In Sickness and in Wealth (8 page)

"Is that a command?"

I nodded. "It is."

"Then yes. I'll make a point of it. I wouldn't dare travel and miss the first birthday I've ever had a girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" I shook my head. "And here I thought I was your wife."

He laughed.

"Speaking of wives, let's go away for our three months together. Just for a week or so. I'll be healed by then. The fall retail season will have barely begun. The weather will still be good."
And I won't be big as a beach ball yet
. "My big sample sale for the hospital will be over. It's perfect timing."

"When's the sale again?" Jus asked with a tease.

"September fourth." I kicked him playfully. Yes, sometimes I was violent.

He could hardly
not
remember the date of the sale. I reminded him of it constantly, warning him not to go out of town for Flash's, and my, big event. It was his duty, and Riggins', to attend.

"I'll look at my calendar."

I smiled at him, thinking I would get him something special for three months together. Like a wedding cake topper with a bearded groom. I could have one specially made to look like him. Maybe one of those 3-D printing places.

J
ustin

Friday at work I was alone in my office, head down working, when I got a text from a restricted number. My heart stopped. How sweet. A selfie of the girl I married. The ID-thieving bitch. In my hotel room. Sitting next to me, her head turned, while I was passed out on the bed, a marriage license next to me. She was smart. Still smart enough, at least, not to send me a picture of her face. But she'd made a mistake. This picture was from a different angle than the other two Dex and I had.

Let's talk,
the text read
.

Not yet,
I thought
. Not until I have you where I want you.

Adrenaline kicked in. My heart thumped back into action. My pulse raced. The phone shook in my hand. I blew out a breath, trying to control my excitement. Was that what I thought it was?

I enlarged the photo. Yes, identifying marks. A couple of small scars. And the shape of her left eye. People's faces aren't ever symmetrical. One eye is always larger or smaller than the other. Deeper set. Droopier. The same with the mouth and nose. Each half is slightly different. Having the measurements of both sides makes getting a match much more likely. Now we could extrapolate the distance between her eyes, a key measurement we needed. Get a more accurate measurement of the length of her nose. All the data we needed to find her.

I'd just won the spying lottery. Eager and excited. Thrill of the hunt. Could she use this picture to destroy me? I'd bet my lunch money running it through an error-level analyzer would prove it was authentic and unaltered. Too bad for her it didn't prove anything except we'd been in a hotel room together. If she'd acted on this earlier when I'd been unsure of Kay and the existence of surveillance tape, then yeah. But now, as long as Kay swore
she
was the girl at my wedding, I was safe. Dex and I were already implementing a plan that would render the Kay imposter powerless. I just needed a little more time.

Ophie knocked on my office door. I jumped.

"Sorry to startle you, Jus." She'd started calling me Jus after realizing that was what Kayla called me. And putting a flirty flip in her voice at every opportunity.

I should have corrected her. Told her to call me Justin. But after all this time working together, I refused to turn into alpha asshole boss on her now. She'd been with me since the beginning. I gave her more leeway than anyone else. Even Riggins was more formal with me than Ophie. She was treading close to the edge of her line. I hoped I didn't have to rein her in.

"Riggins needs to see you immediately."

Her perfume wafted over to me. Was she wearing Kay's signature scent? It smelled slightly different on her. Not as enticing. What the shit was Ophie up to?

"He asked me to ask you to bring the Smithson presentation and the drawings for the Reno warehouse expansion. He's in his office."

I couldn't criticize her work. She was as efficient, dedicated, and loyal as she had always been. She practically begged to work late hours with me, even when I tried to send her home. Since I'd married Kayla, Ophie had gradually started fixing up more. Wearing more makeup. Dressing in skirts. Getting fashion advice from the merch buyers on the floor. Trying to look a little too similar to Kay. And failing to match her allure.

I preferred the old way Ophie looked. It was funky, nerdy, and cute. I didn't dare tell her that. She took any compliment from me the wrong way—as encouragement. And any criticism of appearance as devastation.

If her familiarity and flirting with me continued, Riggins would have to talk to her. Anything coming from me was a landmine.

The hunger and betrayal in her eyes when she thought I wasn't looking sent a chill down my spine. But there was no way any boss could bring up a look in a woman's eyes as grounds for speaking to an employee. Not without getting his ass sued.

I nodded. "Tell him I'll be right there."

I set my phone down and dug through the paperwork to find the plans Riggins wanted. I grabbed then and my laptop, and headed to find Riggins. I was halfway to his office when I realized I'd left my phone on my desk. I turned around to go back and get it.

Ophie was walking down the hall behind me, holding my phone out to me. "Jus! Hold up. You forgot this!"

