Tempted by Her Innocent Kiss (Pregnancy & Passion #3)(45)

The nurse gave her a sympathetic look. “It takes time to adjust. It can be a little overwhelming at first. The important thing is for you to rest, take it easy. Take a little time to let it sink in. We’re doing lab work and will check your HCG levels to make sure they’re in an appropriate range. If there’s any cause for concern, we’ll call you. Otherwise, set up an appointment with the receptionist on your way out for your first visit to the doctor. We’ll do your sonogram then.”

Ashley walked out of the clinic a little—okay, a lot—numb. Again, it wasn’t a huge shock. She and Devon hadn’t done anything to prevent pregnancy at all. In fact they’d openly embraced the idea—at her instigation—but now she wondered if he was even as open to the idea as he’d let on. How could she be sure he hadn’t said whatever was necessary to get her to agree to marry him?

Her mouth turned down in an unhappy frown as she laid her head back against the seat of the cab. She should have asked the nurse what she could take for a headache now that she was pregnant.

But she doubted even the strongest pain medication would help the roar in her ears and the nerves that were balanced on a razor’s edge.

The cab dropped her off half a block from the restaurant where she was meeting her friends and she bundled her coat around her as she pushed through people hurrying by. She ducked into the bright eatery and scanned the small seating area for the girls.

In the corner, Pippa stood up and waved. Tabitha and Carly both turned immediately and motioned her over with a flurry of hands.

Ashley nearly ran, desperate to be surrounded by the comfort of her best friends in the world.

“So?” Pippa demanded before Ashley had even had a chance to shrug out of her coat. “Tell us!”

“Are you pregnant?” Tabitha asked.

Ashley flopped into her chair, wrung out from the events of the past weeks. To her utter horror, tears welled in her eyes. It was like knocking the final stone from an already weakened dam.

Her friends stared at her in shock as she dissolved into tears.

“Oh, my God, Ashley, what’s wrong? Honey, it’s okay, you have plenty of time to get pregnant,” Carly soothed.

Tabitha and Pippa wrapped their arms around her from both sides and hugged her fiercely.

“I am pregnant,” she said on a sob.

That earned her looks of bewilderment all around. Pippa took charge, taking a table napkin and dabbing at Ashley’s tears. Her friends sat quietly, soothing and hugging her until finally she got her sobs under control and they diminished to quiet sniffles.

“What the hell is going on?” Pippa asked bluntly. “You look like hell, Ash. And you haven’t been yourself. What the hell was that last night with the weird hair and the dress you wouldn’t normally get caught dead in?”

“Pippa!” Tabitha scolded. “Can’t you see how upset she is?”

“She’s right,” Carly said in a grim voice. “Besides we’re her friends and we love her. We can get away with telling her she looks like crap.”

Tabitha sighed. “I think what they’re delicately trying to say is you just don’t look happy, Ash. We’re worried about you.”

“Everything’s such a mess,” Ashley said as tears welled up all over again.

“We’ve got all day,” Pippa said firmly. “Now tell us what’s going on with you.”

The entire story came spilling out. Every humiliating detail, right down to the disaster of a wedding night and her decision to make Devon fall in love with her.

The three women looked stunned. Then anger fired in Pippa’s eyes. “That son of a bitch! I hate him!”

“So do I,” Tabitha announced.

“I’d like to kick him right between the legs,” Carly muttered.

“You aren’t going to stand for this are you?” Pippa demanded.

“I don’t know what to do,” Ashley said wearily.

Carly grabbed Ashley’s hands. “Look at me, honey. You are a beautiful, loving, generous woman. You are perfect just like you are. The only one who needs to change in this relationship is that jerk you married. I’m so pissed right now I can’t even see straight. I cannot believe his nerve. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you and moreover he doesn’t deserve you.”

“Amen,” Pippa growled. “You need to tell him to take a long walk off the short end of a pier.”

Tabitha pulled Ashley into her arms and hugged her tightly. Then she pulled away and gently wiped at the tears on Ashley’s cheeks.

“No one who truly loves you should ever want you to change. And no one who wants to change that essential part that makes you you deserves a single moment of your time.”

“I love you guys,” Ashley said brokenly. “You can’t even imagine how much I needed you right now.”

“I just wish you’d confided in us sooner,” Pippa said. “Nobody should have to endure all of what you’ve endured alone. That’s what friends are for. We love you. We would have kicked his sorry ass weeks ago if we’d known.”

Ashley cracked a watery smile. “What would I do without you all?”

“Let’s not even consider the possibility since you’re never going to be without us,” Carly said.

“So what are you going to do, hon?” Tabitha asked, her voice full of concern.