Forever, Plus One (The Inn at Sunset Harbor—Book 6)

CHAPTER ONE

The noises of the bustling yacht club seemed to fade into silence as Emily heard her own voice repeating the words she’d just spoken.

“I’m pregnant.”

Opposite her, Daniel and Chantelle wore twin expressions of surprise. Neither uttered a word. Emily herself felt too stunned to say anything else. It had only been a minute or so since the pregnancy test she’d taken in the yacht club restroom had revealed her new reality. It hadn’t properly sunk in yet.

It was Chantelle who finally broke the silence. Not with words, but with a squeal of delight. Her joyful exclamation seemed to shake Daniel from his trance. He reached across the table and grabbed Emily’s hand tightly. Tears sparkled in his eyes.

“Really?”

Eyes locked on Daniel, Emily nodded. A wave of emotions rushed at her. It wasn’t just shock now, but excitement, delight, joy. There was a baby growing inside of her! She was having her own child! She and Daniel had created a new life together. Their love and commitment had brought them this moment of blissful wonder.

Chantelle started bouncing up and down in her seat. “I’m going to be a big sister!” she cried.

Emily and Daniel’s intense moment dissipated as they were brought back to the here and now by Chantelle’s exuberance. They both laughed and Emily nodded in affirmation of her statement.

“When will the baby be born?” Chantelle asked eagerly.

Emily shrugged, still struggling to accept her new reality. “I don’t know yet.”

She counted back in her head, trying to work out when she could have conceived. The baby, though wanted, was not planned. A happy accident had happened somewhere along the line.

Emily thought about the funny turns she’d been having recently, the ones she’d put down to stress, and the numerous moments of nausea that she’d assumed were anxiety. Could they have actually been the first signs of pregnancy? She’d been so rushed off her feet recently—what with the wedding, the adoption, her father, and Roman Westbrook—that she hadn’t even realized her period was late. As she thought about it now she realized that she’d last had one the week before they married. Weeks ago. If she’d conceived on their honeymoon, she may already be halfway through her first trimester!

“We’ll have to speak to the doctor,” Emily explained to Chantelle. “They’ll be able to work out how long I’ve been pregnant and tell me the due date.”

“It will still be lots of months,” Daniel added. “So you’ll have to be patient.”

Patient looked like the last thing Chantelle would be able to be.

“Can we make a calendar?” she asked, her eyes wide and sparkling. “So we can count down the days?”

Emily beamed, touched by Chantelle’s enthusiasm. “That sounds lovely,” she said.

“Can we make it really big?” Chantelle continued. “As big as a whole wall?” She stretched her arms out as far as they could go.

Emily nodded. “Okay!”

“With rainbow colors?”

“If you want!”

“And glitter?”

Emily laughed. “That sounds wonderful.”

It was such a relief for her to know that Chantelle was happy for her. Sheila’s pregnancy had caused a whole host of emotions to erupt in Chantelle, compounded by the fact that her friend from school, Toby, was also soon to become a big brother. Emily had been slightly concerned that Chantelle may act out as a result of the news. But so far she seemed nothing but excited. Emily reminded herself to let her teacher, Miss Glass, and Gail, the school counselor, know about the situation in case Chantelle had a delayed negative reaction to the news.

Daniel’s expression turned serious for a moment. “Chantelle, will you be able not to tell anyone about this yet?” he asked.

She looked at him and frowned, visibly deflating like a popped balloon. “Why not?”

Emily knew why Daniel wanted to keep it hush for now. She wasn’t yet past the critical first trimester. This was her first pregnancy and she was an older mother. At thirty-six it fell into the horribly titled bracket of a “geriatric pregnancy.” The chances of her miscarrying were higher than average. The thought caused a jolt of alarm to shock her.

“So we can keep it our special Morey family secret,” Emily said, tapping her nose. “It will make it more fun.”

