Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 107(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
“Good evening, Mrs. Sutton. Thank you for having me for dinner.” Turning, I greet Jude Blackstone, Owner of the Blackstone Bank Corp. The only one in the town and according to Jasper, they absorbed the national debt. He says that makes them richer than Musk. Whatever that means.
“You are welcome. Jasper is out back at the grill. Will you be having the stew or would you like steak?”
“If you are so obliged ma'am, a steak would be fine.” Nodding I grab another one from the refrigerator and hand it to him.
“Take it to Jasper so he can cook it up for you. Dinner will be in fifteen minutes.” He nods his head, but I see his eyes glued to Hannah while she sets the table. I have a feeling she can feel him staring at her, but she refuses to look up. He licks his lips and walks slowly to the back before I hear the door close.
“Is it me or was Mister Blackstone trying to imagine our Hannah naked or something?” Lavinia says, giggling and elbowing Hannah,
“He was not,” Hannah protests, but her cheeks are so red it looks like she has been slapped.
“I definitely sensed something coming from him,” I answer them while I am placing the silverware on the table.
“Baby, is everything ready?” Jasper comes back in with the steaks and our guest.
“Yes it is.”
“Great. Us men are going to wash our hands and then we will be ready.”
Dinner is uneventful but filled with conversation. “So Hannah, I understand you like to sew.” She looks at him shocked and then drops her head blushing.
“Yes. I mostly make customized quilts and blankets and such.”
“That sounds interesting. I would love to see some. Maybe feel the fabric.” Weeks ago, I would have heard that statement exactly as it was said. However now, having indulged in the things a man and woman do to one another that my people say is immoral and unholy, I can hear everything he is not saying in that comment and oh boy, I hope she is ready for him because I think Jude Blackstone has chosen his bride.
Chapter Fifteen
Jasper
One Month Later
I open my eyes to a strange sound. Blindly, I feel around the left side of the bed for Sadie, but find nothing but a warm, empty space. The noise happens again and I’m out of bed in the next second. I stride naked into the bathroom and find Sadie, also naked, on her knees in front of the toilet. She’s violently throwing up and I fucking hate that she’s sick.
“Ugh, go away, Jas. Please. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“What? No way, baby. Let me help you,” I say, grabbing a face cloth from the basket on the counter and getting it wet with cold water. I place it on forehead as she looks up at me.
“It’s just food poisoning. It must be the pizza from last night,” she says before heaving again. I crouch down beside her and rub her back.
“I don’t think so, baby. You’ve been sick for the last three mornings.”
“I know, but it’s got to be food poisoning.”
“Think about it, Sadie. Sick in the morning, it subsides almost as soon as you are done. Then you’re starving. You also haven’t had a period since we started having sex.”
“You think I’m pregnant?”
“I do, baby. Let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll go into Charleston to get a test. We could go to the general store once they open, but if we do that, everyone in town will know in a matter of minutes.”
“I can’t be, but we should get a test just to be sure,” she says, standing up. She walks over to the sink and brushes her teeth and hair. I help her get dressed and then we’re on the road. It’s still early, barely seven, so I head for the pharmacy on McCorkle Street and wait the twenty minute until they open. We go in together and buy two different tests and head back home.
While the tests are running, we end up making love on the bathroom floor. What is it about the possibility of her being pregnant that makes me so fucking hard?
The timer on her cell phone goes off and she reaches up onto the counter and pulls the plastic stick down. She breaks out into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. She looks so fucking gorgeous right now. Lips swollen, hair wild, and so happy, she’s already glowing.
“It’s positive, isn’t it?” I ask, because surely that’s it. Surely she wants that too.
“Yes!” she squeals, dropping the test on the floor and hurling herself back into my arms.
“Thank fuck,” I growl before kissing every inch of her body.
She’s made me the happiest man in the whole damn world. It’s only going to get better from here.