Finally Found (34 page)

While Cammie rested on the couch, Adam had plenty of thinking time. Suddenly, there were no questions, only answers. After spending time apart, he knew that he never wanted to go that route again. He was going to move her in as soon as possible. What if she didn’t like his loft? No problem. He would sell it and buy them a new place. Maybe they should live in a suburb…have a yard. He could probably mow. Or he could hire someone. Yup.

There was one possibility that he never considered. What if she wanted to get an abortion? That was unthinkable for him. It had nothing to do with being super religious. It had nothing to do with
being Pro Life. No, he simply couldn’t imagine that she’d want to kill their child, a product born of their love. They were having a love baby.

He glanced over at her while he rubbed her feet. Her eyes were open. Wide open. She had a hand on her lower abdomen as if she expected to feel something different.

“I can’t believe that I’m pregnant with your demon lust baby,” she moaned. “How could I have been so irresponsible?” She moaned again. “And I am just starting a super promising career. And not only am I not married, but I’m not in a relationship! I’m a whore!’ Tears streamed down her face.

Adam looked at her. He tried to keep a straight face. Only he couldn’t when she started calling herself a whore. “Doll, you are not a whore. Don’t ever say that. And that is our love baby. You are in a relationship. More importantly, we’re going to get married.” He stopped after saying all that he had. After a quick assessment, he realized he meant every word. He really did want to marry her.

“We barely know each other! We’ve been together on and off for six weeks and spent most of that time apart and most of the apart time trying to stay apart. How the hell could it ever work between us?” She sat up on the couch and yanked her feet from his grasp. “And you need to stop confusing me by being nice.”

“I am nice!” He protested.

“No. No. You’re not nice. And you are just as irresponsible as I am. Are there two people in this world less qualified to have a child? I can’t think of any.” She stood up to pace.

He let her. He wanted to stop her, but instead, he opted to simply be on guard and not take his eyes off her. That was the most she would allow.

“Doll, it’s Christmas. I think this baby is a sign. And we need to talk and think before making any rash decisions.” He stood and walked to her, turned her to face him, and wrapped her in his arms.

“This will never work,” she mumbled.

“One problem at a time, Cammie. Take a breath.” He rubbed her back. “Let’s not think about this any more right now. Let’s take a break from it all and enjoy the holiday. Sam and Haley invited me over for brunch. We should go.”

“Fine. No talking about the pregnancy. Got it. We need to make some decisions first.” She looked at him sternly. “Promise.”

“Doll, I will follow your lead.” He smiled and held her close hoping that she would calm down.

They stopped at Cammie’s cupboard since it was closest. She picked out some clothes and toiletries, and then they showered and changed at Adam’s. He was in the bathroom shaving when she stepped out of the shower. He watched her closely, started studying her. She was apparently doing the same thing. She paused to feel if her boobs were bigger. He saw her wince. Tender. Good to know. She rubbed her towel down her stomach. It had always been so flat and perfect. It still appeared to be to him. Judging by the look on her face, she concurred.

The next stop was actually their destination. “Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm as they walked up the sidewalk. “Do they know I’m coming?”

“Of course! I sent Sam a text. They are looking forward to seeing you.” He smiled warmly at her. It just felt right to be together on Christmas. He just had to convince her to now be together every day.

Neville answered the door and invited them in. Haley and Sam were waiting on them in the study. They sat on the sofa across from them.

“It’s so good to see you!” Haley said jumping up to greet them.

Even Sam seemed to be happier and more relaxed. “Less than a week,” he said. “Then I’m off the market.”

“Please,” Adam said. “You were never on the market. What a waste of a trust fund!” He smiled.

“Well, I hope we’ll be seeing a lot more of you, Cammie,” Haley said sincerely.

“Oh, you,” Cammie remarked. “Lots and lots more. I’m about to get huge.”

