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"What's that?"
"Let's make the most of every moment we have together. No regrets."
She met his gaze, her expression earnest. "I promise."
And with that, they allowed themselves to get lost in each other once more, savoring every touch, every kiss, every whispered word. For now, the past was forgotten.
*****
“You look like hell.”
“I can always count on you to be honest.” Pulling out a chair, she sat and stretched her legs. The place was quiet for a change, the lunch and early afternoon crowd had come and gone.
The contractor and his team had also left to go and tackle another project. She was not feeling well and had pretended she was doing great and recovered to avoid the nagging from Leo.
“I am not just being a bitch, darling, I am serious.” Michael remarked, peering at her anxiously.
“It is this cold that seems to be lingering and my stomach is acting crazy. I sent someone home two days ago because of a stomach virus and it seems like I caught the bug. On top of that, I cannot taste a fricking thing. It is like my tastebuds have gone for a walk. I am fatigued and listless, it is frustrating.”
“Perhaps you should go and get a checkup.” He offered carefully, taking up his cup of coffee.
“Does Leo know you’re not well?”
She lifted her brows. “We live together and yes - I told him I was not feeling too hot. After he made me tea and soup, I thought I was feeling better…,” she shook her head. “Enough to – youknow…” She waved a hand and managed an impish smile at his widened eyes.
“Even though you were at death’s doors, he still wanted to…,” he huffed out a breath. “The man is a monster.”
“I was not at death’s door, and I was the one who initiated it. I have become a sexual deviant.” Her satisfied tone had him laughing.
“It is about time. Good for you.” He sobered and gave her a thorough once-over.
“I am going to ask you a series of personal questions and don’t want you freaking out on me.”
She gave him a curious look. “Since when do you give advance warning? You are always poking in my business and never make an apology for it. Why the change?”
He took another sip of the coffee and eyed her over the rim of the cup.
"Because these questions might be a bit more invasive than usual," he replied, setting down his cup and leaning forward. "Are you experiencing any other symptoms? Fever, chills, shortness of breath?"
She shook her head, briefly closing her eyes as a wave of dizziness overcame her. "No, just what I mentioned before."
“And you have been careful?” He took another sip of coffee.
“Careful?” She frowned at him. “What the hell do you mean?”
Putting his cup down, he folded his hands in front of him and stared at her. “Protective sex, darling.”
“Oh.” For a second, she gave him a blank stare and then her eyes widened. “Oh. Crap. You think I might be pregnant. We…” She closed her eyes as she recalled that ever since they started in Europe, she and Leo had not contemplated or even talked about protection or the consequences if that was not exercised.
“I…,” pressing a hand to her jittery stomach, she took a deep breath. It fits. All the symptoms were there. The lethargy, the nausea, the dizziness, and the fact that she had missed her period, something she had chalked down to all the stress and the change in her lifestyle. “Oh Lord.”
“Have you two discussed the possibility of having a family?” Michael prodded.
She shook her head slowly, still processing the revelation. “No, we have not. It never came up because…, well, I guess we were just caught up in the moment and not thinking about the future.” She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the weight of the potential reality crashing down on her.
“How ridiculously careless of me. I cannot be pregnant. We are not in a position! We are not even married, and I have so many things going on. God! To introduce a child into the mix is just insane. All of it is madness.” She thumped her fists on the table and felt the zing of pain going up her arms, welcomed it in fact.
“What the hell am I going to do?”