Rock Wedding (Rock Kiss #4) - Nalini Singh Page 0,48
body clenched.
Slapping at her cheeks hard enough that it stung, Sarah told herself to snap out of it, to remember that, most of the time, she’d been alone and miserable in this room and in this house. She’d eaten more meals by herself at the freestanding counter than she ever had with Abe.
Turning to the coffeemaker on that sobering thought, she saw it was an easy one to operate, using the prepackaged little pods. She found those pods in the cabinet directly above the coffeemaker.
Abe reaching over her head to grab something for her. “Here you go, Shortness.”
Fighting the assault of memory, of the only time in her life when she had actually felt short, she grabbed the pods and shut the cabinet door. Then she concentrated on choosing what kind of a coffee to make for herself, and, after that, on how to work the machine perfectly.
Having already brewed a half-strength cappuccino for herself, she’d just finished making an espresso for Abe when he walked in. From the fresh soap scent of him, he’d had a quick shower before he changed into crisp blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a V-neck. The tee pulled across his chest, hugged his biceps.
And her stomach, it wanted to flip again.
“Thanks.” He picked up the espresso and threw it down his throat like the liquid wasn’t even hot.
He’d always done that—and she’d always winced, just like now.
Looking away, she took more careful sips of her coffee while nerves began to twist and knot in her gut. “You want another one?” Abe had always loved espresso.
“I can do it.” He moved to the machine, got it started before turning to her. “You look good in that dress.”
Sarah could feel color rising to her cheeks, hoped her skin tone hid it. “Um, thanks.” She’d learned how to dress herself as a businesswoman by looking up articles online. Before that, she’d been all short, ass-hugging skirts and glittery tops, the perfect rock-star groupie. Not that there was anything wrong with that look—Sarah still liked to pull out her glittery tops now and then—but it had never quite been her.
“I guess I finally found my style,” she added when Abe didn’t say anything further, his eyes lingering on her curves with open appreciation.
Her nipples ached.
Frustrated with herself and her susceptibility to this rock star who’d never loved her, she put her cup on the black marble of the freestanding counter in the center of the kitchen. “We might have a problem.”
Abe raised an eyebrow in a silent question as he leaned back against the counter opposite where she stood, his hands braced behind him.
“I missed my period.”
CHAPTER 17
HER WORDS FELL LIKE a bomb into the silence of the kitchen. Suddenly the ticking clock on the wall was all she could hear, each movement of the second hand a jagged, bright sound that scraped across her already raw nerves.
“It’s probably nothing. I’m probably just late… only, I’m never late,” she said past the slightly sick feeling in her gut. Having this conversation with Abe, it was a nightmare repeating itself. “I wasn’t lying about being on the pill. I did everything right this time!” She’d made sure to take the pill like clockwork, having no intention of ever again falling pregnant. Not after Aaron. “But I was on the final day of some antibiotics for—”
“Sarah.” Abe strode forward to grip her gently on her upper arms. “I know you didn’t lie about being on the pill.”
“Right, okay.” She nodded her head like a marionette. “I just didn’t want you to think I’d been trying to trap you or anything.” Her body began to shake. “I can’t do it, Abe. I can’t be pregnant again. I can’t.” She’d lost two babies already, her womb an apparently hostile place.
“Hey, hey.” Abe drew her close, but she couldn’t allow herself to rely on him. Not when he’d thrown her away so easily. Not when he’d forgotten her in a heartbeat.
Wrenching back, she touched a trembling hand to her face. “It might just be stress-related.” Sarah hoped that was it. “But I can’t face going to the doctor alone.” Yet instead of calling one of her friends for the needed moral support, she’d come straight to Abe.
She couldn’t explain why except that her head had started spinning when she’d realized she was late enough for it to matter, and the spinning hadn’t stopped since. Her brain clearly wasn’t firing on all cylinders. “What was I thinking? You can’t come with me.