Mari

Three weeks later …

I didn’t think I’d be showing this soon, but I swear there’s a bump there.

Or maybe it’s last night’s five course dinner at Tavern on the Green …

Rolling over in Hudson’s bed, I’m greeted with an early morning Manhattan skyline and a reminder of how much I’ve missed it these last several weeks.

I came back with him this week because with everything going on, I forgot to transfer my medical records from Dr. Gupta’s office to one in Orchard Hill, and since I already had my twelve-week ultrasound scheduled, it was easier just to come here.

“Your appointment’s in an hour.” Hudson takes a seat on the edge of his bed, a plush gray towel wrapped around his narrow waist and a blue toothbrush sticking out of his perfect mouth. The scent of aftershave and clean soap permeates the air, and I close my eyes, dragging it into my lungs. I wish I could bottle up this moment, keeping it on standby every time I miss him.

I’ll be flying home solo this week while he stays and gets caught up at the office. He’s bringing on a partner soon, on a temporary basis, to lighten the load as he finishes the Frank Lloyd Wright house, but I have a feeling the further along the pregnancy goes, the more he’ll want to spend his time in the Midwest.

Tossing the covers off my legs, I climb out of bed and shuffle to his bathroom.

“You should’ve woke me up this morning,” I call out. “We could’ve saved water.”

He chuckles. “I couldn’t wake you. You looked so peaceful. And you needed the rest.”

Peeling my clothes off, I start the shower. From the corner of my eye, I catch Hudson stealing a peek through the cracked door. But is it really stealing if it belongs to you in the first place?

“Give me a half hour,” I call, stepping into the marble tiled shower and letting the water drip down my body in jet-streamed rivulets.

Closing my eyes, I softly hum Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds because for the first time in months, I know that every little thing is going to be all right.

* * *

“Maribel Collins?” A young nurse in baby pink scrubs calls my name from a doorway, and Hudson and I follow her down a long hallway. “How are you feeling?”

“Great,” I say.

“Wonderful.” She turns to smile as we walk, and then she veers a corner, stopping at a darkened room with an ultrasound machine and a low bed in the corner. “Well, we’re going to start with the sonogram first and get some measurements, and then Dr. Gupta will be in to talk to you and answer any questions that you or your husband might have.”

“He’s not my husband,” I say. Not sure why I felt the need to point that out, but I did. And it’s done.

“Not yet,” Hudson adds, winking.

The nurse smiles, like we’re adorable, and then she tells me to lie back on the table and the technician will be in shortly to get started.

“You going to call Alec?” I ask.

“Already on it.” Hudson holds up his phone where Alec is FaceTime’d in from Hong Kong. It must be almost midnight.

Alec’s been great the last few weeks. He checks on me and the baby almost every day via text, and we’ve been talking on the phone at least once a week. He’s really making an effort, and he’s more involved than I thought he would be. For that I’m exceedingly relieved.

When the sonographer steps in, she dims the lights and quickly does a double take when she spots Hudson holding his phone up. For a moment, I contemplate explaining my situation to her, but I bite my tongue. It’s none of her business, and I don’t have to justify this arrangement to anyone.

It’s absolutely perfect just the way it is.

Funny how, just months ago, I thought I’d be doing this all by myself.

And now I have Hudson and Alec and a baby who’s going to grow up surrounded with love and support.

I lift the hem of my shirt and the sonographer squirts a warm jelly-like substance across my lower belly before pressing the transducer against my skin. She moves it back and forth, distributing the gel and concentrating on the grainy black and white image on the screen.

“There we go,” she announces a moment later.

The three of us have locked eyes on the tiny monitor, waiting to see something that resembles anything other than a white blob.

She drags her mouse across the image, taking measurements alongside with the random, “That’s good. Looking good. That’s normal.”

I glance at Hudson, and he smiles, and though it’s dark in the room, I can almost swear he’s got a tear in his eye.

“We’re going to listen to the baby’s heart,” she says.

I close my eyes and hold my breath as the rapid, steady thump and whoosh fills the small room. It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life.

“Everything looks great,” she says. “Dr. Gupta will be in shortly.”

She hands me a warm cloth to clean my belly before flicking the lights on and leaving us alone. We say goodbye to Alec, telling him we’ll keep him posted, and he sends us off with a late night yawn from the other side of the globe.

“That was …” Hudson’s voice trails off. “Wow. Kind of makes it all real.”

I nod. “I thought that last time, but I was too in shock to really enjoy it then. This was incredible. Thank you so much for coming with me today.”

“Of course,” he says. “I wouldn’t miss it. Let me know when all of your appointments are and I’ll be there.”

“You going to the office after this?” I ask.

