Page 10

CHAPTER TEN

MAGGIE

I stand in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. The navy fall-length dress with a thigh-high split clings to my curves. I fidget, trying to pull it away from hugging my body. I let out a huff. Turning to the side, I take in my body, specifically at the curve of my stomach.

“Shit,” I sigh. Tears prickle my eyes. I tilt my head back and look up at the ceiling, fighting back the emotions that threaten to break free.

“Oh my god, Maggie. You look freaking stunning,” Josie compliments as she walks in.

I look at her and give her a tight grin. “Thanks,” I mutter.

Her gaze narrows. “What is it?” she asks.

I give in, feeling the overwhelming need to offload become too much to bare. I walk to the bedroom door and quietly close it. “I think I’m pregnant,” I whisper.

“Oh my fucking God!!” Josie screams loudly and excitedly.

“Shhh! Shut the fuck up, will you?” I hiss.

She clasps her hands over her mouth. “Sojmg,” she mumbles.

“What?” I press.

She moves her hands away from her mouth. “Sorry. Does Cash know?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No, of course not. No one knows. I’m not sure if I’m just late or premenopausal.” I shrug.

Josie arches her brow. “Are you even thirty?” she pushes. “And how late?” she adds.

I fold my arms across my chest, looking down at my feet. “Like six weeks,” I mutter.

“Six weeks!” Josie screeches.

“Shhhhh! Will you shut the fuck up?” I snap.

“Why the hell are you just doing something about it now?” she asks.

I groan and flop down on the bed dramatically. “Because everything had died down and things were good. No drama. And I guess I figured my period would turn up. I kept reading about pre-menopause, and I convinced myself it was that,” I confess.

“You were drinking last night!” Josie gasps.

I shake my head. “I swapped out every drink,” I state.

“How did we not notice?” Josie asks, frowning.

I smirk. “Easy. You were all trashed.”

She snorts. “True. I haven’t felt that wasted since I was a teenager getting drunk in a local farmer’s field on cheap cider.”

I smile. “I don’t want to cause a scene, and I don’t want to take anything away from Star and Ghost’s big day,” I assert.

Josie pats my arm. “Leave it with me.” She gets up and opens the door. “Belle! Come here a second,” she yells.

I sit up, my eyes wide. Josie waves me off like it will be fine.

Belle walks in, wearing a deep red wrap dress that hugs her curves and dips low at the bust. “What’s up?” she asks.

“We need a pregnancy test,” Josie states.

“Oh my god, are you pregnant?!” Belle squeaks excitedly.

“Who’s pregnant?” Nova asks as she walks into the room.

“Maggie,” Josie points. I sit with my head in my hands.

“I don’t have a test,” Belle says. “Oh, Rhea might,” she states, turning and yelling for Rhea.

“What’s up?” Rhea asks, walking into the room, looking at each of us.

“Have you got a pregnancy test for Maggie?” Belle asks her.

Rhea’s eyes go wide and her smile widens.

I roll my eyes. “So much for keeping it quiet,” I mutter to Josie.

“Can you tell me if this looks okay?” Elsie asks, walking into the room in a deep bottle green satin dress. She looks around. “Everything okay? Why are you all standing in here?” she asks, confused.

Josie looks at me, wincing. “Sure, tell her. Maybe while you’re there you could tell Cash for me,” I say sarcastically.

Josie grins. “Maggie thinks she’s pregnant, so we need a test.”

Elsie gasps. “That’s amazing. It’s so exciting. How late are you?” she asks.

“Six weeks,” I mutter. All their heads snap in my direction as they give me an ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ look. I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know,” I groan.

“Hey, Star was wondering where you have all gotten to. She wants to get a photo of— Alina’s words die as she takes in us all huddled in my room. “What’s going on?” she asks.

Before I can answer, Dixie walks out of my en-suite bathroom, drying her hands on a towel. “Maggie might be pregnant,” Dixie points out.

My mouth hangs open. “How long have you been in there?” I ask, stunned.

“Since I ran past you after eating a piece of that cheese platter. Dairy is not my friend. I think it was the flea,” she groans, rubbing her stomach.

“You mean Brie,” Josie adds. Dixie nods.

“I didn’t even see you run past,” I point out.

Dixie shrugs. “You may have had your dress over your head.”

“Okay, well, we still need a pregnancy test,” Belle points out.

“Just use the room service. There is a hotel pharmacy,” Alina states.

“Will they do pregnancy tests?” Nova asks.

“Who in the fuck is pregnant?” I hear Star ask as she makes her way into the room, looking unbelievably stunning. Her ivory dress is a deep V-neck sleek slip wedding gown with thin spaghetti straps, leaving it backless, exposing her tattoos and curves. It was the perfect combination of simple, elegant, and sexy.

All of us gasp and coo at how incredible Star looks, ignoring what she said.

“Oh my god, Star! You look incredible,” Belle compliments.

“Yeah, great, thanks. Now which one of you is pregnant?” she asks.

I raise my hand, and her eyes go wide. “Well, I may not be,” I admit.

“She is six weeks late, so most likely is,” Josie whispers like I’m not standing right there.

“But you hate kids!” Star blurts out. “Well, you don’t hate them, but you didn’t want them,” she reminds me.

I nod, fiddling with my fingers. “Well, I am not sure how I feel right now,” I admit.

Star sits next to me and takes my hand in hers. I look up at her. “Whatever you decide, you have all of us with you every step of the way,” she states firmly. I swallow back my emotions and nod. “Good. Now someone get her a test, but don’t let on to Queenie or she will lose her shit,” Star orders.

“On it!” Alina calls over her shoulder as she jogs off, her heels clicking on the tiled floor as she leaves.

