Inside her suite, Kate stood in front of Tony and lifted her blouse to reveal her belly. With one hand, she cupped the little bump that was poking out above her skirt.
“My little bun is growing,” she said softly.
“Our little bun,” Tony corrected her and she chuckled.
“Can I touch it?” He asked politely.
“Sure, go ahead,” Kate said excitedly.
Tony stepped closer to her and placed his hand where hers had been a few seconds earlier. His wide palm covered the tiny bump completely.
“Wow…” he sighed. “There’s a little human in there.”
“I have an app on my phone that I use for tracking the baby’s growth,” said Kate. “This week, the baby is the size of an avocado.”
“Wow! How would they know that?” Tony chuckled.
Kate shrugged and said, “I guess those medical people measured the babies in the womb a
“Oh, shoot!” Kate muttered irritably.She had stubbed her toe against the metal leg of the serving table where she was passing out food to recipients of the ongoing outreach program organized by her church. Even her thick boot couldn’t protect her from the stinging pain of that unexpected collision.Kate had tried so hard to remain focused all day but her troubled mind kept getting in the way. Now, she had a throbbing toe to remind her to get her head back in the game and stop drifting off mentally.Kate scanned the crowd of volunteers going about their tasks to see if she would spot a familiar blond hair with a faded undercut among them, but she didn’t. Her heart sank with disappointment. Where on earth was Kevin?“Do you need some help here?” A rich male voice asked near Kate, bringing her back to the moment.She looked at the man who had spoken and found herself looking into a pair of warm brown eyes belonging to a good-looking male specimen from another generation. The man was dre
“What did you just say?” Kevin asked in a stage whisper.He looked like a deer caught in headlight with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Kate hadn’t expected him to jump for joy after revealing her pregnancy to him, but she hadn’t expected this sort of dramatic reaction either.“You heard me, Kevin. I said I’m pregnant,” she announced firmly.“You can’t be!” Kevin snapped, having recovered from his initial shock.“We used protection every time,” he continued heatedly. “How on earth did you get pregnant?”“The condom broke the last time, remember?” Kate lashed out at him.Kevin ran his long fingers through his hair and started pacing back across his living room like a caged tiger. Kate watched him silently as he strode from one end of the room to the other.She’d always found Kevin very attractive with his boy-band looks and devil-may-care personality. As a teenager, Kate fantasized about dating a bad boy and Kevin was the fulfilment of that fantasy.Her family didn’t like him but they to
When Kate got home, she was relieved to see that her parents weren’t there yet. They were probably still at the relief camp or they’d gone to the church to meet with the board.Kate wondered if the church board would fire her father from being the senior pastor if they heard about her pregnancy. Her mother was the leader of the women’s fellowship, which in Kate’s opinion, was more or less a group of old women who loved to gossip and judge everyone in the community. Imagine her mother now becoming the new topic of discussion!“I should probably leave a farewell note behind and run away from here,” Kate told herself as she unlocked the front door with her keys and entered the cozy townhouse she shared with her parents.They used to live in Cheyenne but they moved to Sommerville five years ago after her father retired from his medical consultancy job at the age of 50, and went into full-time ministry. Her mother wasn’t initially happy about the lifestyle change, but she has since settled
Dinner was a disaster. Kate couldn’t keep her food down, but thankfully, her parents thought she was simply still upset about her breakup.She’d excused herself from the dining table and gone to bed to cry herself to sleep. When morning came, she felt worse. She woke up with a terrible headache and she felt so dizzy that she couldn’t get out of bed.“Oh, dear. You don’t look so good,” Laura commented when she saw Kate.She was already dressed for church and looking very lovely in her lavender skirt suit with a beige silk blouse and a huge lavender fascinator on her head.“I think we should get you to the hospital,” Laura said while placing her palm on Kate’s forehead to check her body temperature.“Don’t worry about me, Mom. I’ll be fine,” Kate assured her mother.“Your body temperature is a bit high. I think you’re coming down with something,” Laura said worriedly. “Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.”“No. I don’t want you to be late for church,” Kate said quickly as she forced
The living room was unnaturally quiet. Kate, Laura, John, and Tony sat in silence, each person occupied their own thoughts.After Kate ran inside the house following her shocking announcement, her parents followed her dazedly like two people in a trance. Tony had also joined them, although none of them officially invited him in. He’d simply assumed that Kate might need some moral support from him when her parents finally got over their shock.Eventually, Kate broke the silence in the room.“I’m so sorry about this, Mom, Dad,” she said softly. “I know you’re disappointed in me right now, I’m disappointed in myself too. Please, don’t be mad.”Laura looked at Kate as if she was seeing her daughter for the first time.“Is that all you have to say?” She asked crossly. “That’s it? You’re sorry and you don’t want us to be mad? What on earth were you thinking, Kate? Do you even realize what you’ve done?”“It’s Kevin, isn’t it?” John asked Kate.“Yes,” Kate replied.“Does he know about it?” Jo
