Expecting His Secret Heir(25)

The viewpoint was refreshing for Sadie. She only hoped she could find  future employers who were as real as the people she'd come to know here.

As they were served their meals, Sadie felt Zach's hand circle around  her own. She turned to find him watching her with the fire and need she  so desperately wanted to see in his eyes.

"You look beautiful tonight, Sadie," he said. "I love you in this dress."

Her throat closed for a moment. Hearing those first three words on his  lips meant the world to her, even if he didn't mean them the way she  wished. "I love you in that suit," she finally whispered. "Very  dashing."

"Dashing, huh? Debonair, too?"

Oh, that grin was dangerous. "Most definitely."

"Well, I promise to be a gentleman." He leaned forward to brush a kiss  high on her cheekbone, right in front of her ear. Then he whispered,  "For now."

The shiver that worked its way down her spine caused her to squeeze the  hand still holding hers. How much longer could she hold him to her?

They were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Sadie leaned back as  her soup was placed before her, followed by a plate of oysters for  their end of the table to share. As she glanced over the half shells  coated in some kind of breading and cheese mixture, her stomach turned  over again.

She sucked in a breath through pursed lips, then slowly released it.  Nope, not helping. "Excuse me a moment," she murmured to Zach.

Luckily she'd seen where the restroom was on their way inside. Her  stomach had calmed again before she reached the door, but she went  inside anyway. Running cool water over her wrists helped also. Lord, she  needed to get her nerves under control. Life was never easy, but why  ruin her last night with Zach by anticipating the earthquake that she  knew was coming?

Did she even believe what she was telling herself right now?

The door opened behind her. Christina and KC stepped inside. Both women flocked to her with concern in their expressions.

"Are you okay?" Christina asked, patting her back gently.

She nodded as KC asked the same. "Yes, I've just been feeling a little off somehow."

"Zach was worried when you left so quickly. I told him we would check, though you were probably fine."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare anyone."

"Well, I only have to make about fifty trips a night to the bathroom  right now," Christina said with a laugh as she headed for a stall. "So  I'd be here soon enough anyway. If it had been any earlier in my  pregnancy, those oysters would have turned me green. I wouldn't have  even made it back here." She flashed a grossed-out face over her  shoulder before shutting the door.

"Oh, me, too," KC said from beside Sadie as she patted over her hair.  "Of course, any kind of seafood got to me. It wasn't so much the look of  it as the smell. Yuck." She grinned. "I was so glad when that stage  went away, because I love me some shrimp."                       
       
           



       

Sadie felt her stomach twist again as her mind conjured up the image of  shrimp scampi, usually one of her favorites. She breathed carefully,  glancing at the mirror to make sure her queasiness didn't show on her  face. No need to cause more concern.

KC opened her little clutch purse and proceeded to touch up her already  perfect makeup. Christina returned and washed her hands. "It's not  completely gone for me," she was saying. "The nausea isn't nearly as bad  as it was in the first trimester, of course, but some things will still  set it off sometimes. And the exhaustion. Oh, boy."

"I know what you mean," KC agreed. "You have more than just the  pregnancy to make you tired, but I sure remember trying to wait tables  with swollen feet and that bone-tired feeling weighing me down. That was  rough."

As the women talked around her, Sadie stared into the mirror. She could  actually see the blood drain from her already pale skin. Her light  dusting of freckles stood out in stark contrast, as did the glossy pink  of her lips. Nausea. She'd put it down to nerves. Exhaustion. She'd  simply pushed it aside as too many late nights with Zach.

Her gaze dropped to her chest, as she suddenly remembered the recent  tenderness of her breasts. She'd chalked it up to hormones, but this  would be about the third week they'd been unusually sensitive.

That wasn't normal.

"Are you coming, Sadie?"

She glanced up, realizing the others were readying to leave. "Oh, I'll  just, you know." She nodded toward the stalls. "Then I'll be right out."

They smiled, sure they'd done their duty, then headed back out to their dinner. Sadie couldn't have felt less like eating.

As the sound of their chatter faded, she closed herself in a stall,  leaning heavily against the inside of the door. Her mind raced,  frantically counting out the days she'd been in Black Hills, the number  of days since she'd first seen Zach again. Finally, the number of days  since they'd made love that first time.

Please. Could she please just stop thinking? Stop remembering? But it  was no use. She didn't have experience with pregnancy herself and had  never been around anyone who was having a baby. Her time with Christina  was as close as she'd gotten.

Which wasn't much. But based on how off she'd felt the last few  weeks-something she'd chalked up to guilt, nerves and grief-Sadie was  afraid she'd added one very large complication to her already tangled  situation.

Heaven help her.

* * *

Zach lengthened his stride, hoping to make it through the foyer before  Gladys heard the door close behind him. He didn't have long before he  had to be at the office. KC was helping him get their newest team member  settled in town. They were signing the paperwork on his new apartment  before she brought him by the office for the first time.

Zach needed to be there.

But he was worried about Sadie. She'd gone home early from the dinner  the night before, afraid she'd come down with a stomach bug. She'd even  insisted on taking a cab home, expressing concern about interrupting the  event and also about infecting him.

He'd let her go, only after she'd promised to text when she got back to  the B and B. There were still things they didn't know about each  other-for all he knew, she was the type who wanted to be left alone when  she was sick. Like him.

She'd texted him when she got back and had even mentioned that she'd  stopped at the pharmacy for some meds to help calm her stomach. He  hadn't heard from her since.

A quick peek to assure himself that she was okay would be enough for now.

But later, they needed to have a talk. Zach was perfectly happy to let  her be, as long as she touched base every so often to let him know she  was okay. Preferably from the other end of the room, rather than the  other end of town.

Otherwise, those dang protective instincts kicked in, and he worried something had happened-

Zach paused outside Sadie's door, hand raised to knock. The contrast  between what he wanted with Sadie and what he had with her hit him hard.  He'd proceeded on tiptoes, not demanding too much too soon, not asking  for what he truly needed, afraid that if he pushed too hard, she would  leave again.

Maybe he'd been overcautious. They were practically living together, and  yet he'd let her go home sick without him the night before. He stood  outside her door right now, waiting to knock, because he didn't want to  intrude. How ridiculously careful all of this was.

With a frown, Zach tried the doorknob. It clicked, then opened. He walked inside. It was that easy.

Glancing around, he was alarmed to see the bed empty, blankets half  hanging off the side, as if they had trailed after the person trying to  leave them behind. No Sadie in sight. He heard the shower running.                       
       
           



       

Okay. She was steady enough to want to shower. Good deal. He'd just wait  until she got out. After making sure she didn't need anything, he'd  head over to the office for a while, then come back. He crossed to the  bed to straighten up the covers. A tissue box and mound of crumpled,  used tissues covered the nightstand.

Odd, she'd said her stomach hurt, not that she had a cold.

Once more he looked around, this time hunting for the small trash can he  knew to be around here somewhere. He finally located it under the low  table in the sitting area. It was already filled with tissues. That  explained one thing, at least. As he stood there wondering if he should  risk calling Gladys for a new trash bag, Sadie's phone lit up.

An incoming text message.

He didn't recognize the name Victor Beddingfield, but the preview of the  message on the screen below the name made Zach do a double take.

Hell no, I don't care what happens to Zach Gatlin, as long as he doesn't show up here wanting...