Beyond the Consequences (Book 5 of the Consequences Series)(49)

He remembered the night, a few weeks ago, when he came home from work and discovered Claire in their suite:



It wasn’t like her to be away from Nichol, yet she was, all alone and lost in her thoughts as she stood at the railing of their balcony. His gaze went the direction of her stare, out toward their backyard, where he saw Nichol with Shannon on the play set. It wasn’t until he fully stepped beyond the glass doors that Claire turned. When she did, he saw her tearstained cheeks and his heart crumbled.

“Claire.” His voice quivered with uncertainty as he reached for her shoulders. “What’s the matter?”

She shook her head and melted against his chest. Tony’s mind swirled with possibilities, each one worse than the one before.

After a moment, he lifted her chin and stared deeply into her moist eyes. Even with the tears, he knew he could get lost in her emerald gaze. “Whatever it is,” he offered reassuringly, “we’ll fix it.”

Her body tensed. “Tony, you can’t fix it. I don’t want you to fix it.”

“What do you want? What happened?”

She took a deep breath. “Remember we promised the doctors that we wouldn’t try to get pregnant until this month?”

He nodded, wondering if maybe she’d changed her mind. If she had, he understood. He’d meant what he’d said about adopting. Hell, maybe they could hire a surrogate? He’d never thought of that before, but now that he had, he liked the idea. It was better than risking Claire’s health. Tony thought he’d read somewhere where they can use Claire’s egg and his sperm. Yes, that would be best. As the smile came to his lips, with his new idea, Claire’s ramblings began to register.

“…I know we didn’t mean to. I’m not positive it was that night in New York. I mean condoms aren’t one hundred percent effective. I just don’t know what they’ll say.”

The words weren’t making sense. “What who will say? It’s all right if you don’t want to try this month. Maybe it would be better if we waited—”

She took a step back as her eyes grew wide. “Tony, you’re not listening to me.”

“I’m trying. You said something about New York and condoms.” A devilish grin crept onto his lips. “I don’t believe we remembered to use…”

It wasn’t the same as when she told him she was pregnant with Nichol. That was sheer disbelief. For seconds—that seemed like days—he couldn’t wrap his mind around her words. This was different: the signals were mixed. He remembered that night in New York, their preoccupation with one another. Using protection was the furthest thing from their mind. They’d discussed another child at length. If she were pregnant, wouldn’t she be happy? Why was she crying?

Tony didn’t respond appropriately the last time she informed him of her pregnancy. He had no intentions of screwing up the moment again. Summoning his biggest smile and wrapping Claire in his arms, he lifted her off the ground. “Really?” he asked, his dark eyes glistening with excitement. “Already? You’re pregnant?”

The sadness or fear he’d seen when their eyes first met dissipated as she gazed upward and her cheeks lifted. “You’re not upset?”

Tony put her down, reached for her hand, and led her to the balcony sofa. Though concerns and questions flooded his mind, once he and Claire were seated, Tony reached out and covered her midsection. “You’re sure? We have a baby in there?”

Claire nodded and smiled as a tear trickled down her cheek. “We do. I mean the home pregnancy test said we do. I haven’t called the doctor. I wanted to tell you first.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I wanted to tell you in person. I think I was afraid that you’d be upset.”

“Upset?” he asked.

“Yes.” She looked down at his hand still resting on her tummy and covered it with her own. “We were supposed to wait.”

He reached gently for her chin. “Well, I don’t think I could be upset. I mean, if this happened that night in New York, we’re equally responsible.” He sat taller. “And the way I see it, Mrs. Rawlings, we have a new little Rawlings who wants to enter this world. There’s nothing in that sentence that could make me upset.”

As their lips touched and her petite body moved closer, Tony tasted her salty tears and the rest of the world disappeared. The gleeful noises from the play yard no longer registered, nor did the gentle summer breeze or streaming evening sunshine. Tony’s world was only her: his wife, happy and content in his arms when moments earlier she’d been upset. When their connection finally broke, he heard the words that washed over him, filling him like nothing else.

“I love you so much. I imagined your reaction many ways, but this was better than anything I ever envisioned.”

“Tomorrow we’re going to your doctor. Let me know the time, and I’ll be there.”

Claire giggled as she wiped her cheek. “It doesn’t work that way. I have to call for an appointment. They probably won’t be able to get me in for a few days.”

He bowed his head until their foreheads touched. “Tomorrow. I want you seen tomorrow.” Tony was sure his tone left no room for debate. He’d be happy to use it on some unsuspecting receptionist if necessary. “Do you want me to call?”