gave it to me last night.”
“He has excellent taste in jewelry,” she signed before plating a couple pieces of French toast and setting it down in front of me.
Henry took me to the Hamptons, where we spent the weekend on a yacht. Being alone with him and away from the city on the open water where it was just the two of us was incredible. We ate, drank, had a lot of incredible sex, swam, and just enjoyed each other before we docked and before Ben and Frankie were to arrive to spend our last hours on the boat with us.
As I was laying out on the deck soaking up the warm sun, I opened my eyes and saw Henry pacing back and forth while he was on the phone. He looked angry and his lips were moving a mile a minute. I tried to make out what he was saying, but he was talking too fast. When he noticed me staring at him, he turned around and a knot formed in the pit of my belly. He obviously didn’t want me to know what he was saying, and it bothered me. After he ended the call, he placed his phone on the table.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
When he turned and looked at me, I saw the anguish all over his face.
“It’s nothing. Just a business deal that isn’t going the way I thought it would. Nothing for you to worry about. We should probably go and get dressed before we dock and Ben and Frankie show up,” he signed before walking away.
Since I’d met him, I’d never seen him upset like this. Something inside me wondered if it was more than just a bad business deal. I went down to the bedroom to change into a sundress and found Henry lying on the bed with his hands tucked behind his head. The way he stared at me gave me an uneasy feeling. I turned away and opened the closet to get out my sundress. Suddenly, I felt his hand wrap around my arm. He turned me around and pulled me into a tight embrace. I gasped at the feel as my head rested on his chest. We had hugged a million times since we’d met, but this time it felt different.
Henry
“I know you can’t hear me, but I’m so sorry,” I softly spoke as I held her tight against me. “I love you so much and I don’t want to lose you.”
She broke our embrace and our eyes met.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You know you can talk to me,” she said.
“I’m fine, Ellie. I just want to apologize for having an attitude with you earlier. I didn’t mean to.”
“You did?” She cocked her head. “I guess that’s one of the perks of dating a deaf person. We can’t hear the attitude in your voice.” The corners of her mouth curved upward and made me smile.
“I love you,” I spoke as I signed.
“I love you, too. I’m going to take a quick shower to get this suntan lotion off me before Ben and Frankie get here.” She kissed my lips.
“Okay. I’m going to change and head up on the deck.”
A sickness washed over me, and I felt like my head was going to explode. The phone call I took earlier was from Kirsten. She’d been blowing up my phone all day and when she left a message saying it was an emergency. I called her, and I never should have.
I changed my clothes and went up to the deck where the captain had just docked the boat. The chef and his crew had arrived to cook a gourmet meal for the four of us. Pouring myself a scotch, I threw it down the back of my throat and poured another one just as I heard Frankie’s voice.
“There you are,” Frankie said.
“Hey, bro. Pour me one of those.” Ben grinned.
“I need to talk to you guys, and we need to make it quick before Ellie is done getting dressed and comes up here,” I said as I handed each of them a drink.
“What’s going on?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, Henry. You don’t look so good.”
I swallowed hard as I spoke the dreaded words that would change my life forever.
“Kirsten is pregnant.”
“Damn. She sure moves fast,” Frankie said.
“Oh shit, bro. Is it yours?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, so she says.” I leaned against the railing.
“Jesus, Henry. Now what?” Frankie asked.
“How the fuck should I know?” I spoke through gritted teeth. “This ruins everything.”
“You