“Anyone else got a bun in the oven?” Star asks, looking at them. “I mean, we’ve got to keep the next generation of the Black Hearts going.” She snorts.

“Do you want any more?” Rhea asks Star.

Star grins. “You know, I just might. If only to have a girl and watch Ghost lose his shit as she gets older. For that reason alone, I’m tempted.” She snorts.

“Won’t just be Ghost, though. Enzo will be a big brother,” I remind her.

“Oh, fuck,” Star snorts, rolling her eyes at the thought.

Alina comes running back in. “Right, I’ve sent the butler guy to get us one; under strict instructions he is to tell no one. Queenie is currently in with the guys, and I may have locked them in. Just to be sure they don’t come anywhere near here,” Alina pants.

“How did you lock them in?” Star asks.

“I did that prop a chair up against the handle thing you see in movies.” She shrugs.

I snort, laughing. “Your secret request, ma’am,” a deep voice says from behind Alina, making us all jump and scream.

“Sweet motherfucking labia,” Star curses, holding her heart.

“How did you do that so quickly?” Alina asks, taking the paper bag from him.

“It is my job,” he answers vaguely before turning and leaving.

“That guy is a little creepy,” Star mutters. “Efficient, but creepy.”

Alina pulls the box out and hands it to me. “Go pee now,” she orders.

I take the box, and my stomach is busy doing somersaults in anxiety as I walk into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I sit on the toilet and rip open the box, pulling out the test before I reach down and place it between my legs. I concentrate on peeing, but nothing happens.

“Come on, come on,” I murmur to myself.

“I’m not hearing any peeing,” Star states from the other side of the door.

“Not helping,” I snap back.

“Think of running water, lakes, the ocean, a waterfall,” Star suggests.

I try, but all I can think about is that I am so not ready for this. “Not working,” I groan.

“Okay, I’m coming in,” Star says before bursting into the toilet.

“Watching me trying to pee isn’t going to make me pee,” I point out.

“I know. I’m going to do a supportive test with you. We will pee and take a test together,” she states, pulling the spare test out of the box as she walks over to the bidet.

“Er, that isn’t a toilet,” I point out.

“It’s close enough,” she states, pulling up her dress as she sits down over the bidet.

“No underwear?” I ask.

Star grins. “In this dress, it’s better to not wear anything. Plus, I know as soon as we’ve exchanged rings and whatnot, Ghost will want to fuck me or eat me; it depends if he’s had his breakfast.”

“Rings and whatnot, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone be so laid-back about their wedding,” I point out.

She smiles. “I love how the mention of Ghost and me fucking doesn’t faze you. Funny, because I swore I heard you mock gagging earlier around the press.” She smirks, raising her brow at me.

I shrug. “You must have been mistaken. That wasn’t me,” I state, unable to hide my smile. “Anyway, it’s you. There ain’t nothing we haven’t heard, be it firsthand or you oversharing,” I state, laughing as I mock shudder.

Star grins. “Yeah, well, you will all have to put up with it, because that man just knows how to hit those buttons. I will always sing his praises.” She winks. “And the reason why I’m so laid-back about the wedding is because I don’t give a fuck. He is mine, and I am his, even without this bit of paper,” she states casually. She clears her throat and holds up the test in her hand. “Right, enough chit-chat. Now let’s get peeing,” she orders. “On three. One, two, three,” she orders, and the sound of her peeing echoes around the bathroom, with me soon following. I can’t help but laugh as we are both sitting here peeing on sticks. Star laughs with me. “I bet no one else has a wedding day like this,” she snorts.

I place my test on the side and clean up and wash my hands. Star does the same, being careful to put her test on the other side of the sink. “So, you know what you want to do?” she asks. The fun of the moment has now gone, and the reality of the situation dawns.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I answer truthfully.

“Just talk it through with Cash. He will support you. We all will,” she assures me.

She nudges me, and I look at her, but her gaze is on my test. I look down and see there are two strong lines, confirming exactly what I have been avoiding. Pregnant. Well, shit.

“Fuck,” I sigh. I look to Star, and she gives me a reassuring smile. “Yours?” I ask. She holds up her negative test. “You look a little disappointed,” I point out.

She shrugs. “I guess, in a way, I am. I keep thinking about having a little girl, and I’m liking the idea more and more,” she admits honestly.

“You know you could get pregnant with another boy,” I point out. “And have, like all boys, if you kept trying for a girl.”

She scrunches up her face in horror. “I could handle one more boy, but if I didn’t have a girl, there is no way I would keep going to get a girl. No fucking way,” she states adamantly.

“Right, let’s do this. Let’s get you married.” I grin, trying to bury my own worries and fears and embrace Star’s day. She gives my shoulder a squeeze as she passes to walk out the bathroom door. I stay behind for a few moments, just staring down at the test. Not overjoyed, and yet not as devastated as I thought I would be. I had never planned to have kids. I didn’t particularly want them, but now that it’s actually happening, I’m not so sure. I look down at my stomach and shake my head back and forth. “You do realise that you would be smothered, not just by this club but the Satan’s, too,” I sigh.

I walk to the bin and throw away my test before I quickly wash my hands again and walk back into the room to join everyone else. As soon as I step into the room, I know Star has told them the result, as they all stand there staring at me with wide excited smiles.

I groan. “I still haven’t made up my mind yet, so don’t get excited,” I warn them.

They all nod before letting out little squeals and swamping me in a group hug, ignoring what I just said. Warmth floods me, and I can’t help but smile. I look up, catching Star’s gaze, and she gives me a small smile and nod, knowing exactly where my decision is headed. Damn her for knowing me better than I know myself.