The Pregnancy Proposition

Paige smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. “So you’re promising me some serious action when we get back to the hotel?”

Mano pulled her close and deepened the kiss. “You better believe it.”

Eight

Paige pried one eye open in the early morning light. She could see Mano slipping into his suit coat and frowned. “Where are you going?” she asked with a pout.

“Work. Just for a little while,” he said sitting down on the edge of the bed. He leaned in and she met him halfway for a goodbye kiss. “A couple of hours. I’ll meet you for lunch. What are you going to do this morning while I’m gone?”

Paige considered her options. It was already Thursday and there was so much of the resort she hadn’t seen. She really should take the opportunity to explore something other than Mano’s bed. “I thought I might walk through the shops and browse at some point. I also thought about going to the pool. I haven’t done that yet.”

“That would be nice. Go swimming first. Most of the shops don’t open until ten. By the time you finish and shower, they’ll be open.”

Paige twisted her lips in thought. “That’s a good idea. I doubt I’ll buy anything, though. The shops I’ve seen are all very high end. I’m not coming back upstairs with a Louis Vuitton bag.”

Mano reached out and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Paige leaned in to his touch, wishing more and more than he didn’t insist on going to work so soon. “If you want one, you should get one. Have them charge it to me. Anything you want, just tell them.”

Paige laughed aloud, eliciting a frown from Mano. “What’s funny?” he asked.

“You. Since I arrived in Hawaii, it’s like I live in an alternate dimension. Penthouse suites, room service, you offering to buy me anything I want...it’s all kind of ridiculous. Really. You should see my apartment. You’d be horrified.”

Mano sighed and shook his head. “Then consider your time here a little pampering. I mean it—buy something today. I’ll check my charges, and if there isn’t anything on there, I’ll be very disappointed.”

“Okay,” she finally agreed. Paige fully intended to buy a pack of gum at the sundries store just to say she bought something.

He leaned in and kissed her again before whistling for Hoku. “I’ll meet you for lunch at about noon, okay? I’ll text you to see where you are.”

Paige nodded and watched him walk away. Rolling onto her back, she stretched leisurely across the king-size mattress and stared up at the ceiling. A few hours by the pool might be just what she needed. It was early enough that she might not have to fight for a lounge chair.

She pulled her hair up into a knot on the top of her head and slipped into the bikini she bought for the trip. It was a bright blue and purple design with a halter top and boy shorts for the bottoms. The cut gave her the illusion of curves where she had none.

Before she pulled on her cover-up, she decided to slather on some sunblock so it could soak in. As her hands slid across her belly, she realized she was finally starting to show. The change was subtle, just the slightest curve, but it was enough for her to notice on her slight frame. She turned sideways to look at herself in the mirror and admire her burgeoning baby bump.

At the moment it just looked like a big lunch, but she would be growing at a faster pace from here on out. The baby would be doubling in size every few weeks. It was easy to ignore her situation while her belly was flat, but soon her pregnancy would be common knowledge to anyone who saw her.

With a sigh, Paige slipped the royal blue cover-up over her suit and gathered things to take to the pool with her. She tossed the sunblock, her phone, earbuds and a book in the wicker shoulder bag she bought on the beach and headed downstairs.

It was hard to believe she hadn’t made it to the pool yet. Paige had admired it every time she walked past but hadn’t dipped her toe in even once. It was beautiful, beckoning to her. The pool looked like a natural, sprawling lagoon surrounded by large stone boulders and green, leafy plants, as though it were nestled in a tropical rain forest. Hidden among the boulders was a pair of slides and a couple waterfalls.

Paige found a lounge chair in a corner with a little bit of shade. The touch of sunburn she’d gotten on their first day out had started to fade, and she didn’t want to make it worse. She laid out one of the fluffy pool towels and self-consciously glanced around to see if anyone was looking before she slipped out of her cover-up. The coast was clear, so she whipped it up over her head and settled down into the chair.

One of the poolside servers approached her after a few minutes. “May I bring you anything?” he asked.

She wanted coffee, but that wasn’t on her menu. “Pineapple juice and seltzer water would be great. Thank you.” The fresh juice and bubbles would be a nice change. Decadent, but not too much for the early morning.

The waiter disappeared and Paige relaxed back into her chair. As the sun warmed her skin, she closed her eyes and tried to enjoy it all. Her time in Hawaii had been filled with activity, both in and out of Mano’s bed, so she hadn’t gotten much R&R time. This was her chance. All that was missing was music. She pulled her phone and her earbuds out of her bag and cued up her favorite playlist.

Just before she hit Play, she noticed two women sit down in the lounge chairs nearby. She didn’t pay much attention to them, though; she wasn’t in the mood to chat. But as the first song ended with a short period of silence before the next song, she caught a bit of the conversation beside her.

“That’s the woman I was telling you about,” the blonde said in a harsh whisper that was anything but quiet.

“Her? Really?” Her friend, a brunette, sounded aghast.

Paige knew she could turn up the music and drown out their voices, but instead she hit Pause so she could listen without their knowledge. She was a masochist that way.

“It’s unbelievable, right? I saw the two of them together the other night. Even when they were all dressed up, she wasn’t anything to look at. I don’t know what he sees in her. Oh wait.” The blonde laughed. “He doesn’t see anything.”

The two women laughed, making Paige clench her teeth. She was used to people having opinions about her, but she didn’t like hearing them mock Mano. That was uncalled for.