Still in a daze, she found the receptionist who gave her a bag and made another appointment for her. She left… only to find Tory waiting for her by the car. The driver gave her a look that said he’d tried to get rid of her.
Not even this woman could kill her buzz right now. She was going to have a baby.
“Violet. That’s your name?” Tory said.
“Yes.”
She’d told her that the first time they met. Violet crossed her arms wanting just to get this over with.
“You’re pregnant. Amedeo told me last night. You know he’s going to take the baby.”
“Huh?”
When had Amedeo seen her last night? When Violet was sleeping? Had he gone out to see Tory? He hadn’t mentioned it. Why not? What had happened? Violet tried to keep a poker face on.
“He’s not going to let someone like you raise this baby. No way. He’ll want to make sure this child has the best of everything. That won’t include you. You’ll be out in the cold.”
Violet had dealt with mean girls before this, but never when she was pregnant. Tory’s words bothered her. They shouldn’t. The Amedeo that Tory was describing wasn’t the man that Violet knew. He’d taken her in. He fed her and made sure she was safe.
Violet shook her head. She didn’t want Tory in her thoughts, but what the woman said cut her. Tory smiled then walked away.
“I’m sorry, Miss Taylor. I couldn’t get her to leave,” the driver said.
“Not your fault. Just take me to the office.”
Violet settled into her seat, but Tory’s words rang in her head. They sadly replaced the sound of her baby’s heartbeat.
Chapter8
Amedeo went home at lunch time knowing he’d missed the appointment with Violet. He’d gotten caught up in something and couldn’t get off a conference call. He’d wanted to go to the meeting, but putting out a fire had taken priority.
Sadly.
He’d wanted to hear his baby’s heartbeat. He’d wanted to make sure that everything was okay. But business had gotten in the way. He had to make tough choices sometimes. Hopefully, Violet understood.
She sat in his living room, staring at the gas fireplace when he arrived. That didn’t bode well. She was mad. Maybe she had a right to be. He put down his briefcase filled with work he planned on doing that afternoon.
Violet was curled up on the couch. She hadn’t looked in his direction. He should have brought chocolate or something. He sat down next to her. She didn’t move or look his way. Her gaze stayed on the fake flames in the fireplace.
“I’m sorry, Violet. I got caught up in a conference call,” he said.
“It’s fine.”
He knew it was anything but fine. “You need some lunch?”
She shrugged. Her eyes looked as if she’d been crying. Was something wrong with the baby? Could they tell this soon? He didn’t really know. He hadn’t read as much about pregnancy as Violet had. He sighed.
“Please talk to me, Violet. Tell me what I can do to make this up to you.”
“I’m not mad at you, Amedeo. Disappointed that you weren’t there, but not mad.”
“Again, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s fine.”
She still didn’t look at him, which made him antsy about whether she had truly forgiven him or not. “Is the baby okay?”
“Uh huh.”
She handed him a piece of paper. He couldn’t identify what it was. “I’m stumped.”
She patted a white lumpy thing in the picture. “That’s our baby.”
He had to admit he was unimpressed. The bugger was pretty small right now. “That’s going to be a human?”
“Yep.”
She shot him a glance finally. He took her hand. “Wow. That’s pretty impressive that you’re going to grow this thing inside of you.”
She shrugged. “Women have been doing it for years.”
“Still. I’ve never known anyone who grew one of mine in them.”
She didn’t laugh, just flashed him a quick smile. What was her problem? “Is everything okay with you?”
“Sure.”
“Did the doctor say something to upset you?”
“No everything is fine with the baby.”
He sighed again. “I’ll make us some lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
“Fine.”
He left her, but he kept looking back at her. She didn’t move. He made them lunch then brought it to her. She ate, not devouring the food like she usually did. Something was definitely wrong. He would have to drag it out of her.
He cleaned up from lunch then sat down with her again. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”