Adam looked at her with wide eyes. “Doll…”

“Sure will,” she said. “I’m pregnant.” Her eyes were wide as she spoke. Clearly, she was not over the shock. He could never imagine her talking this way under normal circumstances.

“Yeah. So we’re going to get married,” he added as he looked at her for a reaction.

“Hey! I thought we were going to talk about it first,” Cammie exclaimed.

He raised an eyebrow. “And I thought we weren’t going to talk to anyone else about it at all.”

She shrugged. “Touché.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Sam said. “Congratulations?” He looked at Adam who was smiling at him like he’d won the lottery.

“I do,” Haley said giddily. She looked at Cammie. “Double wedding. Please?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We’ve only been together for the better part of six weeks…” her voice trailed off.

“And doll, just how pregnant do you think you are?” He smirked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Six. Weeks.” She bit out.

“Clearly rushing into things is pretty much just our way. Marry me.” He said it as though it was the most logical conclusion he could make.

“You don’t even have a ring.” She frowned. “How do I know you mean it?”

“You have my baby. Baby trumps ring. And we’ll pick your ring out tomorrow. We’ll need to find wedding bands anyway. Oh, and you’ll need a dress. Other than that, we pretty much already have it covered…unless you want two cakes?” He smiled.

“I want chocolate,” she said shyly. “And I want Cin and my parents there. Is there room in the jet and in the house?” She looked at Sam and Haley.

“Absolutely,” Sam said. “This will be perfect.”

In the morning, Adam woke Cammie with kisses. She looked at him, smiled, caressed his face, and bolted from the bed to puke. “Good morning, beautiful!” He called. By the time she came out, he had made the bed, thrown on some clothes, headed to the bagel shop, returned with a hot tea, a hot coffee, and some bagels. “Come sit,” he said. “This is something like a hangover. You need carbs and tea.”

She frowned. “I hate being sick.” He passed her the bagel. “But I rather like being taken care of.” A slight smile brightened her face.

“Well, get used to it. Every day for the rest of your life,” he said. He leaned over and
kissed her forehead. “So, I thought we’d get ready and go pick out rings. Where would you like to go? Tiffany’s?”

“I can’t marry you,” she said. And as if she hadn’t just crushed his heart, she kept on nibbling away at the bagel.

He watched her for a minute. He waited for her to laugh or give some other sign that she was joking. “Doll, what did you say?” Maybe he heard her wrong.

“I can’t marry you.” She looked him in the eye.

“Then why did you say you would last night?” He asked getting more upset.

“I didn’t say I would.
You
announced we were.” She picked a raisin out and set it on her plate. “Ewww. Raisins. Why is it when any other food spoils we throw it out, but when a grape spoils they simply rename it, repackage it and call it a raisin. I don’t get it.”

Adam didn’t know what to say. She was blathering on about raisins and not getting married. There was a completely surreal quality to the experience. He was about to look around for a hidden camera. There had to be some explanation. “Why can’t you marry me?” He asked calmly.

“Well, you didn’t ask my father for my hand. We’re a very traditional Greek family. I can’t very well jet off to The Keys and get married without permission.” She kept eating and sipping tea.

“You’re twenty-nine years old. You don’t live with your parents. As best I can tell, they haven’t financially supported you for a good ten years.” His voice rose in frustration. My God he was starting to sound like Sam. Was this what maturity did to a person?

“Right,” she said. She took a long sip of tea. A euphoric look crossed her face. “What kind of tea is this?”

Smiling, he responded, “Chamomile.” He decided to calm down. Be calm. This woman was carrying his baby. He intended to marry her. He would spend the rest of his life in love with her. This was a time for them to enjoy.

“Let’s go pick a ring,” he said. “And then once we have the ring, I’ll go with you to meet your parents. We’ll take them to dinner tonight. I’ll ask your father’s permission. And on New Year’s Eve, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, we’ll get married. Sound like a plan?”

“Sure,” she said, rather flippantly. “Why not?”