Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,106

the bag from her hands, and took out the pregnancy test.

"Are we doing this right now?" Jace asked, and Aislynn nodded. "What are the odds?"

"Very little, I think. Between your sterility and my one ovary, I think it's really a long shot. But the reality is we haven't used protection, so we have to make sure."

Jace put his arm around her and kissed her head. "I love all this we talk. Thanks for including me in this. Let's do it."

Aislynn took the test out while Jace read her the instructions, and then went to the bathroom. She set the test down on the nightstand once she came back out, and lay down in bed with him.

Now we wait.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"I'm…kind of scared," Aislynn answered and snuggled her face in his neck, taking in his comforting scent. "How about you?"

"Umm...You may want to ask me again in two minutes," he said with a nervous chuckle that made Aislynn go into a fit of giggles. It was probably an inappropriate time to be laughing, but she couldn't help it. "I'm sort of nauseated. Is it too early to have sympathy morning sickness?" he added as they lay in bed laughing, well beyond the two minutes they needed to wait for the test result to be ready.

Aislynn finally settled down and crawled on top of him. "Thanks for loving me. Thanks for being here and for not giving up on me."

"I love you, babydoc," he said and kissed her, holding her face in his hands. "You know, the fact that I'm here only proves I'm even more hardheaded than you."

"What a pair we make," Aislynn said, echoing one of his favorite phrases.

"Results?" he asked, and Aislynn reached over to the nightstand.

"It's negative," Aislynn said while showing him the stick. Jace nodded and closed his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but…I'm actually kind of disappointed," he admitted. Aislynn put the stick back on the table and hugged him.

"We have time, Jace. We have time."

"All right, everything is set up and we’re almost ready to start. How do you feel?" Ellie asked her.

"I’m freaking out, as usual. What if no one comes?" Aislynn said, hands clammy and stomach flip flopping.

She was standing by the long table set in the front of the bookstore, copies of her novel stacked all around her waiting to be signed. Lana had scheduled her for a second book tour after the success of the first one, this one spanning California, Florida, and a few cities in the northeast. Tonight’s signing event was her last stop, which was conveniently located in San Diego.

"People always show up. And you know the book is doing really well, so stop worrying. Has Lana sent you any new numbers lately?"

"No, she just said things are going better than expected. I, of course, have no idea what that means."

Aislynn thought back to everything that had happened since her return from Texas. She had dedicated all of her energy to her two main projects—writing her book and going to therapy. She had been able to concentrate on her writing and finished her book a few months after starting it. It was quickly picked up by a small publisher with an excellent reputation, and things took off from there.

Her therapist, Dr. Meyer, had extensive experience with treating other mental health professionals, and Aislynn had been able to make significant progress since she started seeing him. He was tough and pushed her in ways she didn’t anticipate. Most importantly, after getting over her visit to the Sparks and her weekly therapy sessions, she never saw Christopher again.

"Hey, here’s your tea," Jace said, handing her the hot cup. "Are these nerves ever going to go away?"

"Unlikely. I’ve done more than a dozen of these book signing events, and they all feel like the very first one. I’m just glad you guys are with me tonight. Are your parents here yet?" she asked, taking a small sip of her peppermint tea.

"Yes, they’re in the café getting some drinks, and Alex and Tessa are on their way."

"Evan had to make a stop by our place first, but he should be here soon, too," Ellie added.

Evan and Ellie had moved in together and, even though they never married, Ellie wore his great-grandmother’s ring with pride. They acted like any other happily married couple, sans the kids, and her hair was never the same color for longer than a few weeks.

"You’re going to do great. I love you, babydoc," Jace reminded her