“Thought I’d take the day. Spend it with you.”

“Wait a minute, do I know you?” I tease. “The entire time I worked for you, you didn’t take a single day off.”

“I’m taking you for lunch, maybe do some shopping for the baby,” he says. “And then my parents are coming over tonight. They want to see you.”

“They want to see me?” I point at myself, like he could possibly be speaking to anyone else.

“Yeah,” he says. “I told them we’re back together, and they wanted to see you immediately.”

“Should I be worried that they’re specifically coming to the city just to see me?” Every time I look back at the moment I left Sea La Vie, I cringe. I was so caught up in the moment, in the emotions, I let it get the best of me. I can’t help but think I could’ve handled things with a little more tact and dignity, but I never thought I’d be seeing any of those people again.

“We’ll find out.” He chuckles, and I take solace in the fact that he’s clearly not worried.

* * *

“Mr. Rutherford, your parents are here.” Marta stands in the doorway of Hudson’s bedroom, her eyes moving from him to me and back. Ever since I came back, she’s been warming up to me. Hudson says she didn’t want to get attached before and it was nothing personal.

“We’ll be out shortly.” He turns to me. “Why do you look so nervous?”

“I don’t know?” I bite my lip. I’ve been rehearsing everything I want to say to them all day, namely my humble apology, but not knowing why they needed to immediately see me makes this meeting that much more nerve wracking.

He takes my hand, leading me down the hallway toward his living room where Conrad and Helena are seated on the Chesterfield sofa.

I lock eyes with his mother first, and she stands.

His father clears his throat, tugging at his navy sport coat.

“How are you feeling, Maribel?” Helena asks, her voice as gentle as a cloud.

“Great,” I say. “Just had an appointment earlier today. Baby’s healthy.”

“That’s wonderful,” she says, motioning toward the seat beside her. “Why don’t you have a seat, dear?”

I pad across the room, taking the spot beside her and noticing a little blue Tiffany’s bag nestled beneath the coffee table.

“I wanted you to know,” she begins, “that we accept you—and your baby—into our family with open arms.”

My eyes well, my chest tingles with fullness.

“We’ve shared many things with the Sheffields in our time,” Conrad says. “Why not share a grandchild?”

“We think it’ll be a wonderful thing,” she says, reaching for my hand and taking it between her palms. “We adore you, Maribel.”

“Really?” My voice breaks.

“Why do you seem so shocked?” Helena laughs, glancing at Conrad.

“From the moment I met you, I knew you were a good girl,” Conrad says. “And we knew that our boy was crazy about you. All a parent can ever really hope for is that their child finds love and happiness, and Hudson found that with you.”

“I’m so sorry for lying to you both,” I say.

“Yes,” Hudson says. “We want to make it clear, we accept full responsibility for our actions, and we’re deeply remorseful.”

“Thank you,” Helena says. “We appreciate that.”

“Thank you for accepting … us.” I place my hand on my stomach.

“Of course,” Conrad says.

“We brought you something.” Helena reaches for the blue Tiffany bag, handing it over. “I’m hoping the baby doesn’t already have one of these.”

I smile, silently assuring her the baby does not, in fact, have a single thing from Tiffany & Co.

Digging past white tissue paper, I pull out a small box containing a silver rattle.

“Thank you,” I say, gently wrapping my arms around her. “I love it.”

“Just a small keepsake,” she says as I pull away. “Hudson had one. A gift from my mother-in-law. You’ll get to meet her next month at my niece’s wedding in Portland. You’ll be joining us, won’t you? As Hudson’s plus one?”

I glance at Hudson, vaguely recalling when we’d signed the original agreement and he mentioned that I’d be accompanying him to a slew of weddings and family gatherings over the course of the summer. But that was then. And he’s yet to ask me as his date … officially.

“Will you join me as my plus one for cousin Jennifer’s wedding next month?” he asks, practically reading my mind.

“I’d love to,” I say.

“Wonderful.” Helena claps her hands together before standing. “We won’t keep you. We just wanted to stop by and give you your gift and welcome you back to the family with open arms.”

“Thank you.” I follow them to the door with Hudson behind me, his hand on the small of my back. “We’ll see you next month!”

She blows a kiss on the tips of her fingers before waving goodbye to us and disappearing into the hallway behind Conrad.

The second they’re gone, I exhale.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Hudson says, drawing me in.

I place my hands on his chest, staring up into his deep blues. I’d live in them if I could, I love them so.

“So what now?” I ask.

His lips curl into a devilish grin and his hands slide down my sides, lifting me and carrying me back to his room.

Burying my face in his neck, I throw my arms around his corded-steel shoulders and breathe him in.

I love him.

So hard.