Kate slept in the following day. She didn’t have a job anymore and her parents were understandably still mad at her. Or so she thought.Her dad stopped by to say hi to her before leaving the house for his morning town hall meeting with the committee members for the church’s building project.“Aren’t you going to get ready for work?” John asked Kate.“No. My services are no longer required at the pastry shop,” she answered.“What?” Why? What happened?” John asked in a rush.“Please, don’t make a fuss about this, Daddy,” Kate begged him. “I spoke with Darlene yesterday. She practically repeated everything Kevin said to me on Saturday. She’ll send my last check in the mail tomorrow.”“She can’t do that,” John protested. “She can’t just fire you from your job because her son chose to be a bum. I’m going to have a word with her once I finish with my meeting.”“No, Daddy. Please, don’t do that,” Kate pleaded.“And why the heck not?” John inquired testily.“Darlene hasn’t mentioned the situa
Kate’s thought was interrupted by the school buzzer going off nearby. It was time for recess. She got out her phone from her pants pocket and called Wendy.“Hey, baby girl. What’s up,” Wendy said cheerfully when she answered the call.“Hi, Wendy. How are you?” Kate said blandly.“I’m Ok. What about you?”“I don’t know,” Kate replied honestly.“Why? What is it, sweetie? Are you alright?” Wendy asked worriedly.“It’s a long story but I’ll summarize it for you if you can come and meet me at the park right now.”“Give me two minutes,” said Wendy and she hung up.She showed up at the park in record time. She was dressed in a bright yellow dress and leopard print pumps.“Why aren’t you at work?” Wendy asked Kate as she joined her best friend on the swing chair.“I got fired last night,” Kate answered plainly.“What!” Wendy gasped. “Why?”Kate looked deeply into Wendy’s eyes and said, “You and I have been friends forever and I trust you, but I want you to assure me now that my secret is safe
“Welcome, Mr DaCosta,” said Laura with a big smile as she ushered Tony into the house.“Thank you, Mr Harrison. Please, call me Tony,” he said graciously.He was dressed formally in a dark suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark patterned tie.John was waiting in the hallway to greet Tony. He cleared his throat self-consciously and extended his right hand to the man he’d kicked out of his home barely a week ago.“Welcome back to my home,” John said almost grudgingly.“Thank you for inviting me,” said Tony, accepting John’s handshake. He noted how the other man’s grip nearly misaligned his fingers but he wasn’t offended.“Please, come with me. Kate is waiting in the living room,” John said and led the way.Once they entered the living room, Kate rose to her feet but did not step forward to greet Tony. She was dressed in a grey frock and her freshly was
Inside her suite, Kate stood in front of Tony and lifted her blouse to reveal her belly. With one hand, she cupped the little bump that was poking out above her skirt.“My little bun is growing,” she said softly.“Our little bun,” Tony corrected her and she chuckled.“Can I touch it?” He asked politely.“Sure, go ahead,” Kate said excitedly.Tony stepped closer to her and placed his hand where hers had been a few seconds earlier. His wide palm covered the tiny bump completely.“Wow…” he sighed. “There’s a little human in there.”“I have an app on my phone that I use for tracking the baby’s growth,” said Kate. “This week, the baby is the size of an avocado.”“Wow! How would they know that?” Tony chuckled.Kate shrugged and said, “I guess those medical people measured the babies in the womb a
When Tony returned from the office, Kate discussed Duchess’ high tea invitation with him. They were having dinner in the dining room.“You should go,” Tony advised her. “You rarely leave this house at all. I’m sure you’ll find the company of other women refreshing.”“Maybe,” Kate replied vaguely. “It’s just that, I don’t like Duchess. She strikes me as a middle-aged mean girl.”Tony chuckled and said, “You’ll probably change your mind about her when you get to know her. She knows all the important people in this city. You might make new friends through her, and when that happens, you wouldn’t need to hang around her anymore.”“So, you want me to use her to find new friends for myself?” Kate asked skeptically.“She’s already using you to boost her street credibility, as you young people say,” said Tony. “Do think
As soon as Duchess saw Kate approaching, she rose to her feet and smiled broadly. She was dressed impeccably as before and her makeup was flawless as usual.“Good afternoon, Mrs DaCosta,” she greeted Kate formally. “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”Kate wasn’t having any of the other woman’s fake congeniality.“What can I do for you?” She asked Duchess flatly.Duchess chuckled and said, “Well, I deserved that. But please, allow me to express my most sincere apologies for how I conducted myself the last time I was here. It was not my intention to insult you.”“Yet, you did,” said Kate.“I am very sorry about that,” Duchess apologized somberly. “I have also spoken to your husband earlier today and he has forgiven me.”“So?” Kate demanded with a raised eyebrow.“Darling, can we please bury the hatchet between us?&rdq
