The place she’d chosen for dinner was busy and on the louder side. Not exactly what he would’ve selected for a romantic dinner for two, but he wouldn’t complain about it. Traffic wasn’t the greatest, so he arrived to the restaurant a few minutes later than planned and Lucy was already seated at their table.
He smiled when he came around the corner and spied her sitting there. He couldn’t help it. It had only been a few weeks and yet just the sight of Lucy made his whole body respond. The smile on his face, the increase in his pulse, the bizarre feeling in his stomach when she looked at him…he’d never reacted to a woman like this before. Could it be that this was what all the poets and musicians wrote about?
Then she looked up at him. When her gaze met his, he instantly knew there was something wrong. She wasn’t beaming at the sight of him the way he was at her. He tried not to frown and take it personally. It was possible she was tired. Or maybe something had happened. He didn’t know much about her family, but perhaps an emergency had brought her back from her trip early.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said as he leaned down to give her a soft, welcome kiss.
She smiled and kissed him back, but he could sense some hesitation there. “Thank you for coming tonight.”
“Of course,” Oliver said as he unbuttoned his suit coat and sat down. “I was surprised to hear from you. I didn’t think you were coming back until tomorrow.”
Lucy nodded, her expression unusually stoic. “We decided to cut the trip short. Something…uh…came up.”
Oliver stiffened in his seat. He was right. He didn’t like the sound of that. “Is everything okay?”
The waiter arrived with imperfect timing to get their drink orders. Oliver was forced to drop the subject for a moment and scanned the menu. “Would you be interested in sharing a bottle of cabernet with me?”
“No, thank you. I think I’m just going to have a Perrier, please.”
Oliver opted for a single glass of wine instead and the waiter disappeared. “What happened? Is it something serious?”
“Everything is okay. I’m fine. Harper is fine. Serious? I would say so. Whether or not it’s good or bad news depends on how you take it. I just…” her voice trailed off for a moment.
Oliver had never seen Lucy so distraught. Not even at Aunt Alice’s funeral. She seemed to be tied in knots over something. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. Let me help.”
“I’m sorry, Oliver. I’m just going to have to come out and say this because I don’t know how to do it any other way. I spent the whole train ride back from Connecticut trying to find a good way, and there just isn’t one.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m pregnant.”
Oliver’s breath froze in his lungs and his heart stuttered in his chest with shock. He sat for a moment, not breathing, not thinking, just stunned. This wasn’t possible. The restaurant was loud; maybe he just hadn’t heard her correctly. He grasped at that straw in desperation. “I don’t think I heard you right. Could you say it again?” He leaned in this time, praying to hear anything other than Lucy telling him she was having his child.
Lucy winced slightly and move closer to him across the table as well. “You heard me just fine, Oliver. I’m pregnant. With your baby,” she added, presumably to ensure he was clear on that part of the news.
He was crystal clear on that point. She wouldn’t be telling him like this otherwise. The pit of his stomach wouldn’t ache with dread. No, it was obvious she was having his baby. His baby. He didn’t even know what to say to that. Formerly stunned, his brain finally kicked into overdrive with a million thoughts running through his mind all at once. He couldn’t settle on one, couldn’t say a word until he’d come to terms with what she’d just said.
“I don’t know what happened,” Lucy continued, apparently uncomfortable with his silence. “We used protection every time. It didn’t even occur to me that it was the cause of why I wasn’t feeling well until Harper brought it up. I bought a pregnancy test at a drugstore and took it in the bathroom thinking it would come up negative and I could stop worrying, but it was positive. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, but I don’t think it will change anything. The test was pretty clear. We came back early so I could tell you right away.”
He tried to listen as she spoke, but it was hard to focus on anything but the punchline. When the wheel of emotions stopped spinning in his mind, it landed on anger and betrayal, which burst out of him all at once.