At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [8]
“Why not?”
“They’ll get the wrong impression.”
“You know they’re going to find out anyway.”
“I know, but it doesn’t have to be tonight, does it? Let them get to know me first. Give them a chance to come to grips with the fact that we’re getting married. That’s enough shock for one night. We’ll deal with rest of it later.”
“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want.” He leaned back in the seat. “But just so you know, even if it does slip out, you won’t have to worry.”
She blinked. “How would it slip out? Don’t tell me that you’ve already told them.”
Jeremy shook his head. “No, of course not. I might have mentioned it to Alvin.”
“You told Alvin?” she asked, her face paling.
“Sorry. It just slipped out. But don’t worry, he won’t tell anyone.”
She hesitated before finally nodding. “Okay.”
“It won’t happen again,” Jeremy said, reaching for her hand. “And there’s no reason to be nervous.”
She forced a smile. “Easy for you to say.”
Lexie turned toward the window again. As if she hadn’t already been nervous enough, now she had to deal with this, too. Was it really that hard to keep a secret?
She knew Jeremy didn’t mean any harm, and that Alvin would be discreet, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that Jeremy didn’t quite understand how his family might view this sort of news. She was sure they were very reasonable people—his mother seemed nice enough—and she doubted that they would accuse her of being a harlot, but still, just the fact that they were getting married so quickly was going to raise eyebrows. Of that, she had no doubt. All she had to do was see it from their perspective. Six weeks ago, she and Jeremy had never even met, and—after the whirlwind of all whirlwinds—they were now officially engaged. That was shocking enough.
But if they found out she was pregnant?
Well, now they’d understand. They’d make the assumption that Jeremy was marrying her simply for that reason. Instead of believing Jeremy when he said that he loved her, they’d simply nod and say, “That’s nice.” But as soon as Jeremy and Lexie left, you could bet they’d huddle to discuss the matter. They were family, a close, old-fashioned family that got together a couple of times a month. Hadn’t he been telling her that? She wasn’t naive. And what did family talk about? Family! Joys, tragedies, disappointments, successes . . . close families shared all of it. But if Jeremy slipped again, she knew what would happen. Instead of the engagement, they would talk about her pregnancy, if only to wonder aloud whether Jeremy really knew what he was doing. Or worse, that maybe she’d trapped him somehow.
She could be wrong, of course. Maybe they’d all be delighted. Maybe they’d find the whole situation completely reasonable. Maybe they’d believe the engagement and the pregnancy had nothing to do with each other, because that was the truth. And maybe she’d just flap her arms and fly all the way home.
She didn’t want in-law problems. Granted, as a general rule there was nothing you could do about them, but she wasn’t eager to get off on the wrong foot.
Besides, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, if she were Jeremy’s family, she’d be skeptical, too. Marriage was a big step for any couple, let alone a couple that barely knew each other. Though Jeremy’s mother hadn’t put her on the hot seat, Lexie could feel her sizing her up as they got to know each other, as any good mother would do. Lexie had been on her best behavior, and at the end, his mother had hugged and kissed her good-bye.
A good sign, Lexie admitted. Or a good start, anyway. It would take time for the family to fully accept her into the clan. Unlike the rest of the daughters-in-law, Lexie wouldn’t be around on the weekends, and she’d probably be on a probation of sorts, until time showed Jeremy hadn’t made a mistake. Probably at least a year or two, maybe more. She supposed she could speed up the process with regular letters and phone calls. . . .
Note to self, she thought. Buy stationery.
If she was completely