1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [80]
“Gloria?” Chad asked. “What’s wrong?”
She closed her eyes, trying not to vomit. This shouldn’t be happening anymore, but because of the meeting with Chad, she’d been tense all day. As a result she hadn’t eaten much, which was probably a good thing.
“You’re pale. Do you want to sit down?”
“No.” She dashed to the women’s restroom. Pushing open the stall door, she barely made it inside. Bent over the toilet, she lost the juice she’d managed to drink.
When she finished, she turned to discover Chad waiting for her by the sink, holding a wet paper towel. “Are you okay now?”
“Yes, sorry. I didn’t expect that. I should’ve known.” She wiped her mouth and then smiled. “Do you make a habit of walking into women’s restrooms?”
“Only when—” He stopped short. “No,” he said, amending whatever he’d been about to say. “Let me get you home.”
She obediently followed him out of the restaurant. Her apartment was close to the library and near the waterfront. Chad had been there often enough not to need directions.
“I won’t stay long,” he said when she’d unlocked the door.
After she’d rinsed out her mouth again they sat on the sofa, he at one end and she at the other.
“Does that happen often?” he asked.
“Not anymore… It was just nerves, I guess.” She didn’t explain what she’d been nervous about, but he obviously understood.
“I haven’t slept well for several nights either,” Chad confessed.
“We’re a sad case, aren’t we?” she whispered. It seemed the only place they’d ever been able to communicate was in bed.
“Are you working today?” Chad asked.
“No. I took personal leave. What about you?”
“I have Thursdays off.”
That made sense, since he’d requested the meeting for this afternoon.
She tried to hide a yawn. She didn’t succeed and he responded with a yawn of his own. They looked at each other and smiled.
Chad stood. “I’ll leave and you can nap.”
Suddenly she didn’t want him to go. But she knew instinctively that if she asked him to stay, he wouldn’t. Instead, she got up, too, and reached for his hand. He frowned as she led him toward the hallway, hesitating when he saw her bedroom.
“Gloria, where are you taking me?” Then he answered his own question. “Your bed?” He inhaled sharply and said, “I hope you remember that’s what got us into this mess.”
“It isn’t what you think.”
“What, then?”
“A nap. All I want you to do is hold me, feel our baby move. Nothing more. We’re both tired and stressed. I want us to sleep. Once we do, we’ll be able to talk and make the decisions we need to make.”
He stood next to her bed. “You’re sure this is what you want?”
“Sleep, Chad. That’s all. Understand?”
“No,” he muttered. “But then I’ve never been able to understand you.”
“Do you want to leave?”
“No,” he said. “In fact, I’m finding it downright impossible to walk away.”
“Good.” She folded back the covers, removed her shoes and slid beneath the blankets. Rolling onto her side, she turned her back to him and closed her eyes. It took Chad several minutes to join her. He climbed into the bed, fully dressed, and cuddled her spoon fashion. After a moment, he slipped his hand over her side, pressing it against her stomach.
“The baby just moved.”
Gloria smiled sleepily. “I know.”
“I felt him.”
“He’s going to play soccer, I think.”
“And baseball.”
“We’ll see. Now close your eyes and nap.”
It wasn’t long before she heard the deep, even rumble of his breathing, which told her he was asleep. Tired though she was, Gloria stayed awake.
She’d acknowledged it herself—they’d only ever been able to communicate in bed. Now that they had decisions to make, this seemed the best place for that to happen.
Twenty-Five
“Olivia, I can’t tell you how excited I am to be in my own home,” Charlotte said as Ben unlocked the front door of 15 Eagle Crest Avenue. The kitchen had been completely remodeled.
Olivia exchanged a look with her brother.