Her smile was almost smug. As I took it from her, I couldn't shake the feeling she was spying on me. Damn. My phone was password protected. There was no way she could have read that text from Dex.

K
ayla

I was going to throw Jus a small party. Just a few close friends and family. My parents would want to spend Justin's first birthday as their son-in-law with him. I'd invite my aunt and uncle; Dex's parents, too. Riggins, Lazer, Dex. Britt and a few of the girls to round out the party.

I called caterers and ordered the colorblind correction glasses for Justin in a style of frame I hoped would accentuate the shape and structure of his face. Make him look bookishly nerdy and hot. I ordered a cake from the bakery up the street from Flash.

And then I got a flash of inspiration—ha ha—on how to tell him about the baby. But I needed Britt's help. So between planning like crazy for the benefit sample sale, and stopping by the children's hospital for my weekly visit, I had to take Britt into my confidence.

I took her out to lunch in Bellevue on a Saturday afternoon, far away from Flash so no one we knew would overhear. The media had stopped lurking behind every bush now that the novelty of our marriage had worn off. I wanted to tell her my news in person without a chance of Jus overhearing.

"You are sworn to absolute secrecy." I pointed a finger at her. "On penalty of…of—"

"Of what? Taking back the shoes I borrowed?" Britt laughed. "You're never getting those adorable Jimmy Choos back anyway, and you know it. You can afford a new pair."

She'd lost her awe of me being a billionaire's wife surprisingly quickly. And was right back to being the old Britt who flipped me crap when she wanted. And wasn't good at returning things.

"I'm going to have a baby!" It felt so good to blurt it out to someone I actually knew.

She squealed and hugged me and got a happy tear in her eye. "You took my advice and got pregnant ASAP! Smart girl! Justin is now yours for life. Child support, baby! Child support as insurance should anything go wrong!"

I shook my head. "I knew you'd say that, Britt. You're evil. It's not like that at all."

I was unconsciously playing with my napkin, nervously wringing it. "This wasn't planned. It was an accident." I bit my lip. "I'm worried about how Jus is going to take it."

"He's crazy for you. Walks around with a big grin at the office all the time. Thinks he's a stud now that he's caught you. He's going to be the proudest dad ever. And if he isn't? So what! It's indisputably his, right?"

"You have to ask?" I tried not to sound as indignant as I felt. "Of course it is!"

"Well," she said with a look of the world on her face. "You seemed to have a thing for Lazer going on for a while there."

I waved off her insinuation. "Like I would cheat on Jus!"

Which, of course, I might have in the early days. But that felt like ancient history already.

Britt shrugged. "Jus is yours now. And so is the baby. He's going to have to deal with it."

She sighed deeply and happily. Smugly. "I hope it's a girl, Lala. A pretty blond little girl who looks like you! Justin will adore her. And we'll have so much fun dressing her. She can call me Aunty Britt. I mean, she doesn't have any real aunts, does she?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. Not until Justin's brothers marry."

"I'll be long established as her favorite aunt long before that." Her smile was radiant.

Just then Ophie came around the corner from the direction of the ladies' room. Had she been hiding behind a potted palm and eavesdropping or what? My heart stopped as she approached our table and gave us a big, fake smile.

"Kayla! Britt! Funny running into you here." She seemed both nervous and excited.

I smiled cautiously back at her. "Ophie. What brings you to our part of town?"

"Shopping. For my mom's birthday."

Something about the way she said "birthday" gave me a chill. Ophie lived across the lake in Seattle. Where there was plenty of shopping. Yes, we had the Bravern in Bellevue, with Neiman Marcus and other high-end shops. But it wasn't as if she couldn't have found something in Seattle. We made uncomfortable, stilted small talk for a few minutes before she excused herself.

"I was just on my way out," she said. "Say hi to Jus for me." She gave a little, awkward wave and walked away.

I watched her disappear out the door into the sunshine and suppressed a shudder. "Why do I feel like someone's walked on my grave every time I see her? How is she at work? Still panting after Jus?"

Britt was my spy.

She shrugged. "She thought he was hers. So, yeah. She follows him around like a puppy dog."

I frowned. "I wish I could insist Jus fire her. But he has no grounds and he's fond of her." I grimaced. "And loyal to those who've been loyal to him. Why do I get the feeling she's spying on me? That this 'accidental' meeting was anything but. I wouldn't put it past her to have been skulking around the corner with a cup to her ear. Do you think she overheard anything about the baby?"

Britt shook her head. "How could she? No. It's too noisy in here. She was in the bathroom."

"Supposedly." I stirred my coffee.

"No. We played it cool. There's no way she heard anything. And even if she did, she wouldn't be cheeky enough to spill the news to Justin. What would she have to gain by that?"

