Page 22 of Worth the Risk

“A week?” His voice was faint. “You mean…”

I nodded. “Yeah. I found out that day.”

Ford’s spine curved as his chin dropped and he let out a long breath. “Fuck. Just when I think I understand how big of a screw-up I am…”

I knew that he didn’t deserve my sympathy, but I couldn’t help feeling it anyway.

“It’s a mocktail,” I said, lifting my drink to my lips again. “I am a nurse, you know. I have a pretty good idea what I can and can’t consume.”

His eyes shifted to the menu in front of him, and I could see that he was holding something back. He bit his bottom lip and fidgeted in his seat.

“What is it?” I asked, more amused than I wanted to admit.

“Don’t get mad. I just… I don’t know if you’re aware of how much mercury is in the king mackerel. When I saw it on the menu, I just wanted to make sure you knew not to order it.”

I pointed to my own menu. “I was going to get the grilled mahi-mahi.”

He nodded. “Good choice.”

I couldn’t help chuckling. “Are you going to be a pain in the ass for the next eight months?”

His eyes lit up. “Probably. Speaking of timelines, did the OB do an ultrasound?”

“Yes. The measurements show that I’m six weeks along.”

His smile was soft, and I felt it chip away at some of the ice around my heart.

“And how do you feel, Angel?”

“Ford,” I hissed. I glanced around again to make sure no one was listening, and it didn’t seem like they were, but I still leaned in closer to him. “You can’t call me that.”

It was bad enough that his nickname for me made my stomach flip every time I heard it. If someone else heard him use it, we’d be the talk of the week. I didn’t want to steal attention from Ryan and Leanne.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “But how are you feeling?”

“Not bad. No morning sickness, thank God. I’ve been tired and there’s a nasty metallic taste in my mouth most of the time.”

Ford’s eyebrows popped up as I sipped my drink. “Ah. Dysgeusia. That’s why you went for the margarita.”

Sometimes, it was disconcerting how well Ford understood me. It’d always been like this, since the beginning of our relationship. We just clicked.

But I didn’t want to think about that.

Straightening in my chair, I noticed Jess looking my way out of the corner of my eye. When I turned toward her, her eyes were focused on her menu, so I figured I might have imagined it.

Ford didn’t mention the pregnancy again during dinner, but he refilled my water glass twice. No one else seemed to notice, but each time, I felt a warmth spread inside of me.

It was nice to be taken care of.

But when dinner ended and he offered to walk me back to my bungalow, I told him no in my firmest voice. One attentive dinner didn’t change things between us. It didn’t erase the hurt I felt when he hid me from the world or when he broke my heart. I couldn’t forget it.

That was what I told myself, but during my lonely walk back to the bungalow, I wished he was with me. All I wanted was to stay angry with him, to act like I didn’t want him back until it became true. But if I were honest with myself, I missed him more than ever.

Chapter Eight: Ford

Leanne and Ryan planned things for us to do every day. But Leanne was thoughtful and realized that Wednesday might be a good day to take it easy. So, the only thing planned for today was an afternoon at the beach.

I was eager to get there and see Zoey.