Daniel looked up, his expression relaxing somewhat, presumably at the way Emily was handling the slightly delicate situation.

Chantelle’s frown turned to suspicion. Then it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

“Okay!” she said, raising her eyebrows, suddenly on board. “But then, what about Papa Roy? He’s family but he’s a Mitchell, not a Morey.”

Emily considered her question for a moment. What about her father? Should she tell him before the first trimester was over? Should she tell anyone? She’d need emotional support, that was for sure. She just didn’t know who would be best placed to give it to her. Her father had only just come back into her life, after all. She didn’t know how well he’d handle adjusting to being a father, father-in-law, and grandfather in one fell swoop!

“Maybe a bit later,” she told Chantelle. “For now, let’s just have it be between us three. Okay?”

Chantelle mimed zipping her lips. Everyone laughed.

Across the table, Daniel reached for Emily’s hand again. He squeezed it tight, his eyes gazing at her adoringly, and mouthed the words, “I love you.”

Emily smiled to herself and mouthed them back. This moment was so perfect, so beautiful. She felt blessed that her life had finally aligned so perfectly.

That night, Emily and Daniel lay together in bed.

“I can’t sleep,” Emily confessed, rolling onto her side to gaze at him.

Beneath the covers she felt Daniel’s hand move protectively over her stomach.

“I wonder why,” he said with a chuckle.

Emily rested her own hand on top of his. “I know, I can’t quite believe it’s real. Maybe once I’ve seen a doctor, had an ultrasound, I’ll believe it.”

“An ultrasound,” Daniel repeated with awe. “I never got a chance to do any of that stuff with Chantelle.”

Emily felt sorry for him. Daniel had missed out on so much of Chantelle’s early life, including her birth. Things were going to be so different this time around. He’d get to experience every moment of their baby’s life, all the firsts; first smile, first sneeze, first step. The thought warmed her.

“So when will we get to see our baby?” Daniel asked. “When’s the first ultrasound?”

“Twelve weeks, I think,” Emily said, realizing that she herself didn’t know a huge amount about what was going on. Her pregnancy was something they would have to learn about together. “I’ll know how far along I am once I see the doctor.”

“Do you think you conceived on our honeymoon?” Daniel asked.

“I hope so,” Emily replied with a grin, remembering their lovemaking in vivid detail, knowing that the time they’d spent together on their honeymoon would never be forgotten.

Daniel fell quiet then. “What shall we do about telling people? Friends. Staff.” Then more quietly, he added, “Moms.”

Emily sighed. She’d been ruminating on it also. Neither of their mothers were in their lives in any real capacity. Both were difficult personalities, both had failed their children in the past. They would likely fail at being grandmothers, too. If they couldn’t put their issues aside in order to witness their children’s marriage, what hope was there for them playing any kind of active role in their grandchildren’s lives?

“Let’s not think about them just yet,” Emily said. “I want to stay happy for at least a few weeks. Can we do that?”

Daniel nodded and turned his face toward the ceiling. Emily thought he seemed a little subdued, reserved. She hoped it was just over the mother issue and nothing more. But she couldn’t help worrying that there may be something else. Perhaps the news of the pregnancy wasn’t entirely welcome for Daniel. He’d wanted to plan their child together, after all. Maybe he was disappointed that it had just been sprung on them?

Emily decided against prodding him for an explanation. Daniel, she hoped, would come to her in his own time to share whatever concerns he had. It wasn’t like she herself wasn’t filled with anxiety over her ability to parent, or over the child’s health, the future, even the state of the world it was soon to be born into! There were a million things to worry about now. It would take some time for them both to process it.

She snuggled down beneath the covers, her mind still running on overdrive, imagining what the future might hold. A son or daughter? Blond hair like Chantelle, or dark like her own? What would they call it? What room should they use as the nursery? There were so many things to think about.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Best to take things one step at a time. The first thing to do was get an appointment with the ob-gyn.