Take Me On

“But—”

“Sorry, Macy,” Candace said. “I just want to be with him. I’ll let you know in a few minutes.”

Macy looked crestfallen but allowed Ghost to guide her out without comment. Gabby followed them, glancing back to see Brian kiss Candace’s forehead before she went into the bathroom and shut the door. Once Brian was alone, though, leaning against the wall in pretty much the same position he’d taken in his office, she went back to him. He glanced up at her as she approached.

“This is scary as hell,” he said.

Didn’t she know it. “You said it, though, little brother. It’s going to be okay.”

“What happened to ‘little shit’?”

“It’s on hold temporarily.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know it’s gonna be okay.”

“Imagine how happy Mom will be.”

“Oh, she’ll be over the f**kin’ moon.”

She’ll be over Pluto. Little do you know she’ll have two babies to snuggle at roughly the same time.

“Imagine how unhappy Candace’s mom will be,” he said.

Gabby waved her hand dismissively. “Come on. This is almost worth it for that alone.”

That got a laugh out of him. “Right? Do you know how many lectures I’ve sat through about not knocking her up?”

“Tell her you can’t help it, you’re just that potent. That’ll shut her up.”

“Yeah. I’d love to see the look on her face.”

“Did you even take precautions?”

He shrugged. “She was on the pill. But she came down with strep throat a few weeks back and took antibiotics. I remember her saying something about us needing to be more careful, but I guess we weren’t. Looks like it may have caught up with us.”

“Yeah. That probably did it.”

The bathroom door opened, and Candace emerged, holding the little white stick in her hand. She stopped short when she saw Gabby. “I’ll go back up front,” Gabby said quickly, taking a step away.

“No, you can stay,” Candace said. The corner of her mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “The directions said we should wait five minutes, but I don’t think we need them. Unless this second pink line might go away in five minutes.” She held the little display up to Brian. “We’re pregnant.”

“Oh baby,” he breathed, encircling her with his arms and lifting her feet off the floor. She buried her face in his neck and sniffled.

And that was what Gabriella had wanted. Someone she loved, someone who loved her back, someone she trusted. Someone to take her in his arms and comfort her. Let her know with hardly any words it was all going to be okay.

But Ian had done that, hadn’t he? He’d tried. “Okay, I’m getting misty,” she said, giving Brian’s arm a pat. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“I’m taking her home,” he said over Candace’s shoulder. “Tell Macy she’ll call her later.”

Probably a good idea. The second Gabby emerged from the hallway, Macy practically mobbed her. “Do you know? Did she tell you?”

“They’re going home. She’ll call you later.”

Macy huffed. “Well, it’s obviously positive, then.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She looked past Macy to Ian, who lounged over by his station, not a single thing about his demeanor giving her an indication he suffered any emotional turmoil himself. “I’m going,” Gabby said, mostly to him, though Macy stood directly in front of her. “See you guys later.”

She left to absentminded farewells and hit a wall of humidity outside. At least her and Candace’s spring due dates would spare them being gigantic in the Texas summer heat, but it would be hell on the nausea. Before she’d even reached her car, her cell phone dinged in her purse.

Ian.

My place tonight? I’ll cut out early.

He’d said they would talk later but never specified when. Tonight… She wasn’t sure it was “later” enough, but she should probably take what she could get. Sure, she sent back. Eightish?

See you then.

Chapter Eleven

The door opened to her knock at 7:58—she’d stared at the digital time display on her car’s console for three minutes and then glanced at her watch twice before knocking—and Gabby pasted on a smile she hoped was bright.

If the one Ian gave her in return was any indication, she succeeded. He’d changed since leaving work, now wearing black jeans and an emerald T-shirt. Both hugged him in all the right places, and the latter deepened the color of his eyes until they almost matched the jewel-tone of his shirt. Momentarily, she lost her breath. That smile of his, so unaffected—it gave her hope that they could sort this out. It warmed her from within.

“Hi,” she said as he stepped aside to let her enter and closed the door behind her.

“Are you hungry?”

Was he kidding? She was ravenous. But her nerves were as jumpy as a teenager’s on her first date. She wanted to eat her weight in Chinese food, but she also worried that she might throw up at any minute. “Um…yes and no. And if you were pregnant and hormonal, maybe that would make total sense to you.”

He chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

His apartment was a total bachelor pad, functional but not much else. She hadn’t expected anything more, really, but it was a jumping-off point for her mind to go crazy. Was the motorcycle his only means of transportation? Not that she expected the guy to go buy a minivan, but…ah, God. This would never, ever work, would it?

“Well, I’m not much for cooking, so I thought we could go out if you wanted, or I could get some take-out. I didn’t know what you like.”

“Um…I’m easy to please.”

“Or we could sit here and talk,” he said, watching her face and apparently reading her mind.

“I think that’s best. I’m not going to be able to eat until…I don’t know. I was going to say ‘until we figure this out’, but I don’t know if there’s a solution to be found, really.”

“How about this?” He took both her hands in his bigger, warmer ones. She looked up at him, getting lost in those complicated eyes. While his shirt brought out the striations of green, the amber still smoldered, making her think of sunlight on a hot spring day. “We take it day by day. You don’t change any of your major plans, and I won’t change any of mine. Because I think you’re right—there aren’t any answers to be found right now. We’re both in the dark about each other.”

Okay, yes. He was definitely right about that. “I’m so used to having control. All this uncertainty is…hard for me.”

“I’m used to having control too,” he said. “But I rarely have a plan. It’s possible, if it’s what works for you.”

She could see how that was so. She could also see how that quiet strength of his could be a rock for her on chaotic days. Brian had once told her something she’d never forget—that Candace was the eye to his hurricane. Candace was his calm, serene center; she kept him grounded. Gabby had identified a lot with Brian and his rebellious nature since her upheaval a few months ago, and now she wondered if she might need that grounding influence herself. Her ex-fiancé had only been another hurricane right beside her, each of them swirling along their own separate paths. How could that have worked?