“Bloody hell.” I rush to assist her and she puts her hands up in annoyance. I’m fine. I can do it. Please don’t turn into your brother-in-law.”
Smirking at her exasperated expression I look at her lovely face, similar to my own in so many ways yet so markedly different - bless if I’m tired at only 7 weeks, she must be shattered. We natter about The Maldives and Dubai and the nursery plans and I prepare the tea and assist her down again from her perch and then we take the brews back up to the sofas, where she can settle in more comfortably.
Her big brown eyes grow bigger with her next words. “So, tell me where, Mr. Gorgeous took you?”
“The Cinema.”
“Really - hmmph I thought it would be more exciting than that? I’m surprised you two made it out of the car the way he was eating you up with his eyes.”
I smile fondly. “He booked it out for us. There was no one there, Suze. Just him and I, oh and … Mickey Rourke.”
Her confused brow raise makes me laugh. “He wasn’t there in real form, he was on the big screen getting down and very dirty with Kim Basinger.”
Her mouth forms a big O’ and she nods in respect. “That guy has moves I’ll give him that. You can’t beat a bit of soft porn on the big screen to get a girl excited.”
He certainly does. “I fucked things up though..”
She looks up concerned. How so?”
“He wanted to go eat - I really needed to talk to him about something, something important and I chickened out. His sexy smile and charm taking my mind off my end goal and then I just felt… well it wasn’t the right time.”
“What… to tell him that you’re pregnant?” she casually takes a sip of her tea, appraising me coolly over the rim.
Jesus! “Suzie? What the hell are you talking about?” Oh Shit!
“Oh, come on! I’ve been waiting for you to ring and tell me since Gino saw you at the clinic yesterday, but when you didn’t I figured you were going to tell Seb first - tonight.”
Was it that obvious? “How did you know?”
“Well I didn’t need to be Einstein to figure it out that the clinic yesterday was only for maternity but to be honest Lu, you had that accident a month or so back and Abby said you’d been nauseous in Dubai…”
Did everyone know?
“Please don’t say anything to ANYONE, Suze — I mean it - I need to tell Seb first. He has to hear it from me. OK?”
“Of course. What are you going to do, hun? Are you happy? Shocked? Devastated? All of the above?”
I let out a huge gush of breath and suddenly feel like a weight has been lifted, maybe talking about it with my sister is the best thing to do?
“I’m not sure. I mean I’m happy of course I am. I love him - and I’d love to have his baby but…”
“It’s all very soon.”
“So soon.”
She uncrosses her legs and stands to come join me on my sofa, slipping an arm across my shoulders and drawing me to her. “Look, what will be will be. You’re right you need to talk to Seb and see where you two stand but I know how that man looks at you and he loves you, so I know he’ll support you. You will get through this.”
I lean my head into her strength, grateful for her words, even if I’m not sure of them. “I’m not unsure of his love for me, Suze. He just doesn’t want kids.”
“Has he told you that? He loves Finn, I find that hard to believe, he’s so good with them.”
“No - he told me in The Maldives, even before I realised I was expecting, that kids weren’t an option for us in our future. He seemed adamant but never gave me a reason why. We have Finn and that is enough for him, he said - for us.”
I glance to Suzie’s face, where I can see clear understanding now of my reluctance to jump in to announce to Sebastian my condition. “Either way you just need to rip it off, babe - get some sleep tonight, then see him tomorrow and tell him, before someone else does.”
I push back from her in annoyance.
“It won’t be me, I promise, but these things have a way of coming out when you least expect them to and are least prepared.”
I know she’s right.
She kisses my head and we smile at each other. “It’s too soon but wouldn’t it be nice to think we’d be pregnant together, babe.”
I can’t think that far ahead but I nod weakly. My head is fuzzy, like it’s full of cotton wool.
“How many weeks are you?”
“7!”
“And all looks good.”
“Yes.”
“Well that’s a positive in this mess. After you took that morning after pill, I was little worried.”