ASTONThe last thing I remembered was some man slinging insults at me while Blake and I were at dinner. Before the pain started, I’d been pretty sure it was Dustin. As I was about to stand up to form a united front with Blake against the drunken thief, an intense pain ripped through my body.I only remembered flashes after that.Blake coming to me in the restaurant. Getting much less jolted than I should have as he ran out with me in his arms. Bright lights as I glided down some kind of hallway.The smell and the shouting told me I was in a hospital as the pain slowly subsided. A round faced doctor with red cheeks and curly gray hair had appeared in the room like magic, only seconds after I was wheeled in.She gently pressed her fingers on my stomach when I told her I was pregnant, got an ultrasound machine wheeled into the room at what seemed to be the speed of light and took some blood before she disappeared.It all happened so fast, I wasn’t even sure it was real. Outside my room,
AstonAfter a couple of minutes, Blake whispered. “Get some sleep, Aston. I’ll be right here. I’ll wake you the minute the doctor comes in. Wild horses and ten packs of rabid wolves couldn’t drag me away.”I trusted him to stay, but I shook my head anyway. “I can’t sleep. Not until the tests come back.”Blake glanced at the ultrasound machine still beside the bed. “Have they used that already?”“They did,” I told him, trying to remember if the doctor had said anything. But she hadn’t. If she did, I couldn’t remember it. “The doctor took all the film with her, and the flash drive that was in it. At least I think so. I can’t remember properly, Blake.”“That’s okay,” he said, soothingly. “Don’t worry, Aston. They didn’t know you were pregnant when we got here, I’m sure they’re just getting someone to take a look.”“I told them I was pregnant,” another tear rolled down my cheek.“So did I,” Blake replied, his tone quiet and even. “I gave them all the details for the doctor in Florida, too
BLAKEWhen I woke up, Aston was still sleeping beside me. She was still a little pale, but there was some color back in her cheeks and in her sleep, she didn’t look as worried anymore. She was peaceful, almost like nothing had happened.I didn’t risk moving a muscle for fear of waking her. The doctor said she needed rest and I wasn’t going to interrupt what she was getting now.When they wheeled her away from me in that hospital, it was the most frightened I’d ever been in my entire life. I nearly lost my mind when they told me I had to wait outside. It took way too long before I finally managed to get to her again.Just thinking about it shook me up. I wasn’t afraid to admit how scared I was. It was right up there in the top two worst moments of my life. Second only to the day I realized Mom was gone for good, that she wasn’t just out shopping and she wasn’t coming back.Even then, I had been so young that it was hard to understand exactly what her leaving meant. The concept of growi
BlakeBreathing the humid air deep into my lungs, I heard horns honking and the sound of construction nearby. It was never truly quiet in New York, no matter how high up you were. Letting the energy flow into me from the city far below, I waited another minute before making the call.Dad answered fast, just like he always did. “Blake. How are you?”“I’m good, Dad. You?” I dragged my hand through my hair and wished I had better news for him.“Recovering,” Dad grunted. “The doctor says I’m doing well, but he won’t keep his damn nurses at the hospital. Says they’ll keep checking up on me for another couple of days at least. It’s driving me nuts.”“They’re only trying to help.” Only Dad would be going stir crazy in a house the size of his with people clamoring to take care of him. “It’ll all be over soon enough.”“Yeah, well that day can’t come soon enough.” His voice was a low grumble, impatient sounding. “Where are you?”“I’m still in New York,” I told him. “I found Danny. Fired Dustin
ASTON“It’s been days, Blake. Days!” I hated the tinge of whine in my voice, but there was no helping it anymore. Since the hospital, Blake and I had been cooped up in the hotel room. For four days, if he could have gone to pee for me he probably would have.It was sweet and all, everything he was doing for me, but I couldn’t take it anymore. The first few times I asked to get out of the room, he found effective ways to distract me.Blake could be very, very distracting when he wanted to be.Only after he called the doctor to make sure it was alright for him to be distracting me like that.It was mortifying that he called Doctor Steele to ask if it would be safe for us to—do stuff, in bed. I wasn’t like Tiffany, talking about sex openly and unashamed. I didn’t have nearly enough experience to be that nonchalant about it.Maybe someday I would be able to call up a doctor as confidently as Blake had, and just come right out with it and ask her if it would be okay to have sex. Worst of a
AstonAs long I got out for a little while, I would be fine. Blake had spent the last few days not only telling me how much he loved and cared about me, but showing me. His reluctance to go on this walk was yet another example of how much he wanted to take care of me, but he needed to trust that I could take care of myself, too.I knew what I needed, wanted and I wouldn’t push myself too far. A short, relaxed stroll was what I needed right now.Out on the curb, Blake looked up and down the street. “Which way do you wanna go?”Narrowing my eyes, I thought about which way we’d gone that night when we ran into Dustin at the restaurant and pointed in the opposite direction. “Let’s go that way.”We started walking hand in hand at a comfortable pace, heading down the sidewalk. Blake didn’t let go of me for a second, as though nothing could happen to us while he was holding my hand. I never took him to be a guy for public displays of affection, but I was enjoying this one.We hadn’t had many
