Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59713 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Sunday morning dawned chillier than it had been the last couple of days. I found Alex already up and in the kitchen. He smiled at me when I walked in and leaned over from in front of the stove to give me a morning kiss.
“You seemed to sleep well,” he said.
“I did,” I told him. “I didn’t even realize how tired I was.”
“Well, I’m glad you got your rest. I’m making some breakfast. How does oatmeal sound?”
“Really good actually. I must be a full-blown adult now.”
He laughed. “Well, don’t feel too pious about it. I fully intend on loading it up with butter and brown sugar.”
“Do you have any chocolate around here?” I asked.
He looked at me strangely. “I’ve never heard of someone putting chocolate in their brown sugar oatmeal, but I could probably rustle up some chocolate chips.”
I shook my head. “No, they aren’t for the oatmeal. I thought we could make some hot chocolate. It’s kind of chilly this morning.”
“That sounds delicious. Go ahead and poke around. Find whatever you need.”
I searched through his cabinets and refrigerator and found all the ingredients I needed. He got out a pot, and we mixed up a batch together. It smelled absolutely delicious, and we carried big mugs of it along with our bowls of oatmeal out onto the back porch. Alex brought along thick blankets, and we cozied up onto a wicker glider to eat and watch the morning birds together.
It was a sweet, peaceful morning, but my mind kept wandering to my stomach. Even through my enjoyment of the breakfast, I was feeling a little queasy. It wasn’t new. My stomach had been off for a few days. A new surge of the stomach bug had gone through the high school, so I thought I might have just gotten struck down by it again.
But there was also a pregnancy test sitting in my bathroom.
I hadn’t brought myself to take the test yet. I wanted to, just in case, but there was also tension in the back of my mind. Talking to Alex about how worried I was that I was carrying Doug’s baby right after his trial had brought forward so many emotions and thoughts for me. The strongest being my full awareness that I really did want to be a mother.
It wasn’t something I’d put a lot of thought into before and definitely not something I would have jumped right to saying I wanted. But now I knew in my heart it was. I wanted a child and would be thrilled to have Alex’s baby.
But how would he feel about that?
It scared me to wonder what his reaction would be because he already had all of my heart. I was afraid of what he would say and what it might do to the relationship building so strong between us. For now, I needed to just hold on.
That evening he brought me home, and I reluctantly kissed him goodbye before going inside. I knew I needed to be home to be ready for work the next day, but I hated when we had to part ways.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It brought a smile to my lips. It must have been Alex, thinking about me first thing and wanting to hear my voice. Reaching over to the side of the bed where I kept my phone, I rolled over onto my back to answer.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Camilla?”
That was when I realized I hadn’t looked at the screen to confirm who was calling. And that wasn’t Alex’s voice. It was my lawyer.
“Yes?” I asked, knowing I sounded shaky.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
I sat up, my legs instinctively pulling up closer to my chest as I closed in. “What is it?”
“Doug is being released.”
The phone dropped out of my hand, and I barely made it to the bathroom before throwing up.
CHAPTER 26
ALEX
Monday afternoons were generally pretty boring. After Monday morning, I had a general idea of what was going to be going on during the week, which allowed me to either get a head start on the work or take the rest of the day and be a little lazy. Oftentimes Monday involved a long lunch in the restaurant and then spending some time out in the vineyard with Kane, getting an idea of what I should talk about on the social media blog. Then, maybe some time spent with Derek or Ally doing the same thing, making notes, and going home early.
Essentially, Mondays were easy. It was the anti-Garfield method of business, and I swore by it. Though, I did sometimes have lasagna for lunch.
The last thing I expected on Monday afternoon was a phone call from Mr. Proctor. Mr. Proctor often was the total opposite on Monday, all frantic energy and coffee-fueled madness. It was anxiety in a bottle on Mondays in his class, which is why I usually steered clear of him on those days. But looking down at my phone at the booth in the restaurant, a prickling sensation went up my neck, and my hair stood on end.