Perfect Bastard (Mason Creek)

I wanted to snuggle, but Nate woke up.

“We have to go,” he said. “Our flight is early this morning.”

“But I didn’t pack.”

“I went to your house and your dad packed some things for you. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you when I found out the time we would be leaving. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine.” When I rolled over to sit up, that was totally the wrong thing to do. My stomach erupted and so did I, to avoid vomiting on his floor. I made it to the bathroom in the nick of time and seconds later, hands pulled my hair away from my face. Then Nate rubbed my back. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?”

I waved a hand as another violent roil of my stomach stole the words from my mouth as I retched.

Five minutes later, he held me in his arms on the floor as we waited to see if I would dry-heave some more. “Is it always like this?” he asked.

“Yes. And I honestly can’t understand why anyone would willingly put themselves through this.”

Okay, it was the sickness speaking, as it did every morning. But by evening, I would imagine what my little one would look like when he or she was born, having forgotten all about my morning woes.

“Is this normal?” he asked.

“For some, yes.”

“We should mention it to the doctor. Are you okay to go?”

I took stock of how I felt before nodding and got to my feet. He grabbed our bags. Apparently, he’d packed for himself while I slept the night away.

When we got downstairs, he headed for the back. “We are not driving in your deathtrap,” I said.

“What? My car is safe.”

“Not in Montana winters.”

“I have to leave Dad’s truck for Sunshine.” He balked.

“Fine. You can drive my Jeep.” I wasn’t up to it yet. Though I was moving around, nausea lingered in the background.

We arrived at the same airfield where I’d dropped Haley off. I wondered how she was doing. I hadn’t called her, not wanting to ruin her trip with my mistakes. She’d hear about everything soon enough. She was due back in a few days. I planned to come clean.

After some preliminary checks in the small building, we were ushered outside to stairs that led up to a smaller plane than the commercial ones you see on TV. I’d flown before a few times, but never in a private jet.

We were greeted by the pilot, Liam, and his wife. “Short notice. I didn’t have crew,” he said.

“I’m N—Jessica,” she said with a toddler at her feet.

“We’re a package deal today, if that’s okay.”

“It’s fine,” Nate and I both said at the same time.

We glanced at each other with a smile on both of our lips. That was the first time in what felt like forever.

“Take whatever seat you want,” Jessica said.

“I’m going to leave you guys and get through the preflight check,” Liam said.

Jessica was astute as she came over and whispered, “Morning sickness?” Shocked she’d notice, I could only nod. “Don’t worry. I’m going through it too. Don’t mention it to my husband. I haven’t taken a test. But a woman knows.”

She brought over some crackers and ginger ale. “Just sip and nibble. The first time around, I learned to have some by my bed in the morning. A few nibbles before getting out of bed made all the difference in the world.”

“Thanks,” I said.

It was a small plane and Nate had opted for the seat across from me. I peeked over at him, and he was staring intently at his phone. I pulled mine out and downloaded the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book before we had to turn our internet off.

It wasn’t long before I nodded off again. I was tired a lot and had gotten to the part that explained this was my new reality before I let my eyes drift shut.

“We’re here.”

I felt his hand on mine before I opened my eyes. We thanked Liam, and I thanked Jessica for everything before Nate whisked me off into a blacked-out SUV with a driver. I’d never been to Chicago but could barely stay awake to watch the view. He woke me again, and we were in an underground garage.

“I missed it,” I said.

“Don’t worry. I have a great view upstairs and we can go wherever you want after the doctor’s visit.” Then he put his hand at the small of my back and urged me forward. He got in an elevator, used a keycard, and selected the top floor. The ride went up and up and up before opening to a stunning view of the city through a wall of glass.

“Oh, my God. This is amazing.”

I stood there a foot from the window, taking it all in before getting a real view of his place. The furniture was steel and leather. It was minimal and definitely stylish, but more for a magazine shoot than a place to live. “This is nice, but it doesn’t feel like you.”