Epilogue
Two months later
“I hate you,” Amber said, grumbling into the toilet. Elijah held her hair back as she puked up all of her breakfast. She’d already been sick once, and this was her second time this morning.
“You don’t hate me. Elijah junior is making himself known.”
She groaned once again as another wave of sickness took over. Being two months pregnant meant she was now sensitive to food and drinks she loved. They’d not even bothered with any contraception. She’d been pregnant before they could sort anything out.
“I hate you.” Amber didn’t mean any of the words, but she always spoke them to him when the morning sickness got too bad.
Slowly, her stomach began to settle, and she collapsed away from the toilet in Elijah’s waiting arms. He was the most patient man in her world. His soothing strokes helped to calm her.
“You must hate me,” she said. Now that she’d finished throwing up she felt bad for being mean to him.
“I could never hate you, baby. I love you too damn much to hate you.” He lifted her finger where her engagement and wedding ring fell. After they found out she was pregnant, Elijah had driven them to Vegas for a quick wedding. Julian made sure the rest of her friends were there, and when they got back home, they told their families.
She stared at her ring and then at the one resting on his finger. “We’re together.”
He kissed her head as she started to regain some control over her emotions. The words she’d spoken to him replayed in her mind, and Amber couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She’d been a horrible bitch.
Amber started to sob and cry, talking nonsense.
All throughout her moment he held her without saying a word. Heather hadn’t gone through this, and if she had, she’d not said anything to her.
When it was all over her helped clean her teeth before helping her into bed.
“I’ve got to go to work,” she said.
“No, I’ve called Dale, and he’s giving you the day off, paid.”
She thought about Connie and wondered what her friend was going to do with the two love interests in her life.
Amber fingered the loose collar around her neck. When they were inside her apartment she loved wearing his mark. The collar was a lovely pink with a locket in the centre. It symbolized their connection to each other.
He kissed her hand, stopping her from playing with it.
“I don’t think I can do this,” she said, touching her stomach. “Bringing a baby into the world is hard work.”
“You’ll do it, Amber. You’ve got me by your side. I’m never leaving you. We’ve got this. You, me, and the baby.” He kissed her head. “If you argue I’ll get your friends on your case. None of them will allow you to fail. Our little guy is going to have three amazing Aunties and an amazing Uncle.”
Elijah refused to give Wade or Dale the credit of an Uncle. The two men were fighting over Connie, and it was starting to get ugly. The last time she saw both men was over a week ago when they were both sporting black eyes and bruised lips. Connie looked heartbroken.
What concerned Amber more was Ashley. Their friend had become withdrawn from them as a group. She knew it had something to do with Jonathan, but she never wanted to pry.
She took hold of his hand and rested his palm on her stomach. They could do this together. They’d fought each other for a long time, but now, nothing was standing in their way.
There was still something she needed to tell Elijah.
The sound of her apartment door opening cut through their moment.
“I fucking hate that bastard. I swear, Amber, I’m going to cut his cock off and feed it to him,” Ashley said. Her voice was loud as it travelled through to the bedroom.
Elijah helped her out of the bed, and together they made their way toward the kitchen. “I thought you locked the door after getting the mail,” Amber said.
“I fucking forgot. I think we should be fucking in the living room, and it might stop her coming in,” he said.
“I doubt it. She’d wait until we finished.”
They found Ashley pounding at their chicken fillets that Elijah had bought for dinner. The meat was covered in cling film, and Ashley was holding a rolling pin.
“She looks ready to kill.”
“Keep your dick away from her,” Amber said, laughing. “What’s the matter, honey?”
Ashley looked between them. “Have you told him the truth? He looks a little pale.”
Amber looked up at Elijah.
“Why is this about me?” he asked.
Shaking her head, Amber tried to get her friend’s attention. She was hoping to break the news to him when they were alone together.