“Girl, those photos were fire!” Wendy squealed excitedly. She was on a video call with Kate who has returned to Chicago with Tony.Even though the magazine interview and photoshoot happened weeks ago in Brazil, it had only been recently published in print for the world to see. The article had quickly gone viral, making Kate and Tony the hot topic all over the country.Even Kate’s parents have seen the article and called her on the phone to congratulate her on it. Now. She was on the phone with Wendy, reliving the experience.“It’s like a modern fairy tale in real life,” Wendy gushed. “Every picture ate!”“Thank you,” Kate laughed. “Every inch of that island looked like something out of a storybook. I loved it there.”“I can imagine,” said Wendy. “Also, I loved the cover story. I like the fact that you and Tony didn’t lie about how you met or how quickly
“Now, I see why you married her so quickly,” Tony’s mother said with a smile. “She is a very beautiful girl.”“There’s more to Kate than her beauty,” Tony told his mother.“I don’t doubt that,” she replied and winked at Kate. Tony was right. His mother did have a great sense of humor.“Mȃe, allow me to officially introduce my wife to you,” Tony began dramatically. “Meet Katherine Analise DaCosta, formerly known as Kate Harrison.”“Your names are as beautiful as you are,” said Tony’s mother.“Thank you, ma’am,” Kate replied brightly.“Kate, this is my mother, Senhora Adele DaCosta,” said Tony with a flourish.“Please, call me Adele,” said Tony’s mother. “We’re family now, so there’s no need for titles.”“Of course,” said Kate.&ldquo
Kate woke up in the morning feeling very refreshed. To her surprise, Tony wasn’t in bed. She assumed he was in the bathroom but after waiting for several minutes and not hearing any sound from there, she called out his name.There was no response. She got out of bed and went to knock on the bathroom door. Still no answer.Kate went into the bathroom and noticed that the shower stall was wet and smelled of the same soap she’d used last night.She wondered where Tony must have gone to. After freshening up, Kate went back to the bedroom to get dressed.The sun was already rising and Kate suspected it was going to be a warm morning. She put on a short-sleeved cotton dress and her leather sandals.Kate stood in front of the dressing mirror and silently debated what to do with her hair. It was overdue for washing but she wasn’t ready to deal with it right now.She untied her hair and fluffed it out with her fingers. It was the be
Kate knew that Mama Gabriela’s reaction must be a result of Tony introducing her as his wife.Mama Gabriela asked Tony a question and he responded to her in a level voice. His answer seemed to have pleased the old woman because she started smiling again.She motioned to them to follow her and she led them to the main entrance of the house. She opened the big black double doors and let them into an absolutely stunning front room.Some domestic staff showed up to greet Tony and Kate. The people looked as if they’d been woken up from sleep. They quickly went outside to get Tony and Kate’s bags from the courtyard where the golf cart driver had dropped them.They followed Mama Gabriela up a windy staircase that led to a beautifully furnished living room. The old woman led them past the living room to a wide corridor with doors on both sides.She turned to face them and said something to Tony. He nodded and responded to her.&ldq
It took Kate only a couple of minutes to pack a bag for her trip to Brazil with Tony. Fortunately for them, they didn’t run into Athena or Adonis during their brief stopover at the house.Tony had already made all the arrangements for their trip, so when they got to the airport, his private jet was waiting for them. They boarded the jet immediately and within minutes, they were in the air.Kate savored this experience. She felt like she was in a dream, a beautiful, extravagant dream. She took a few selfies with her phone and sent them to Wendy via email.Meanwhile, Tony was busy on his laptop, sending and responding to emails. He made a few calls to his assistant, his lawyers, and his human resource manager.They had lunch together and watched a wild life documentary afterwards. Halfway through the flight, Kate took a nap and woke up two hours later with a severe morning sickness.She spent the rest of the flight going back and forth between
Fredrick greeted them warmly at the front door and ushered them into a silver Bentley that was waiting in front of the mansion.“He’s not getting fired, is he?” Kate asked Tony softly in the backseat. She didn’t want the driver to overhear her.“I don’t want to,” Tony admitted. “He’s practically a member of my family. He has been here since my children were little.”“Do you trust him?” Kate asked Tony.“More than I trust the others,” he answered.Kate nodded and relaxed in her seat. That was that then. Fredrick would not lose his job. She couldn’t have that on her conscience too.They drove up to Willowbrook where one of Tony’s restaurants was located. When they arrived, the head waiter showed up promptly to take them to their table in a secluded VIP section. It was curtained off and unavailable to anyone else as long as Tony and Kate were there.