Chapter 3
An Offer Too Good To Refuse
Heather
“I’m sorry… what did you just say?” Rone stared at her blankly. His lips parted, but he didn’t say anything further.
She gently set down her machine. She was only half way done the outline. It wasn’t how she imagined telling Rone, just blurting it, but she hadn’t really had a plan. It seemed like as good a time as any. They were alone and the shop, in the little room that was just hers, the room he’d help her decorate with paintings and other artwork, a room where she was living a dream of hers that she’d had for a very long time, it seemed right.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I’m pregnant.”
Rone swung his legs over the side and stood up suddenly. He was so much taller than her, and when she was already sitting down, he looked like a giant looming above her. “When did you find out!”
“Last night. I took a test.”
“And you waited this long to tell me!”
Heather unfurled herself from her seat. Rone wasted no time. He opened his arms and she stepped into them. His hands fell to her waist. He didn’t pull her into his chest. No, he wanted to stare down at her, to meet her gaze directly.
“I… this- this wasn’t- planned…” she stammered. “I didn’t know what you’d think. I thought maybe it was the worst time, seeing as I’m finally done my apprenticeship and we aren’t even married yet and with the wedding only a month away we have so much going on.”
“Are you kidding me? A baby? You know that I want to be a dad.”
“We’ve only talked about that in abstract.”
Rone’s radiant smile, a smile that took up his whole face and lit up his rich dark eyes left little doubt that he was excited. Heather let out a small exhale of relief. She hadn’t really thought that Rone wouldn’t want a child. The timing was just- off.
“You’re on the pill…”
“Yes. I don’t know. It’s not fail proof, obviously, but I’ve never even had a scare. I knew something was strange this month. I was late, which never happens, and I was so tired. I just felt- uh- not like myself. I bought the test thinking there was no way it would be positive. I thought maybe it was just bad PMS or something or that maybe I had missed a pill or something and it messed with my cycle. I went back and checked though and I knew I didn’t miss one. I’m always so careful about that. The test was positive.”
“How did you even sleep last night with that kind of secret?”
“Honestly, I didn’t really.”
“And you worked all day today and came home and made me dinner and then we came back here? You should have told me and we could have canceled.”
“Not on your life,” she laughed. “You can’t get off the hook that easily.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. You didn’t even sleep and you’re carrying my child.” He reached between them and placed his huge palm flat against her black tunic. “Really? You have a son or daughter in there? A mini you or a little me?”
“It wouldn’t hurt if it was a lot of me and a little you.”
He grinned, taking her joke in stride. It was a bit of a miracle he was still standing at all. Rone wasn’t the best with surprises. She’d purposely decided to tell him when he was sitting down.
“If our child looked exactly like you, I’d be thrilled. You’re the most beautiful woman on earth.” He paused, sudden panic flashing across his face. “On second thought, I hope it’s not a daughter. She can’t look like you. I can’t take having to run all the boys off that she’d be sure to attract if she had your beauty.”
“Oh, come on now.”
“A son would be easier…”
“If he has his father’s good looks, you’ll have to run the ladies off and I think that would be frowned on. A boy is no less trouble. Boys get into all kinds of scrapes. Look at you and my brother.”
Rone grinned. He hadn’t removed his hand. The massive palm pressed against her belly, the heat of his fingers seeping into her through the thin fabric of her tunic. She inhaled, savoring Rone’s touch.
“Whatever we have, Rone, I’m so excited. This was unexpected, but we both knew we wanted kids eventually. We might have to change our plans a little, but I know you’ll be the best dad on earth. I’ve wanted this with you for so long. I actually used to try and figure out what our kids would look like, in my head, back when you were just a fantasy.”
“I never let myself think that far,” Rone admitted. “It would have been torture.”
She knew what he meant. Loving Rone and thinking that he could never be hers, since he was off limits, as her brother’s best friend, was hard. She’d never wanted anyone else. She’d never imagined herself with anyone else. And here she was, about to be Rone’s wife, carrying his child. Sometimes life worked out in the best of ways, the most unexpected and unimagined ways.
“I don’t feel anything less than blessed. Every morning I wake up next to you is a gift. Every night I go to sleep is-”
“A workout?”
She slapped Rone lightly in the arm she hadn’t just put half an outline on. His muscles rippled as he stiffened to prepare himself for the playful blow. He knew exactly how he affected her. He knew just how standing there so close, without a shirt on, was hard for her to resist. Not wanting to lose focus, she continued.
“I’m only a few weeks along. Less than a month. We won’t have to change our plans for the wedding or anything, but afterwards- we’ll have a lot to figure out. I know the guys at the shop here are fair. They won’t give my spot away to anyone else. I can probably even work a day or two a week, even after I have the baby, since you always have two days a week off.”
“Over my dead body. I don’t even like you working right now.”
“I’m not made of glass.”
“We both know that. You’re much tougher than I am. But really… working here- it can’t harm the baby?”
“I don’t think so. I’m always so careful. I mean, anytime you’re working with blood you have to be careful. I’m always extra, extra sure to protect myself, just like everyone else here, and to protect my clients. Don’t worry. Nothing will happen. We are going to have a beautiful baby girl or boy.”
“Your mom is going to be so excited.”
“She always did want grandchild. Maybe she won’t think I’m such a lost cause then.”
“She doesn’t think you’re a lost cause. That’s harsh.”
“Well, maybe not anymore,” Heather conceded.
“She doesn’t. She’s your mom. I know Leanne. She was always kind of like my mom too. She might not like the tattoos or that you’re converting me into having more now and hence corrupting my once blank slate, but she will love that baby.”
“I know she will.” Heather’s soft tone filled up the room. The way Rone was looking at her, like she truly was the most amazing woman in the world, made her feel like she was the only woman in the world. In his world, she was.
“I just have one more question. Actually, I have a thousand questions, but just one more right now.”
“Okay. Go ahead. Ask away.”
“Is there any way that I can hurt you?”
“What?” Understanding dawned as a new heat entered Rone’s eyes. “Oh. No. I’m pretty sure that you can’t.”
“In that case, come here.”
She stepped closer. “I might have been lying about those cameras. Well, they are some in the main part of the shop, but not in here. This is completely private.”
“I’ve always wanted to christen this room and make it completely yours.”
Heather wasn’t going to tell him no. She was powerless to resist Rone and she really always had been. She’d fought her attraction for so many years, once she let her guard down, that was it. She had no resistance, she had no walls. It was an offer too good to refuse.