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Next up was Gage. Surprisingly, even he had become a softie around her. He hugged her tightly, holding her close to his chest. They stayed embraced like that for a long time. I popped the champagne and poured it into the glasses, passing them around as Snow and Gage broke their embrace.
“No thanks,” she said, waving away the glass I had for her. “I’m just going to have water. But you guys, drink up!”
She grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and held it up when it was time to toast.
“To Snow,” I said, holding my glass up. “And her return. We are so delighted to have you back with us, though I apologize it’s under these circumstances. Here’s to new horizons and a brighter future for you!”
“Hear, hear, I can toast to that!” Snow said, clinking her bottle against my glass.
The sofas in the suite were larger than the ones in her previous cottage, and there was plenty of seating for all of us, but we all made a run to sit next to Snow. Bash and Gage made it first, so I pulled a chair over while Anthony chose to sit on the floor near her feet.
Bash had also brought some macarons, which he passed around, starting with Snow, of course.
“Oh, no thank you. They look lovely, but my stomach is a bit off at the moment. I don’t think I could eat anything sweet right now. In fact, I think I need to run to the bathroom here really quickly—”
She had barely finished her sentence when she jumped from the couch and ran to the main floor bathroom, which was right off the living area. We could hear the sound of her gagging.
After a few minutes, I decided to check on her, walking over to the bathroom door and knocking.
“Yes?” she garbled back.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Can I come in? I am a doctor, after all.”
I swear I heard some chuckling, which was a good sign. She eventually responded, “Yes, that’s fine.”
I opened the door and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me to give us some privacy.
Snow was crumpled over the toilet bowl, with sweat permeating her brow. Her eyes looked glassy and she was more pale than usual.
“Are you okay?” I asked again. “Was it something you ate?”
“I’m fine,” she said, not answering the question about the cause.
“May I?” I asked, raising my hand toward her forehead to check for a fever.
She nodded, and she was cool to the touch. No fever, which was good.
“May I ask you a personal question?”
She stared back at me and hesitated before nodding slowly. “Sure.”
“I don’t mean to intrude, but… do you think you might be pregnant?” I knew the symptoms. None of us had used condoms when we were with her, and we hadn’t asked about birth control, either, which looking back was honestly not very smart. As a doctor, I should have known better.
She let out a sigh and fell back away from the toilet, resting her head against the wall. Her eyes were closed and I didn’t think she was going to answer me at first.
Finally, she opened her eyes and looked right at me.
“I am pregnant. I found out earlier today. I took a test after I got fired, and it came back positive,” she said. “I know I need to tell all of you, and I plan to, but I just need some time to sort out my feelings and how to go about telling everyone else. Please don’t tell them, not yet at least.”
I nodded and tried to remain calm, but on the inside, my heart felt as if it might explode in my chest. My palms were sweaty and my head was spinning.
Snow was pregnant.
I had always wanted to be a father. I had hoped to settle down, marry a nice woman one day, and together have a family. The situation with Snow may not be ideal on how I had planned to do things, but the plan had changed, and I knew right then and there that I would happily step up to the plate and be the father this child needed, no matter who the actual dad was. Then again, I knew my friends—even the ones who had never expressed interest in fatherhood would do the right thing. I wasn’t alone in my feelings about that.
“What do you need to sort out exactly?” I asked, fearing she might not want the baby. I supported her right to choose, of course, and I wouldn’t pressure her, but the idea of losing that baby, a baby I just found out about seconds before, already caused me great sadness.
“I hardly know you guys, Christian. One of you is the father of my child, but I barely know anything about any of you. I want to get to know you guys better, without this hanging over our heads. I’m not sure how y’all feel about having kids, and I guess I just want to protect myself and this child.”
