Chapter Thirteen
Needless to say, Dom didn’t get the ski instructor position, but he did get a free taxi ride to the airport after hotel staff found him butt naked near the ice dispenser on his hotel room floor. It had been two weeks since he’d been escorted off the property, and the image she’d conjured up in her mind still made Dina chuckle.
Of course, Sam had to deliver the news personally the morning it happened, and thankfully, she hadn’t heard from her ex since, except for one lone text that would make her laugh for years to come.
Now she was sitting in her workroom, going over her schedule with Anton. The moment she met him, she knew she had to hire him. Anton was mature, responsible, kind, and conscientious. He also didn’t hold back his opinion, which was extremely refreshing.
“You look tired,” Anton told her as he poured them each a cup of coffee.
“I feel really tired. I’m starting to think I caught walking pneumonia or something.” She smiled and took a sip. “Since I opened the shop and all the orders started flooding in, I just haven’t quite recovered from the move, or all the work it took to get this place ready or… I’m not even sure.”
“Hopefully having me here will help a little,” Anton said, taking a seat in front of the veil he’d been working on.
“You’ve helped more than you know,” she assured him, glancing at her website.
She was now officially booked until Valentine’s Day, and she saw no signs of things slowing down.
“So is your girlfriend coming up to Silver Ridge for the holidays?” Dina couldn’t believe it was already mid-October. The first snow was bound to hit the mountains soon, and she still hadn’t taken up Sam on another ski lesson, and it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried.
She simply didn’t have the time, and she also knew a full season of snow bunnies was on the horizon, and she really didn’t feel like being a fill-in until they arrived.
“Trina will be here for Thanksgiving, and then I’ll be going to her parents’ house for Christmas.”
“That’ll be fun.”
“I hope so.” He smiled. “I don’t think her dad really likes me.”
What there wasn’t to like about Anton blew Dina away. He was a charming, respectful, and a really cute and driven twenty-something.
“Dad’s are wired not to like anyone their daughter brings home. That’s the rule.”
Except in her case. Her parents loved Dom, and after seeing him again recently, it really made her question their sanity. But there were a lot of things in her life that made her question her parents’ sanity.
“I’m sure you’re right.” Anton nodded, his focus staying on the beadwork in front of him.
He was working on an online order that had to be shipped out by the end of the week.
“So what about you?” Anton asked.
“What about me what?”
“You and Sam?”
Dina laughed and shook her head, suddenly feeling like she was on a game show and about to answer the question wrong.
The problem was she wasn’t even certain she knew what the question was.
“He’s just a friend.” She cleared her throat and swore she needed to stop doing that when she got nervous. “And my parents rarely care who I’m dating.”
“So he’s just a friend, but the nudist was your fiancé?” Anton laughed, and she couldn’t help herself and joined in.
The kid had a good point.
“There’s a reason I moved to Silver Ridge.”
Anton’s gaze met hers and his smile only grew.
“And what’s that? Most designers don’t flee to the most remote part of the planet to open up shop.”
“First of all, Silver Ridge isn’t that remote. I mean, it might take a little work to get here, but I’m worth it, aren’t I?”
He chuckled and nodded.
“But I loved the peace and tranquility, and as Mr. Nudist recently demonstrated, I was lacking that back in Los Angeles. It felt like a circus down there. Besides, I read an article about finding love and loving yourself, and it all came together for me. If I’m meant to fall in love, it will happen no matter where I move. Mr. Right will fall through the door.”
“Where’d you read that article?” Anton’s brows furrowed. “That’s about as unrealistic as a man falling from the sky for you.”
Anton was too smart for his own good.
“Just some blog I follow.” She shrugged.
“What’s it called?”
“Emilia’s Love Pursuit,” Dina mumbled the words quickly.
“You’re kidding.” He rolled his eyes. “My girlfriend follows that one.”
“Ha! So I’m not alone.”
Anton shook his head. “Definitely not. She treats it like the Bible.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but so far her advice has been spot on in so many instances.” Dina sighed and wondered if things would be different had she waited thirty days to sleep with Sam. Would there be a greater possibility to have a relationship? Probably not.
“So is your family coming up for Thanksgiving?” Anton asked and Dina internally cringed. “I bet they want to see your new town.”
Dina laughed nervously and shook her head. “We don’t really have that kind of relationship.”
“What do you mean? Your family doesn’t do holidays?” Anton’s brows furrowed.
“Oh, we celebrate them…Just not necessarily together.” Dina bit her lip and took in a deep breath. “I’m kind of the black sheep of the family.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Not so much lately.” Dina shrugged. “I mean it would be nice if they were interested, especially when I see them absorbed in my siblings’ lives, but I have low expectations and that helps.”
“Ouch.” Anton let out a sigh. “Was there anything that kind of caused the split?”
“Not that I know of. I had a tiny wild streak in school, but it was nothing more than sneaking out with friends. I think my mom and I just don’t click, and that somehow wore off on my dad.”
“Curious.”
“But enough about that.” Dina smiled at her new hire. “I’ll wind up with a therapy bill from you.”
