Margot dodged out of the way as Eddie's drink exited his mouth in a spray. Had they been having any other conversation, she would have found it comical. The bartender's towel came down and mopped the counter as if he’d been expecting as much.

Leave it to Eddie Jameson to not realize the immediate implication of nine months. He’d been so busy flirting that he hadn't been able to wrap his head around anything other than what her legs might be wrapped around by the end of the evening. The memory of their night together sent an uncontrollable shiver racing through her, but she set it aside—as she often had these past two months—to try and focus on more pressing matters...like the unforeseen consequences of their explosive hookup.

"Yep. Great at biology, but not so good at math, are you?" Margot offered as she took a long pull of water. What she wouldn't give for the burn of that offered whiskey right about now, but she had cut out alcohol the second she found out she was pregnant.

Eddie stared at her like she had just grown a second head...which in a roundabout way, Margot guessed she sort of had. She thought she might find some bittersweet relish, or at least relief, upon breaking the news to Eddie, but neither came easily beneath the weight of his incredulous dark eyes. So she said simply, "I just complimented your prowess, Eddie. You should thank me."

"Thank you," he repeated stiltedly. Then the dreaded question came; no matter how much Margot had prepared herself to face it, she almost lost her nerve knowing what he was about to ask. "Is the baby…?" he began.

"It's yours," she confirmed before he could finish. "We can always test if it would make you feel better."

"I don't feel...I mean...I don't know...how I feel," Eddie concluded. He proceeded to drain his drink in a single gulp, looking as if he wanted to order another but couldn't remember how. Margot noticed the bartender watching them raptly; she hoped he was enjoying the unfolding soap opera. Time for the climax.

"I'm keeping it," she stated.

A shot landed in front of Eddie, and he threw it back without looking. He didn't even grimace at what Margot was sure was the astringent sting of a very strong spirit. He surprised her by nodding his head repeatedly in agreement. She sat back to consider the state her bombshell revelation had left him in.

Eddie was, and had probably always been, the single most attractive man that Margot had ever known. She couldn't remember a time when he hadn't been a bronze-skinned Adonis; even back when they were kids, Eddie's love of sailing had meant he rarely spent any time indoors. He’d grown into an outdoorsman boasting a rock-hard musculature to match beneath that expensively-tailored suit...a physique that Margot now had firsthand experience with, she reflected. She had always been content to look before, but never touch. Eddie's father and her own had been old friends, after all, and after Eddie's dramatic affair with the daughter of one of his clients, Margot had understood the need to keep things platonic between them.

Or at least, she thought she had.

Their passionate night together wasn't proving easy for her to forget, that was for sure. Baby aside, the memory of sex with Eddie still aroused tingles of anticipation all along her spine as if he was impressed into her bones. Just thinking about what he could do with his hands made the insides of her thighs uncomfortably slick with perspiration; she crossed her legs now to try and push it from her awareness. She could devote more thought to what Eddie could do later when she was alone, and the object of her reflection wasn't sitting directly beside her.

Eddie's gorgeous tan had taken a momentary backseat; now, he looked pale and seasick, a sensation Margot felt certain the accomplished sailor had never experienced before in his life. A stab of guilt hit her. She hadn't wanted to break the news to him this way. She hadn't wanted to break the news to him at all, but knew all along that keeping such a massive secret to herself was worse. "Are you all right? You look like you're going to pass out," she mentioned.

"I'm not gonna pass out." The remark was one he would have made when they were kids; an immediate, defensive rebuttal. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "You and I need to schedule a meeting. A real meeting. That will enable me to get on top of this whole baby thing."

"A meeting?" she repeated incredulously. She wished she didn't find the suggestion amusing—because Eddie clearly did not—but of all the possible reactions she had expected to her baby news, this had to be the last one. She hadn't anticipated his response to be so...analytical. She felt equal parts dismayed and impressed by him in that moment. Eddie had managed to turn his own ship around—but it was the Eddie who didn't navigate, who went with the ebb and flow of the tide and every mercurial change of the wind, that Margot had grown up adoring. True, his accepting mentality used to drive her crazy, but now that she was older it was something she sought to emulate. Now that she was unexpectedly pregnant, she was more determined than ever to go with the flow of things herself. In the past, she was the one who had always been the planner: the one who scheduled entire work years in one sitting, the one who inventoried, the one who never had any sort of unexpected fun. She would never admit it, but Eddie was her inspiration to make the change… and she was determined to see it through. She would enjoy life the way he did, damn it.

Clearly all that recent time spent shadowing his older brothers at the Jameson Agency had an effect. "Forget the meeting, Eddie. Why don't we set up a focus group to see how well the baby tests?" Her tone wasn't light enough to sound completely teasing, but she wanted to put him at ease. She hated seeing him like this. "But I agree we should...talk about it. Maybe not in a boardroom with a secretary taking minutes, but obviously somewhere that isn't a bar."

"No," Eddie agreed, "you shouldn't be inside any bars, Margot."

Her temper flared hot in her chest. "It's not like I was planning on drinking, Eddie. I just needed to be somewhere tonight where there were other people around."

"Right. Other people smoking and vaping and doing God knows what else." His eyes tracked around the room as if he suddenly didn't recognize his surroundings. Margot followed his gaze, but try as she might, she couldn't perceive any of the dangers Eddie seemed privy to. "Do your parents know?"

"They know."

"And they know I'm the father?"

Margot cringed, then nodded slowly. It was a conversation she would rather not relive right here and now. "I'm sorry, Eddie. I wanted to tell you first, but Mom found my pregnancy test, and went and told Dad about it." Margot scowled. "Actually, she told me she went looking for evidence. Turns out she suspected I was pregnant even before I did."

"I should have called," Eddie said adamantly. "When you didn't respond to my texts, I should have called you to make sure you were all right. We've got to make sure you're cutting back on strenuous exercise and eating healthy. Are you set up with a good obstetrician? Have you gone to your first prenatal appointment? You don't have to take me with you if you aren't comfortable; I just want to make sure we're covering all our bases."

Margot blinked and sat back. Now Eddie really wasn't sounding like himself. Where was the affably irresponsible, go-with-the-flow Jameson she had grown up with? "You sound like 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' on steroids," she muttered.

"Exactly why we need to have a meeting," Eddie said. "We need to share information and pool our resources. I think what's probably most important to consider is…"

As he continued to rattle off details, Margot felt herself steadily growing nauseous. Now she was the one nodding along without any clear objection to what he was saying. Her skin felt clammy, and she was sure she must look as pale as Eddie had when she broke the news of her pregnancy. How had the tables turned so quickly? Why did she suddenly feel like the one who was unprepared?

Wait—was he seriously talking about school districts?

A distracting, buzzing sensation was starting to form behind her ears. Margot recognized it at once, but wanted to hold onto the moment for just a second longer. Of all the times for her to get sick, this was probably the worst she could have chosen. She had finally crossed paths with Eddie and broke the news, and he was being proactive, already coming up with solutions to problems she didn't know she had…

But there was no hope for it. Margot's stomach clenched, and a sour taste suddenly filled her mouth. The bartender at least seemed to notice her sudden shift; he pointed her toward a far corner of the room, and she didn't risk nodding to show him she had understood. She stood up quickly, and Eddie cut himself off when the look on her face finally registered with him.

"Margot, are you all right?" His stark brows pulled together in perplexity.

She couldn't shake her head any more than she could nod. There was no doubt in her mind that she was about to throw up. She cupped a hand over her mouth and stumbled back toward the bathrooms, leaving Eddie to trail in her wake.