, I’ve been planning how I’m going to tell my mom and I’m pretty sure she’ll be glad I waited.
“I can’t tell you about the tattoo, but you’ll see it soon enough.”
She shakes her head then flags down a waitress. She orders Claire a sandwich and a plain club soda. The food arrives a couple of minutes before Claire returns. Her eyes are rimmed pink and I wish I could reach inside her and pluck out the pain like a weed from a lush garden.
“Senia said she picked up the bridesmaid dress from Rachel last night and it was very classy and fit her perfectly, so I shouldn’t worry about my dress.”
“I told you that you had nothing to worry about,” I reply as I think of the day Rachel brought me a picture of a wedding dress she thought would look perfect on Claire.
I don’t know much about fashion or wedding dresses, but I almost kissed Rachel when she showed me the picture. Claire is going to look so beautiful in her wedding dress. But I know that even if she doesn’t love it, she’ll pretend to because she loves me.
Our flight arrives in Vegas at seven p.m. When we arrive at the hotel, Joel is waiting for us in the lobby.
I like Joel, and my mom deserves to be happy, but I don’t like the idea that she may get hurt if it doesn’t work out with him. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would hurt her, but you never really know someone until you’ve seen them react under pressure.
I pull out my wallet to tip the bellhop before he takes my mom’s luggage, but Joel puts his hand up to stop me. “I’ve got it.”
Suddenly, a loud scream gets our attention and we all turn toward the sound coming from my right. About twenty feet away, a dark-haired girl is staring at me with her mouth agape.
“Oh, my God!” she squeals.
I force a smile because everyone in the lobby is looking in our direction now. Instinctively, I pull my hood up over my head so that no one else can recognize me. The girl jumps up and down a few times as she converses with her friend, then they both begin walking towards us.
Claire smiles and I kiss the corner of her mouth, letting my lips linger against her skin for a moment so there’s no confusion about whether I’m available. Claire pokes me in the ribs and I laugh as I finally pull away. The two girls in their scarves and Ugg boots are staring at Claire and me with wide-eyed excitement.
“Chris Knight?”
“That would be me.”
“Oh, my God! Can we get a picture with you? Please?!”
After a brief photo shoot with Nova and Mandy, Claire and I make it up to the suite. Claire immediately goes to the window to gaze out onto the dazzling lights of the Las Vegas Strip. When I come up behind her, she turns around so our noses are touching.
“Let’s get married in Vegas?” she says with a gleam in her eyes.
“Don’t you want to have a wedding at home where you can invite all your friends and pick out your dress and all that stuff?”
I’m so going to hell for this.
“We have all our friends here. All we have to do is call them and tell them to meet us at the drive-in chapel and—boom!—we’re married.”
“You want to get married with a boom? How about Rachel? Don’t you think she’ll be a little pissed if you steal her thunder?”
She pouts as she realizes I’m right. “Fine. We’ll wait. I just really wanted to wake up tomorrow as Claire Knight.”
“Claire Knight. Like a clear night sky,” I whisper then plant a soft kiss on her lips. “The stars will wait for us.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Claire
Listen
Chris wakes me up early to get showered and downstairs for breakfast with Tristan and Senia. As usual, Tristan and Senia are forty fashionable minutes late. Senia looks a little pale as they approach our table in the café.
I stand up to give her a hug and she gives me a weak hug. “Worst flight ever,” she complains as she sits down in the chair next to me. “We flew through a snow storm over Oklahoma. I haven’t been knocked around like that since my dad found out I’m pregnant.”
“Your dad knows!” I cry. “How? Oh, my God, what happened?”
“He happened,” she says, pointing her thumb at Tristan. “I threw up a couple of times yesterday and he goes out to get me crackers. He gets back from the store a few minutes after Claudia gets there and blurts out, ‘I’ve got your crackers. How’s my incubator?’”
“Incubator?” I reply incredulously.
“Yeah, can he be any more of an asshole?”
“Hey, save the name-calling for the later,” Tristan says with a wink. “And your family was going to find out anyway. Your mom gave me the stinkeye on Saturday when I suggested you should cut back on your workout routine.”
“She gave you the stinkeye because you poured ketchup on your fish.”
“Ketchup is delicious with fried fish. And I ate every last morsel. She should take that as a compliment.”
She shakes her head in disgust. “Claudia told my mom and she told my dad and I thought he was literally going to have a heart attack. My mom had to give him a muscle relaxer to calm him down.” Senia’s face perks up a bit and a smile forms on her full lips. “But that was last night. He called me this morning when we got off the plane to tell me he’s proud of me for not quitting school.”
I want to blurt out, “I’m pregnant, too!” But I promised Chris we would wait until we get home. There will be no thunder stealing on this trip.
After breakfast, Chris and Tristan leave to pick up Jake so they can all get their tattoos. Tristan leaves Senia at the elevator with a kiss on her temple. The bashful smile on her face tells me there is more going on with them than she is letting on. As soon as the elevator door closes and I punch the number for the thirty-second floor, I round on Senia.
“So are you and Tristan finally…?”
She shrugs as she stares at the numbers flashing on the LED screen above the elevator doors. “I may have let him give me multiple orgasms last night.”
“I knew it.”
She turns to me with a quiet desperation in her eyes. “He’s so sweet when we’re alone, but he was a total douche with my cousins yesterday while they were watching football. I asked him if he could get my sweater out of the car and he reached into his pocket and handed me the keys. And it was snowing!”
I don’t know what to tell her. Chris would never do something like that to me, but Chris has known me for years so he knows better.
“You have to cut the guy a little slack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a relationship since Ashley dumped him when we were seventeen. And I know this sounds like a total cliché, but I think you’ve changed him. He’s not the same brooding asshole he was a few months ago. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen him brood once since you all had your little tryst last month. I think you make him feel like he’s conquered something.”
“Conquered something? Conquered what? My womb?”
“Maybe. Who knows and who cares. The point is that you or this baby may have cracked the unbreakable code that is Tristan Pollock.”
“Oh, please. Any guy will crack if you apply the right amount of pressure. It’s all in the grip.”
I have to tell her I’m pregnant. If I don’t tell her, I’m never going to get rid of this bubbly feeling inside of me and I may throw up during the ceremony. As soon as we get to the suite, I wait for her to set out her makeup and plug in her curlers as she prepares to get us both ready for the wedding.
“I’m going to get you ready first, then I’ll do myself and Jackie. Where is she?”
“I think she said she was going to pick up some name cards for the reception. I don’t know why Rachel asked her to do it. I’m her maid of honor. She should be asking me to do this stuff instead of making Jackie run all over town. Jackie should be enjoying her trip with Joel.”
Senia’s eyebrows shoot up as she begins applying primer to my face. “She probably figured you have too much going on with saying goodbye to Cora and Adam and meeting your dad.”
Just the mention of Cora and Adam makes my throat thicken. “I feel like everyone is babying me. I’m not as fragile as you all believe I am.”
“I know you’re not fragile. You’re one of the baddest bitches I know. I’d be in a mental institution if I were you.”
She picks up my makeup bag and digs around until she finds my foundation. Then she grabs her foundation brush and proceeds with erasing all my imperfections. Life would be so much easier if we could just paint broad strokes of color over the ugly parts to make them beautiful.
“Then again, you do have Chris’s healing love to get you through. Did he heal you last night?”
I grab her hand to pull it away from my face, then I look her in the eye. “I have something to tell you but you have to promise not to tell anyone until we get back home.”