BLAKEDoctor Steele’s consulting rooms were overly feminine. Everything was decorated in shades of pink and purple with flowers on the curtains and a collection of ceramic fairies behind a desk. I supposed it was meant to divert the patient’s attention from the instruments next to the examination table, many of which looked like mediaeval torture devices.I hoped she wasn’t planning on using any of those on Aston today, but if she was I would have to deal with it. She smiled when she walked in, gesturing for Aston to hop onto the examination table while showing me to a seat near Aston’s head.“How are you feeling today, dear?” The doctor asked Aston, already starting to push some buttons on the ultrasound machine next to her.Aston’s eyes flicked nervously away from the collection of torture devices to meet Doctor Steele’s. “I haven’t felt any more pain since we left the hospital. I’m not as tired and haven’t been nauseous for a couple of days either.”The doctor looked pleasantly sur
BlakeWe pulled up outside Dad’s house before we could take the conversation any further. Aston looked a little dumbstruck as she got out of the car, but quickly recovered when Mom and Dad came outside to meet us. Both of them gave her quick hugs, Mom lingering and talking to her in hushed tones, as Dad came over to greet me.When Mom finally stepped away from Aston, she came over and pulled me into the kind of loving hug I hadn’t had from her in years. For the first time since she came back into our lives, I allowed her to hug me. Strangely, I found myself liking it and hugged her back before leaving her to grab our bags from the car.The hug from my mother was only the first surprise, though. When we got inside, I found the second surprise waiting for me in Dad’s study. “Danny? What are you doing here?”Swirling amber liquid around in a tumbler, he sighed and rose to his feet. I didn’t know whose idea it was for him to be here, but to say he didn’t look overjoyed to see me was an un
AstonEverything further away than what could be reached in two or three hours by plane, he let Danny handle. Blake had been my rock, my constant. With him as the dad, I could see myself having a lot more children. He certainly seemed to be on board.A nurse came in to check on us, as they did every so often. This was one who must have just started her shift, since I hadn’t seen her around earlier. She was an older woman with bright red hair and a kind smile. “Is everything okay in here? I need to take the baby for observation, it won’t be more than a few minutes before she’s back.”Blake’s eyes widened comically. “You’re taking her away?”“Just for a few minutes, sir.” The nurse smiled sympathetically. “I won’t take my eyes off of her for a second, you have my word. I know it’s hard for you to let go of her right now.”“She has to go?” Blake asked, not looking like he was inclined to hand her over at all.The nurse nodded. “A few minutes, sir. She’ll be back before you know it.”Relu
ASTONOn a rainy Saturday morning, Blake and I welcomed baby Emma Rose McAllen into the world. She was a pink, healthy little angel that had both of us wrapped around her little finger the very first second we laid eyes on her.The hospital was busy. I could hear people milling around outside, some running to take care of patients and others here to visit friends and family, and to meet the new arrivals. Emma was only three hours old, but I was sure Blake’s family and Tiffany would get here soon.Both Tiffany and Blake’s mom had wanted to be in the waiting room when she was born, but I went into labor in the early hours of Saturday morning and in our rush to get to the hospital, we hadn’t wanted to disturb them in the middle of the night.For now it was just us and our little cherub in our bubble of the most perfect, serene happiness I’d ever known. With Emma’s tummy full for the first time, she was dozing in her daddy’s arms and the scene in front of me was as precious as I’d known i
BlakeTiffany led us into the smaller of the conference rooms at ground level, one where Aston and I had shared dinner not so long ago, yet it seemed like a different lifetime now. Aston walked over to the window, releasing a happy sigh to be looking out over the ocean. “It feels like I haven’t been here in forever.”“For you and me both, girl.” Tiffany sighed. “Welcome back.”“Thanks,” Aston replied softly. “You should come visit us in Florida sometime. We’ll be happy to have you.”“Once the baby is born, try keeping me away,” she said, reaching out to pat Aston’s belly again.The two friends shared a moment. I hung back, getting settled at the table. When they sat down, Aston joked, “Oh, you’ll only visit once the baby is born? That’s still months away.”“Good point,” Tiffany said. “Maybe I’ll come out there sooner. Is your nursery set up yet? I can come help with that.”“We’ve been settling into the house,” Aston told her. “We haven’t gotten to the nursery quite yet. It would be gr
