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“I’m fine.” The words are gargled by another heave.
“Are you sure? Do you need some water or something?”
“No. I’m okay.” The toilet flushes, the door opening between us just seconds later.
I quickly step to the side to let her pass, not missing the smear of her mascara or the deep flush of her cheeks.
“You sure I can’t get you a water?” I step up next to her at the sink.
“Maybe a gun instead?” She smiles in the mirror, but the action doesn’t meet her eyes.
“That bad?” I step around her, grabbing a couple of paper towels from the dispenser before wetting them down and offering them to her. She quickly accepts, dabbing her forehead and cheeks with the cool cloth.
“That depends on what you call bad, I guess. I mean, technically, it’s not bad. In fact, it’s probably incredible. I’m just not sure I’m ready to do it again.”
“You’re pregnant.” It’s not a question. It doesn’t need to be. The answer is written all over her face.
“I am.” She sobs, the towels I just handed her coming up to cover her face.
“Hey...” The rest of my words fall away when she abruptly turns and leans into me.
Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I give her a soft hug, rubbing my hand up and down her back in the way my mother used to always do to me when I was really upset.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“You only say that because you don’t have two kids in diapers at home already. One who has taken to coloring on the walls, and the other who still isn’t sleeping through the night. I don’t think I can handle another.” She pulls back, tears spilling past her lashes.
“You’re right. I don’t. I do, however, know how much you adore those kids and that you would quite literally die for them. Maybe it seems overwhelming right now, but you know that you’re already so in love with this baby it hurts, and your husband probably is too.”
“Oh, Sutton is going to be over the moon.”
“You haven’t told him yet?” I won’t deny I’m a little surprised by this news.
“I literally just found out this morning. I’ve been having horrible nausea for days. So tired I could barely hold my head up some days. I knew something was off. I took a test just to rule out pregnancy, not because I thought I was pregnant, though.” She lets out a strangled noise in between a laugh and a cry. “I just had a baby. How can I already be having another?”
“Well, I think you know how.” I try not to smile, but I do anyway. I can’t seem to help it. Not that I find humor in her being upset. It’s just... underneath it all, I can tell she’s actually happy about it but isn’t sure she should be.
“We haven’t used protection since before Rand. It took us months to get pregnant with him and a year and a half to get pregnant with Gracie. I never dreamed it would happen so fast.”
“That’s kind of the thing with making babies. They’re unpredictable.”
“Clearly,” she grumbles, swiping under her eyes.
“Why don’t you go home, talk to your husband. I’m sure you’ll feel better once you do. If you have any additional appointments today, I’m happy to step in. I have a pretty light afternoon.”
“I don’t. Just some filing and paperwork to catch up on.”
“I can do that for you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I’m happy to help.”
“Thank you so much, Kaia. You are seriously a life saver. I’ll drop everything off at your desk before I leave.” She turns quickly, heading toward the door. “Will you do me a favor?” She turns back to where I’m still standing next to the sinks.
“I won’t tell Remi,” I promise, having a feeling I already know what she’s going to ask.
“Thank you. The last thing I need right now is for his smug butt to come over and rub it in my face that he was right.”