Anton laughed and continued hand sewing beadwork onto the veil as her thoughts traveled back to Sam. He’d been nothing but gracious, only teasing her about her fiancé now and again over the last couple of weeks. He also hadn’t pressed her to drop what she was doing and spend all her time with him.
Although, if she were to read into that, it meant he really wasn’t that interested, which was fine because it had all been planned as a one-time thing in her brain anyway.
She glanced at Anton and wondered how he could be so settled at a young age. She was still confusing herself in her mid-thirties, and she wasn’t quite sure how to stop doing that. Part of the problem was that she wasn’t quite being honest with herself.
It was extremely difficult to treat Sam North as a one-night stand, especially because he kept popping up with coffees, flowers, and chocolates, and furthermore, she was deeply attracted to every single thing about him.
When Dominique showed back up in her life again, she realized she’d been used to dating menboys. They disguised themselves as men, but were nothing but boys.
Comparing Sam North to a manboy was literally impossible. There were absolutely no similarities between a real man and the other. When she’d first met Dom, they were both young. He was in his mid-twenties and so was she.
He’d take her out drinking and dancing and up to the mountains, and she just got all caught up in living his life. But the thing was he was like every other party boy that surrounded them, so she didn’t know better. One year led to two years, which led to three and so on. She equated love with having a good time, but there was no real depth. He was nice to her, always included her in everything, and made her feel important.
In hindsight, he was purely securing his summer and fall residence.
The problem was that she grew up and he never did. Glancing at Anton and how studious he seemed made her realize that Dom never would grow up. He was only capable of so much and that wasn’t much.
“You okay over there?” Anton muttered, still not looking up from his project. “I feel like the Sam question threw you over the edge.”
“You’re a little too astute for your own good,” she teased, walking over to him.
As she leaned over to look at his beautiful work, her head spun a little and she reached for the table.
“You okay?” he asked, noticing she wasn’t completely herself.
“Yeah. Totally fine.” She nodded, straightening back up and taking a sip of her coffee.
“Really looks like it.” His brow arched. “You don’t have any appointments today and I’ve got this handled. Why don’t you head home and rest? I can call you if anything comes up.”
She studied her new intern for a few seconds and realized he was probably right. She didn’t have to keep feeling like she had to handle the world. She had a little help…okay a lot of help now that he was here.
“You know what?” She polished off her coffee and set the mug down. “I think you’re right. You’ve got the place handled, and it’s a rare day there aren’t any consults so…”
“Yes. Go. I promise I’ll call you if there’s anything that comes up.”
She gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and nodded. “Sounds good.”
Dina started out the door and stopped, turning around. “I’m really glad to have you onboard.”
“I’m happy to be here.” He smiled and switched his iTunes on. “But I think I might listen to something a little different than Vivaldi, if you don’t mind.”
“Go for it,” she hummed as she made her way through the shop and out the door.
The thought of going home mid-afternoon literally made her want to skip to her car. It wasn’t that she didn’t love what she did, but she was absolutely exhausted and loved the idea of sleep more.
When she pulled into her driveway the comfort of home wrapped around her. She loved her little place and loved it even more with the knowledge that Dom wouldn’t be back this winter.
As she wandered up to her front door, she noticed a little package on her welcome mat and bent over to pick it up. It was lightweight with no return address.
Dina hurried inside and ripped the box open to reveal a beautiful cashmere scarf, glove, and hat set in a soft baby blue. Her birthday wasn’t for a few more months so she had no idea why this arrived on her doorstep or from who until a tiny little message card fell from the scarf that she’d hung around her neck.
I wanted you to have something warm for the winter. Something tells me you didn’t bring many of these from California. ~Sam
Dina’s heart immediately swelled as she sat, wrapped in cashmere, on the couch. She eyed the message over and over again. There certainly wasn’t anything to read into it. It was straight to the point, without frills, and completely Sam. He didn’t want me to freeze to death so he solved a problem.
Kicking off her shoes, she let out an exhausted sigh and stretched out on the couch, feeling the quietness of her home overtake her. As she pushed her head deeper into the couch pillows, she realized there hadn’t been one day since she arrived in town that she let herself just sink into the couch. She’d either been setting up shop or unpacking at her house.
Gosh, it had been how long since she—
Wait. It had been how long since she’d been here? It had been how long since she slept with Sam North?
And it had been how long since she’d had her period? Panic struck her system like a lightning bolt as she shot upright from the couch, desperately pulling her phone out of her purse to stare at her little phone app.
The longer it took for her now-trembling fingers to find the right app to open, the more her nerves became a frazzled mess. They’d been careful. She was just overreacting. If she was late, it was only because she’d been so stressed and exhausted and…
The app finally opened and she pushed down the lump that had suddenly formed in the back of her throat as she swiped to the calendar and stared at the little red dot that should have happened a week ago.
“No, no, no,” she muttered to herself as she sprang off the couch and paced to nowhere in particular.
This was all just a little glitch. Never mind that she’d been always been as dependable as any Swiss watch…This was just a hiccup because of the move.
