“I’m pregnant.”
Shock chased the ghostly paleness to his features as his knees gave way.
She rushed forward and caught him close. “Simon.”
“Say that again?”
She laughed. “You heard right. And if you say April Fool’s, I’ll punch you dead in the baby-maker.”
“How?” He looked down at her, his unsteady hand going right for her middle.
“I’m aware that some of your education is lacking, Kagan, but you are quite adept at understanding the creation of babies.”
He rolled his eyes and stood taller once more. He hooked his hand around her back and tugged her even closer. “We practice lots, but we don’t usually sink that particular putt.”
She rolled her eyes. “Nice analogy. You barely play golf.”
He lowered his head until they were forehead to forehead. “Baby. In there?” With his other hand, his long fingers spanned the length of her midsection again.
“Generally where they stay until nine months pass give or take a few weeks.” He was taking it way better than she had. Especially with the metric ton of pregnancy tests she’d taken before believing it. And even then, she hadn’t allowed herself to let it sink in until she’d visited her doctor.
“How long?”
“Did I know?”
He frowned. “We’ll get back to that part. But when is this whole…thing happening?”
“Thing?”
“I’m catching up here. Give a guy a break.”
She smoothed her hand over his chest, soaking in the warmth that always seemed to radiate off of him. “I’m about two months in. At least that’s what my doctor thinks.”
“Doctor.” His voice was thoughtful and quiet. “You saw a doctor, so it’s not just a test.” He cupped her face. “You did this alone? Why?”
She couldn’t figure out what he was feeling. He seemed calm. An emotion she didn’t usually find in abundance with the father of her future child. In fact, he was more child than anyone she knew. “I didn’t think it was possible. We never talked about it. I’ve always been on birth control, so I didn’t even think about it. And everything with Juliet was so emotional.” She curled her fingers around his. “I couldn’t even breathe around the worry for my sister. I took my pills and didn’t get my usual period. But sometimes I don’t with the kind of pill I’m on and I figured stress…” She trailed off.
“How long have you been dealing with this by yourself?”
“A little over a week.”
“Margo.” His voice was just above a whisper, then his eyes went wide. “Holy shit, we’ve been fucking like we’re trying out for the Olympics.”
“I’m pregnant not broken. In fact, this sturdy body is good for something.” Her lips slid into a smile. “Birthing hips evidently.”
His lips tipped up at one corner in the smirk that had gotten her into trouble in
the first place. Some things had changed in the years they’d been together, but that cocky smirk had been one of the few constants. Sometimes it drove her crazy, sometimes it made her want to smack it clean off his face, and sometimes it reminded her of the man-child in the studio who had become her everything.
“But seriously is that good for the…it?”
“From what Li tells me—and mind you, she doesn’t share much—but nothing really changed there until late in the pregnancy. In fact, one night after too much wine, she told me she can’t wait to have those pregnancy hormones back. Evidently, the second trimester can be akin to something like Mardi Gras sexually.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Are you gonna flash me your tits and expect beads?”
“You’re a pig.”
He laughed. “Man, these are going to get bigger?”