Undone by Her Tender Touch

“Okay, you can look now.”

They both stared at the stick on the coffee table like it was an ugly bug neither of them wanted to get close enough to squash.

Pippa’s stomach curled into a vicious knot. “You look. I don’t think I can.”

Ashley reached over and took Pippa’s hand, squeezing hard. “Just remember, that no matter what the outcome, it’ll be okay. I promise.”

Pippa nodded, then slammed her eyes shut as Ashley reached for the stick. She didn’t even want to see Ashley’s reaction. Her heart thundered until she could feel it jumping into her throat.

“Pippa,” Ashley said gently. “Open your eyes.”

Pippa cracked open her eyes to see Ashley’s solemn expression. Ashley laid the stick back onto the table, her gaze still centered on Pippa.

“What?” Pippa demanded, unable to stand it any longer. Ashley’s expression told her nothing. Nothing at all! “Am I pregnant?”

“According to the test you are,” Ashley said slowly.

Pippa deflated in a whoosh, sagging forward as she reached for the test, wanting to see the confirmation herself. It was a bit blurry and she blinked rapidly to bring it into focus.

And there it was. A big, glaring plus sign that pretty much said, Yes, you’re pregnant.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered.

Ashley looked uneasily at her. “You aren’t going to do something crazy like faint on me, are you?”

Pippa managed to close her mouth, but she was numb from head to toe. It was as if Ashley was talking from a mile away and Pippa was having this surreal out-of-body experience. The entire room seemed to slow down and become a big void of white noise.

Pregnant.

With Cam’s baby.

Mr. I Don’t Do Relationships.

Mr. I Won’t Call You.

As screwups went, this one was epic.

She closed her eyes again and groaned. “What am I going to do, Ash? Cam is going to freak. He gave me this long speech about how he didn’t do commitment, it was just sex, blah, blah, blah. A baby is definitely a commitment.”

“Take a few days. Let yourself come to terms with the shock. Then talk to Cam,” Ashley advised.

“I need to talk to him now.”

Ashley frowned. “Pip, you’re upset. You aren’t thinking rationally. The last thing you need is to go up against Cam. He can be … He’s intense, okay? He’ll bulldoze over you.”

“No one’s going to bulldoze me. I need to talk to him now. Other than me, this affects him the most. He deserves to know so he can start planning accordingly. It’s not like I’m going to wait a week and then suddenly decide not to tell him. The result will be the same no matter when I talk to him, so why wait? Besides, he’s been blowing up my phone for weeks now. No sense holding off any longer.”

Ashley sighed. “I just don’t want you to make any impulsive decisions. He can be persuasive. That’s a nice term for it. He can be ruthless.”

“I can hold my own with him. I’m not afraid. This is as much his problem as it is mine. I’ll be damned if I spend the next week agonizing over my future alone. If I suffer, so can he.”

A laugh escaped Ashley and her eyes danced merrily. “Okay, you just convinced me that he won’t rip you to shreds and have you for dinner.”

“Damn right he won’t,” Pippa muttered. “If he even tries, he won’t ever have to worry about fathering another child.”

Ashley laughed again and then impulsively leaned over to hug Pippa. “You know, this is going to be just fine, Pip. We’ll be pregnant together for a little while at least. Devon and I will do anything we can to help, and you have Tabitha, Carly and Sylvia. Oh, and my mother. She views you as another daughter, and when she finds out you’re pregnant, look out. She’ll have you packed in so much bubble wrap you won’t be able to breathe.”

Pippa grinned. “I love your mama.”

“And she loves you.”

Pippa sighed and then rose from the couch. “Not to be rude, Ash, but I need to do this before I end up losing my nerve. I just want to get it over with so I don’t have to live with unnecessary stress.”