From Temptation to Twins(59)

To them, it was a perfectly ordinary day.

Jules was shaking slightly as she entered a stall. Sunlight streamed through the high windows. Disinfectant invaded her nose. A woman and her young daughter chatted as they washed their hands. And down the row a toilet flushed.

Jules tore into the test, discarding the box in the waste bin. She reread the instructions then gritted her teeth, her heart pounding and her lungs rapidly inhaling and exhaling the warm, close air as she urinated on the stick.

She checked her watch, closing her eyes and regulating her breathing as she waited for the minutes to tick past. She concentrated on what she’d do after. She’d have to pick something up at a local store, something that was plausibly important enough for her to have rushed out of the restaurant.

Maybe something for dinner. Her father’s favorite was lasagna. She’d go back to the plaza and pick up the fixings for lasagna. That way she’d look like a good daughter rather than an irrational one.

Dangling the test by her side, out of her sight, she opened her eyes and checked her watch. There were just a few seconds to go. She counted down.

Then she took a very deep breath and lifted the test, half turning away and squinting her eyes like she did in a horror movie.

It didn’t help. She could see the result. It was positive.

She was pregnant.

Another toilet flushed. Someone’s keys clanked as they set them down on the metal shelf and a tap turned on, roaring into the sink. Voices shouted outside, while a seagull screamed.

Jules stared at the two lines in the test window. How could she have been so stupid? Why had she made love with Caleb? She’d never, ever, not even once mixed up her shot dates before now.

How could the universe have played such a cruel trick?

Her phone rang inside her purse.

It would be Melissa, but Jules couldn’t answer. There was no way she could talk right now. She knew if she didn’t answer, Melissa would worry.

Melissa was going to have to worry.

She’d probably be happy in the end. Because the Crab Shack would fail, her father would definitely be happy in the end. And Caleb, Caleb would be the happiest of them all. He was about to get everything he wanted.

* * *

Caleb was certain he couldn’t have heard Noah right. “She’ll sell?”

“I just finished talking to her,” Noah said as he followed Caleb into his living room.

Matt and TJ were already visiting. They were out on the deck with the barbecue warming up. Caleb had sought them out as a distraction. He hadn’t wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

“Why?” he asked Noah, blown away by the statement. “What could have changed her mind?”

He was thrilled, of course. But the turn of events was completely unexpected. They had a court date in the morning.

“Reality, I think,” Noah said.

Could it be as simple as that? Had the impending court date made her see reason? Finally? Caleb wanted to believe it, but something didn’t quite fit.

“What did she say?” he asked. “How did she phrase it?”

“Just that she thought I was right.”

“I have you to thank?” Caleb asked.

“Melissa agreed with me. So did her father, and it made me points with him, big-time.”

Caleb had to smile at that. He was genuinely pleased for Noah. At least Noah was having success on the romance front.

Caleb was having success on the business front. He should be thrilled. He really ought to be thrilled. He dragged open the glass door.

“Hey, Noah,” Matt said as the two men stepped outside.

“Hi,” TJ echoed.

“Jules agreed to sell,” Caleb told them both.

Matt grinned at the news. “Fantastic. Should I break out the single malt?”

Caleb wasn’t ready to celebrate yet. “I can’t figure out why she did it.”

“Because of her dad?” Noah speculated.

“Her dad?” Matt asked.

“He showed up today,” Caleb said, checking the temperature gauge on the barbecue then turning the knob.

“Seriously?” TJ asked.

“Did you see him?” Matt asked.

“For a minute,” Caleb said.

“What happened?”

“We had words.”

Matt gave a cold laugh. “I can only imagine. He hates you with a passion.”

“He hates my father and grandfather,” Caleb said. “It’s not the same thing.” He paused. “It shouldn’t be the same thing.”

“Close enough,” TJ said. “Beer’s in the fridge,” he said to Noah.

“How much?” Matt asked.

“Who cares?” TJ said.

Caleb was inclined to agree. He’d pay any price she asked. He’d give her anything she asked. He wondered if there was any hope he could use his generosity to make peace with her. He was sure going to try.