BLAKEThree months after the last time Aston and I walked out of the hotel in California, we were back for a visit. It had been a long three months. We had meant to pop in for a visit weeks ago, but we never got around to it.As it was, we’d almost had to cancel again. Aston managed to dodge the bullets flying her way, with Danny’s help, and we’d hopped on the jet as soon as our meetings let out. We were like kids fleeing from school on the last day, excited to be getting away from the head office that took so much of our time.Our visit to California wasn’t a vacation though. Soon, I would whisk Aston away for a break before the baby was born, but for now, we were working.It didn’t make Aston any less excited to be headed back to her hometown. She missed her friends and had been looking forward to spending time with them, even if we would have to get some work done at the same time.Dressed in a soft, flowing red dress that clung to her newly rounded stomach, she looked more beautif
ASTONBefore I knew what was happening, Blake flipped us over and was rolling my pants down my legs. My panties followed quickly.He yanked both items over my bare feet and dropped them to the floor. Heat spread through me as his bright blue eyes drank in every inch of me.He sat between my legs, spread open so there would be space for him. Completely on display for him, I was surprised by how much it turned me on. The raw lust in his eyes told me he felt the same. “I was an ass. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much I was upsetting you, can I make it up to you?”“Please,” I breathed, reaching for his shirt.Catching my hands in one of his, he used the other to reach behind him in a fist and pulled it off in a smooth slide. As his body came into view, I wished he wasn’t sitting between them so I could clench my thighs together to ease the need building there. Seeing me squirm, his hands went for my bare legs, running up and down my thighs.“You’re gorgeous, Aston. And the best thing that ha
Blake“No buts. If that’s what you want, I’ll go. I understand that you need someone there and that logistically, it can’t be Aston. I can be a team player again and if that’s what this team needs, I’ll take one for the team and go.”Taking a deep breath, his eyes darted up to the ceiling like he was slightly embarrassed by what he had to say. “But if you’d consider keeping me on in Florida though, I could work under Aston.”Shocked, my eyes widened. “You’d be her subordinate?”“Yeah.” His eyes drifted to Dad before he nodded and looked back at me. “It’s not easy for me to face, but I know I brought this on myself. If I stay, I’ll work as her second. Help her, learn from her, whatever.”“You would do that?” To say I was surprised was an understatement. My brother, or at least the brother he’d become, lacked the astonishing maturity it took to come up with a plan like this. “You realize it wouldn’t be temporary.”“I do.” He held onto my gaze, sincere in what he was saying. “I’ve been a
BLAKEWalking out of Dad’s study, I bumped into my mom in the hall. For a guy who spent years seeing only one family member, two at most, once every couple of weeks, I was surrounded by them now. I didn’t know how much I liked it yet.“Have you seen Aston? I asked Mom, who smiled as she jerked her head in the direction of the front door.“She left in a cab a few minutes ago,” Mom told me. “I saw her out there from the kitchen window, but it looked like she could use a couple of minutes alone. Next thing I knew, there was a cab and she was getting into it.”My heart sank to my shoes. “What?”I knew Aston was upset by my offering her Danny’s job, but I never thought she would leave. Panic crept in and gripped my heart. She didn’t know anyone in Florida as far as I knew. I didn’t even know where to start looking for her.“Fuck,” I mumbled, ignoring my mom’s chastising look. It was a little fucking late for her to try have any say about my language. I was getting used to having her around
Aston“I’m against it because I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. “Danny’s position isn’t some random spot. It’s a very important position in the company.”“Exactly,” Blake snapped. “It’s not good enough to put some random person into that position, don’t you think I get that? That’s one of the reasons why I need you, Aston. You’re all I’ve got. I don’t have any other options that are good enough.”“I’m a last resort?” My head reared back like he’d slapped me. I didn’t know what was going on with me, but my emotions were all over the place. Maybe it was the pregnancy after all, but knowing he only wanted me because there was no one else was somehow more hurtful than people thinking he’d only put me into that spot because he was sleeping with me.Staring at me like I’d grown a unicorn horn or turned green, Blake shook his head. “You’re not a last resort. It’s not like that at all. Think about it this way, my dad supports me in this decision. About Danny going
ASTON“Excuse me.” I pushed my chair back from the kitchen counter and glanced at Blake’s family before letting my eyes come to rest on him. “Could I talk to you outside for a minute please?”“Sure.” Exchanging a look with his father who nodded encouragingly, Blake followed me outside. I didn’t stop walking when we hit the deck, heading over it and onto the expansive green lawn.The sparkling swimming pool was blue and inviting. I briefly considered stripping off my clothes and taking refuge in the silence of its depths, but I doubted very much that Blake’s father would appreciate a half-naked pregnant girl sitting at the bottom of his pool.When I hit a patch of trees at the back of the property, I paced in the shade beneath them. Without having to look, I knew Blake was standing there watching me. He let me blow off steam for a few more seconds before planting his hands on his hips. “Before you say anything, hear me out.”“I told you I didn’t want that spot, Blake.”Walking toward m