Scowling, Abe said, “No one’s taking photos of the peanut.”
Sarah nodded firmly.
“Leave it to me,” Thea said, tone steely. “Shark, remember?”
Fully trusting Thea to take care of that situation when it arose, Sarah turned to Abe after they ended the call. “Are you mad?”
“About the photo?” He shook his head. “You’re right. It was going to get out, and this way at least it was a fan excited about the news rather than someone out to make a buck.”
And she realized he really didn’t care that the photo had exposed his heart to the world. Because while his hand had been on the bump, he’d been looking into Sarah’s eyes in that shot. No one could miss the tenderness in his expression, the potent love that underlay it.
Marry me again.
Sarah parted her lips, closed them before speaking the words that wanted to escape, fear having taken a clawed grip around her heart. Too happy, she was too happy. And it had only been just over six months. Half a year.
It could still all go horribly wrong.
Her baby could die.
Abe could fall back into addiction.
Life could shatter.
CHAPTER 35
TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SUDDEN STAB of panic that had terrified her and nothing had gone wrong—though Sarah couldn’t quite forget the fear, the scars life had left on her psyche far too deep. She kept reminding herself that their baby was perfectly healthy with a strong heartbeat, while Abe and Sarah, they were an interwoven unit. He pretended to snore when she went to do her business paperwork, but more often than not, he’d play his keyboard to keep her company.
That keyboard now had a permanent spot in her house, but they also went over to the music room at his place several times a week so he could play the piano or jam with the guys. Sarah usually spent the time catching up on her own work, and if Lola or one of the other women was free, they’d meet for lunch out by the pool.
Abe hadn’t brought up where they’d live after the baby was born and neither had Sarah. She adored the home she’d created, but quite aside from being much bigger, his place was far more secure. If she did move in there, Sarah thought, she’d be bringing her furniture and artwork.
No more blending into the woodwork like she had last time around.
“You look like a warrior about to go into battle,” Abe said as she began to climb the ladder of the private jet that was to be their ride to Bali.
Sarah glanced over her shoulder. “I was telling myself I’m a business mogul now and I need to act like it.”
Abe bowed from the waist. “Boy toy at your service.”
Her fear pushed away by a deep wave of love, she smiled and continued into the plane. Noah and Kit had entered just before them, and the four of them chatted as they grabbed their seats and settled in.
They were the only ones on this flight.
Fox and Molly had left a week earlier, as Thea wanted her sister to spend time with her family. David, of course, had gone with Thea.
“I’m so glad the morning sickness subsided in time for this and that Dr. Snyder cleared the trip,” she said to Abe after they were underway. “I would’ve been so bummed to miss David and Thea’s wedding.”
“Yeah, me too.” Abe’s response was absentminded, his attention on the magazine he was reading. “Bastard would’ve held it over me forever too.”
Sarah just stared. The two of them had missed Charlotte and Gabriel’s wedding because she’d been shaky with her pregnancy not past the first trimester, but this was another matter altogether. David had been Abe’s best friend since they were thirteen. But it was clear that Abe was serious. He’d have missed his best friend’s wedding had she still been feeling like crap. He’d put her first. Again.
This man would never again leave her behind while he went on tour.
Swallowing rapidly, she turned to face the window, the plane pillowed on fluffy white clouds. It felt like she had wings of her own, lifted aloft by the emotions inside her. The fear wasn’t dead, would remain until she held their happy, healthy baby in her arms, but the hope that had been dented by that fear? It was back, and it was glorious.
BALI WAS AN EXPLOSION OF GREENERY, huge flowers, lavish scents, and heavy humidity. Living in Los Angeles meant Sarah was more than ready for the heat. It was the humidity that took some getting used to, but the baby seemed to like it well enough after a day settling in.
“You’re just like your brother, you know that?” she whispered to the peanut a couple of days after their arrival as she stood on the balcony of the lovely little hotel Thea had arranged for the closest friends and family. “He kicked like a champion too.”