Her Christmas Pregnancy Surprise

His hand moved toward the door handle. He hesitated. Something could be wrong with her. Or perhaps she’d left during the night and was meandering the streets. The thought twisted his gut with worry.

Or maybe she was in the shower. Or perhaps she hadn’t slept well and was finally dozing. And it wasn’t like they hadn’t spent the night together and he hadn’t seen her in bed. Still, a lot had changed since that night. In fact, everything had changed.

“I’m coming in,” he called out. He eased the door open slowly. “Pepper?”

Silence.

He stuck his head inside the room. He immediately spotted the empty bed and disheveled covers. At least she had gotten some rest.

Just then the door to the en suite opened. Pepper’s surprised gaze met his. But it wasn’t her reaction to him being in her room that bothered him, it was her pale face.

“Simon, what are you doing in here?”

“Sorry. I knocked. I knocked a lot. And when you didn’t respond, I started to worry that you might not feel well.”

“I... I’m fine.”

He searched her face. He could tell she was lying, but he didn’t dare accuse her. Instead, he would pretend everything was fine, which clearly it wasn’t. But until he figured out what he could do to help her, it was best to play it safe.

“Can I get you something to eat? Eggs? Toast? Waffles? Or pancakes?”

At that, Pepper’s face turned about three shades of green. She held up a finger indicating he should wait. Then the bathroom door slammed shut. What in the world?

As he approached the door, he knew what was the matter. Pepper didn’t feel well. It was the shock from last night. He couldn’t blame her. If his business was to suddenly go up in flames, he would be utterly devastated too. But she just had to realize that this was just a temporary setback, not the end.

Unless...unless she didn’t have insurance. He couldn’t imagine not having insurance, but he also knew when money was tight, corners were cut. If that was the case, it just might be the end. No wonder she felt so poorly.

He wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to make matters worse, so he moved to the doorway and waited. A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened. Pepper stood there. Even her lips were pale this time.

He rushed over to her. “Maybe you should sit down.”

She didn’t say anything or put up a fight as he guided her to the side of the bed. She must feel as bad as she looked.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He rushed to the kitchen. He knew his housekeeper/cook kept it well stocked. He was about to find out just how well stocked. The pantry was not a place he ventured very often, but when he opened the door, he was quite pleased with the selection.

He quickly located a can of ginger ale. And then he moved to the fridge. Recalling what his mother used to give him when his stomach was upset, he toasted some bread and served it plain.

He returned to the room to find Pepper had made the bed and was straightening the place. He was shocked she was up and about. She hadn’t looked well enough to do any of this. And she was still looking ill.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said.

“Of course I do.” Then she frowned. “You’re right. I should strip the bed in order to wash the linens.”

He was horrified that she thought she had to come here and do the laundry. “Pepper, come over here.” He gestured to a small table in front of the window. When she didn’t move, he said, “I pay people to take care of things like changing the bed and washing the laundry. You are my guest. And you don’t feel good. You need to take it easy. You had quite a shock last night.”

She sighed and moved to the table. She sat down and looked at the things he’d brought her, but she didn’t make any motion to eat or drink.

“It’s ginger ale and some plain toast,” he said, sitting across from her. “My, uh, mother used to give it to me when I didn’t feel good. I thought it might help you. But if you prefer something else—”

“No. This is fine.” And then her gaze met his. “Thank you for being so thoughtful. And I’m sorry about everything, from tearing you away from your party to making a scene last night and then putting you out—”

“Stop. You don’t have to be sorry about anything. To be honest, that party was boring. It was a bunch of people who wanted to be seen.”

“Then why did you host it?”

“Because it was expected.”