His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,17
good. Cathartic.
Things would be okay, Diane realized. No matter what reaction Kai had to the pregnancy, she would move forward with her life and make things as good as possible for herself and the baby. There was always a brighter tomorrow.
With that in mind, the creative block Diane had been experiencing all morning lifted. After Brie left, she picked up her tools and got to work.
Chapter 8
Diane
The next morning, Kai called as she was walking out the front door.
“Good morning,” he purred into the phone.
Tingles went down her back. He had to have the sexiest voice in the world.
“Good morning.” She smiled and shouldered her purse. “How are you?”
“Missing you. I’m really looking forward to coming home tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait to see you.” She bit her lip, equal parts nervous and excited. She’d imagined telling Kai about the baby several times, using different words in each version. Each daydream had made her terrified.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m about to go into the coffee shop near my place, and then I’m headed to yours. I think I finally have a design. Do you want to see the sketch before I start?”
“Absolutely not,” he said, without a moment’s hesitation. “That’s part of the fun of this whole thing. Seeing what you give birth to.”
She nearly tripped over her feet.
“Diane?”
“I’m here.” She cleared her throat. “Okay, so, uh, see you when you get back.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, totally.” She stopped in front of the coffee shop and caught her breath. “Text me later.”
“Of course. Have a great day.”
“You, too, Kai. Bye.”
The call hadn’t been ended for three seconds when her phone started ringing again. This time it was her dad.
She briefly considered not answering. She really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone and just wanted to get painting.
Not answering was never an option, though. He could need Diane. Her mom could need her.
“Hey,” she said, walking into the coffee shop. As fortune had it, somehow there was no line. “Can you hold on for one second, Dad?”
She put him on mute and ordered a latte. As she opened her wallet, though, she noticed her driver’s license wasn’t there. It lived in the same spot every day, next to the pocket that held her credit cards.
Her stomach dropped, but she told herself not to worry about it and pulled out the cash to pay for the coffee, then went to the end of the bar to wait for the drink.
“What’s up?” she asked, taking the call off mute.
“I want to talk to you about something.”
She went cold inside. “Is Mom okay?”
“What? Yes. Of course.”
“Okay.” She sighed in relief.
“But it is related to her,” he said. “Do you remember when I mentioned Florida?”
She felt her brow furrow. “Do you mean…”
“Retiring and moving there.”
“I thought that you were kidding.” She laughed, but there was no humor in the sound.
“I wasn’t. I’ve been thinking more and more about it lately. Selling the company, taking Mom down south. It would be good for her.”
Diane tried to imagine that life. Where did she fit into it?
“And what about me?” she asked.
“Honey, you’d be welcome to come with us. You know that.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. Hearing that made her feel better.
If her parents moved out of state, would she want to go?
What a great question.
Used to be, there was a time when she couldn’t imagine her life without them. That was starting to change, though. She’d be a mother soon, and possibly in a more serious relationship with Kai.
Plus, her work contacts and reputation were in New York. She’d spent years building those things up.
But the thought of being away from her parents was a knife to the heart. Even if she had a family of her own, she’d long desperately for her mother.
“I’m seriously considering it now,” he said. “But I want to take a little more time to mull it over.”
“It’s a big change,” she murmured, not sure what to do other than state the obvious.
“What time are you coming over today?” he asked.
“Uh…” She bit her lip. It was Sunday, and she’d never promised to stop by her parents’ house that day.
Then again, she couldn’t remember the last time a day had gone by without her walking through their front door.
“Can you come now?” he asked.
Diane closed her eyes, watching another day where she could have been working on Kai’s mural fly by.
“Yeah,” she said. “I can come now.”
“See you soon.”
He hung up before she even had a chance to say goodbye.