Dina let out a shaky breath and knew no matter what she was telling herself, she needed to get a pregnancy test.
But she was in no condition to drive.
Still holding the cell in her hand, she dialed Autumn’s number and the moment she picked up, Dina could only speak two words.
“I’m late.”
Autumn gasped and put her hand over the phone, mumbling to Joel that she’d be right back. Dina heard footsteps and then a door closing.
“I’m in the bathroom upstairs. What’s going on?” Autumn asked.
“With everything going on, I totally spaced, and I finally got a few moments of peace to myself, and all of a sudden, I realized it had been a while since you know, and the next thing I know I look on my phone’s app and then—,” She paused only to take a breath. “I realized it had really been a while. Like late like never before. I think it’s the stress. I don’t think I’m pregnant but just to make—” Dina wasn’t even giving complete sentences or thoughts as her mind whirled deep into the rabbit hole of unexpected parenthood.
“Dina, stop and take a deep breath. You don’t need to explain a thing. Don’t stress yourself out. Just breathe, sit on your couch, and put on a movie. I’ll be right over with a test.”
Dina let out a shaky breath and sat back on the couch, exactly as her friend had instructed.
“Please don’t tell—”
“I’d never in a million years say a word,” Autumn cut her off.
“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“See ya soon and don’t panic.”
Dina ended the call and let out a groan as she leaned her head back on the pillow.
Easier said than done.
Her business was finally taking off to extraordinary levels. She’d slept with a man who didn’t even want to commit to a puppy, let alone another human being or two, and she’d been going out of her way to stay as disconnected from Sam as possible.
She couldn’t suddenly buddy up to him if she were pregnant. That wouldn’t be right.
Dina let out another groan. She needed to get a grip. There were lots of possibilities as to why she was late, and they didn’t all involve pregnancy.
“What’s meant to be will be,” she whispered to herself with her eyes shut. “If I’m pregnant, I can still work. I can still run my shop. I’ve got Anton, at least for now. It’s going to be okay. Not a big deal. Maybe, I need to eat more regularly, get more sleep, and my body will get back to normal.”
Dina didn’t believe the words were coming out of her mouth.
For some reason, she just knew.
She knew she was pregnant. The exhaustion fit. A lot of things she’d been ignoring fit.
But they’d been extremely careful that night.
But that night did offer a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong.
And so many wonderful rights.
At least it was memorable.
Dina’s eyes blinked open, and she rested her hands on her flat stomach, trying to imagine what it might be like to actually be pregnant.
Would she tell her family right away?
If at all?
Would she tell Sam right away?
Would she stay in Silver Ridge?
Would she—
Autumn knocked and let herself in with her own key. The plastic bag rustled behind Dina signaling that she was moments away from finding out something that would change the rest of her life forever.
She was scared.
But something more surfaced.
She was excited.
Thrilled, actually.
Dina stood up and took a deep breath as Autumn’s gaze connected with hers.
“You ready?” Autumn asked.
“No, but I don’t think anyone is, right?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.” She smiled, handing Dina the plastic bag. “Want me to stay out here?”
“Okay.” Dina took the little box out of the plastic bag and opened it up, reading the instructions over and over again on the way to the bathroom.
Pee on stick. How hard can that be?
“Okay. I changed my mind. Can you stand outside the door?” Dina called to her friend.
“Of course.”
Dina closed the door and pulled the plastic off the tip of the tester and positioned herself just right.
Except all of a sudden she felt as dry as the Sahara with not even an ounce of liquid to give.
She stared at the tile floor and let out a sigh. Now was not the time to be dehydrated. Waving the stick over the bowl as if to concoct some sort of spell, she felt a little trickle about to emerge.
Concentrating on the task at hand, she quickly put her hand where it needed to be and let out a relieved sigh when it all lined up.
“Well?” Autumn asked through the door.
“I had stage fright.” Dina chuckled and walked over to the sink, placing the stick on the counter and washing her hands. “But in two minutes, you’ll know if you’re an aunt.”
“And if Joel’s an uncle.”
Dina turned around and opened the door, her expression in a state of shock.
“He could literally be an uncle.”
Autumn laughed. “I know. That’s why I said it. They’re brothers.”
“Which would really make you an aunt.”
“Boy, you are tired.” Autumn’s eyes twinkled as her gaze landed on the stick. “Do you think it’s normal to see the results already from this far away?”
“It’s only been like thirty seconds.” Dina’s brows pulled together, but she turned around.
A little gasp escaped her lips as she spotted two bright pink lines next to each other.
“There’s nothing subtle about those results,” Dina whispered, slowly walking over to the test stick.
“That must mean you are super pregnant.” Autumn’s eyes were wide as she stared at her friend staring at the stick.
“As opposed to a little pregnant?” Dina turned around, holding the stick close as a smile began to spread across her lips.
Autumn nodded and gave her friend a big bear hug.
“Well, I think I’m in a state of shock. I’d suggest we have champagne to celebrate, but I’m guessing that’s not the best idea.”