Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Of course you do.” She pasted on the best smile she could muster. “But I’d like to keep this a secret a bit longer because I want to surprise my husband for his birthday. It’s next month.”
It was a lie, and they both knew it.
The doctor hesitated, then nodded. “That will be quite a surprise, I’m sure. For now, I’ll suggest some prenatal vitamins. You should also see an obstetrician and have a thorough battery of tests run, just to be safe. Of course, after your husband’s birthday, I’ll reach out to the senator and wish him all the best on the upcoming birth of a new generation.”
A warning. “Thank you.”
She’d just bought herself three weeks. Madison wished it was more, but at least this gave her time to figure out what she’d do when Todd learned the news of her pregnancy.
And what would she tell Matt? When another glance proved he looked ready to kill the doctor just for upsetting her? When he was already determined to make her abandon her husband, his family, and their divorce for her safety so they could roll the dice with their future and live in sin until the Pershings got bored with her…or killed her?
There was no way she could tell him about the baby until she found some way to escape.
Despite everything, Madison shockingly slept like the dead, as if her mind and body simply couldn’t process any more without rest. She woke dreading the day. Sunday. Family dinner. No doubt, the event would be epic levels of torture. She could already hear the haranguing Agatha would heap on her.
Unfortunately, that was the least of the complications in her life.
She was going to have a baby…and she couldn’t tell Matt. When she could eventually spill that he would be a father, would he forgive her? Would he even want the child they had unexpectedly conceived in a haze of passion?
Another problem for another day. First, she needed to defuse the ticking time bomb of the doctor spilling her secret to Winston Pershing, protect Matt and the baby, and get Todd under control so she and her loved ones would make it through the next three months alive.
How? Madison didn’t know, and she couldn’t let the fear overwhelm her. One hurdle at a time.
She needed leverage—something rock solid. What did she have at her disposal? What could she get her hands on? What would give her enough power to start making demands so she could turn the situation her way?
Madison pulled on clothes, wondering how long before her pants got tight. Before she outgrew her bra. Before she started to show. Maybe the feeling was psychosomatic, but her queasiness seemed worse this morning. She wasn’t on the verge of throwing up…but she definitely wasn’t interested in food. And her breasts felt very tender. How was she going to hide that when she and Matt were alone in the Dungeon of Discipline? And what could she do sexually without hurting their baby?
God, she couldn’t process this many problems without coffee…which she probably shouldn’t have anymore since she was pregnant. Madison closed her eyes with a sigh. This day was going to be beyond long and trying.
In the kitchen, Ethan stood, waiting for her, coffee in hand. He held out the mug to her. “Your highness.”
She rolled her eyes and set the hot java aside. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m in the mood for juice.”
“You’re not going to drink the coffee I so thoughtfully made for you?” He sent her an expression of mock hurt as she opened the refrigerator door. “I never thought you were the sort who’d feel a pea under your mattress, but I’m reconsidering.”
“Ha ha. Since Sunday is like pre-Monday for me, I could use less of your ‘pithiness’ and more of your silence.”
He laughed as she poured herself a tall glass of orange juice and tucked the container away. “That’s what I like about you, you never fail to give back as good as you get. How are you feeling?”
And what she liked about Ethan was his loyalty, always delivered up with a side dish of humor and a dash of caring. The fact he was hot, too… Someday, he’d fall hard, and Madison hoped she was around to see it. “Still feeling bruised and sore and a little bit run over by a bus, but I’ll live.”
“I wasn’t sure the senator and his wife would yesterday. When they had to cancel the post-rally celebration because it would look bad if they were taking donations rather than racing to the hospital to be by your bedside, they were ready to bust an artery.”
No surprise there. “And yet, I never once saw them.”
“Imagine that,” Ethan drawled. “So what’s on your agenda today? I mean, you’ve shown me every classic book that’s been adapted into a film. And I still disagree after the battle of the Brontë sisters. Advantage Emily. Wuthering Heights was way better than Jane Eyre.”