The Entanglement Clause ✓

Chapter 8, part 2

She was a ticking time bomb. At some point, an alarm would sound and her lies would burst out into the world. It rubbed her the wrong way that her child could be thought of as a lie, but Emmie could only deny reality for so long. An omission of the truth was still a lie of sorts.

It wasn't just Emmie who was dwelling on this subject as of late. Trisha reminded her of it on a slow day at work, when a particularly torrential downpour seemed to be keeping most of Iola's customers away. Delton was out sick and so Trisha manned the skillet while Emmie kept up with the few orders coming through.

"I can't believe you're not showing already, Emmie. It's just a matter of time, you know. You're three months along!"

Emmie didn't need to be told that. Gestational dates leapt out of her brain nearly every morning; twelve weeks, six days. Thirteen weeks. And today, thirteen weeks, three days. It was true that Emmie's belly had yet to move much beyond the gentle curve it had held prior to her pregnancy, though she had noticed other subtle shifts in her body. Her backside, in particular, seemed to have filled out. She'd almost fallen off the bed the other day when Ryker, who was in the perfect position to observe this part of her anatomy, had mentioned something about it being even more luscious than he remembered.

"So, have you told Sam yet?"

"Hmm?" Emmie was shaken out of what was an alarming but not entirely unpleasant memory. "Oh... Sam. No, I haven't mentioned it."

"Mentioned it? Emmie!" Trisha hit her playfully on the shoulder. "You have to! Poor guy, the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be."

"I know."

"And better that you tell him now rather than wait until he undresses you one day and discovers it because you grew a baby bump overnight."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"Actually, it's exactly how it works, and it's exactly what's going to happen unless you grow a pair and tell him."

Emmie sighed. "I'm aware that I'll have to say something if our relationship continues, but... I don't really think it's going to go anywhere."

Trisha didn't seem convinced. "You keep telling yourself that, Hun. But if it seems at any point that it is going somewhere besides Splitsville, just woman-up and tell him. If he's a halfway decent guy, he'll take it well."

"Take it well? 'Hey, we've been involved for a month and it sort of slipped my mind until now, but guess what? I'm pregnant. Don't worry, though, it's not yours.'" Emmie shook her head. "Honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to see me again."

"Well, I would blame him. I bet he'll be more understanding than you think."

"Just... don't go looking for china patterns for us, okay?"