But I was thinking about Lazer, too. And what damage she could do with that.

K
ayla

In mid-August in Seattle, the days are suddenly noticeably shorter. The shadows are longer. And the marine air, better known as clouds or fog to everyone else, comes in in the mornings, giving a preview of fall and keeping the days cooler.

Justin's birthday, however, dawned clear and blue. With the promise of heat. I took the clear sunshine and blue skies as a good omen. I was telling him about the baby today. Enough of secrets. Things had to be out in the open if we had any chance of making it as a "married" couple. And this secret wasn't going away.

My doctor had proclaimed I had a healthy pregnancy. All signs pointed to it continuing. Even my fall and bruised ribs hadn't hurt my developing baby. My growing fetus was one tough cookie. Which pleased me in an odd way.

I was going to be showing soon. Already my waist was growing thicker. I'd been able to pass it off as coming from inactivity while I healed. But my bruises were almost gone now. Faint hints of yellow and green. And Jus was getting worried that I was still so tired and didn't seem to have much appetite.

Fortunately, I'd only actually hurled on a few inconvenient times. I'd been able to hide my nausea and cravings pretty thoroughly.

So, with ten million dollars on the line, and most importantly my heart and future happiness, I was going to tell my "husband," whom I'd grown to love beyond reason, that he was going to be a father. In the most adorable way I could think of. And, okay, I gave up. It did involve giving him a peed-on wand with two pink bars he'd likely think were gray. If not for my other gift to him. As a last resort, really.

I'd given Magda the morning off. Which she only grudgingly took when I let her put a breakfast feast for Jus in the fridge the night before. With cooking instructions for me to stick in the oven.

I got up early, before Jus, and set the table, complete with presents. And put the breakfast casserole and monkey bread Magda had left for us in the ovens.

I was just putting the finishing touches on the table when Jus strolled in from the bedroom in his boxers, rubbing his eyes. Half naked, he looked hot. I don't know. Love makes a person more attractive, not less. So maybe Jus still was a little nerdy. But that didn't dim his hotness and appeal. Not in my eyes.

My pulse was leaping with nerves. My stomach in a knot. I hoped this would turn into another "inconvenient rush to the toilet" situation.

"Happy birthday!" I ran to him and threw myself into his arms.

He caught me in a hug and kissed me. "Best birthday ever already! You must be feeling better. You don't wince anymore when I hug you."

"That's just because I love you and think you're totally hot, golden birthday boy," I teased.

"And before I was just a geek," he said with a grin. His dick was hard as he pressed against me.

"An adorable geek who just needed a simple makeover to bring out his real animal magnetism." I kissed him again quickly and tried to pull away.

"Where are you going? Don't tease me. It's customary for the birthday guy to get a birthday boink." His eyes were dark and aroused.

"Absolutely! But there's disagreement among authorities on the subject exactly when during the day is optimum. Mine say after breakfast." I pulled away from him as the oven timer went off, thinking he might refuse that boink after he got the news.

"Hard woman." He saw the table then. "Wow! A birthday table! Is all that for me?" He inhaled deeply. "It smells good in here. Is that monkey bread?" He rubbed his hands together.

I grabbed the oven mitts, put the casserole on the table, and dumped the monkey bread onto a plate. "It is indeed. Your mom said monkey bread has been your favorite since you were little. And it's tradition to make it for you on your birthday."

He was beaming as he took a seat at the table. "Look at these presents."

Yeah. Look at them. I hoped he was still as excited about them once he opened them. I'd pulled out all the stops for this birthday and daddy-to-be reveal. No matter how it went, it was all I could do. I'd done my absolute best.

I poured him a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and made him a cup of coffee, acting like a domestic goddess as I floated around the kitchen in my silk shorty robe, matching nightgown, and open-toe kitten-heel slippers with feathers across the straps, all in Justin's favorite blue. Which he confused for violet or lavender.

Somehow, I made it through breakfast. Though nerves on top of morning sickness was not fun.

Jus laughed at me. "You're more excited for this birthday than I am."

"I'm just eager for you to open your presents!"

He looked at the small pile of them. "At breakfast? Then I won't have anything to open later."

"You'll have plenty to open later from everyone else." I bit my lip and clenched my hands in my lap to keep them from shaking. "I wanted you to open the gifts from me while we're alone."

"Oh." His eyes lit up with the wrong idea. "In that case, what's first?"

I pointed to the package with the colorblind correction glasses. He opened it, teasingly, slowly, taking great care with the wrapping.

"Just get on with it, Jus! You're not an old lady."

He started folding the wrapping paper like he was going to save it for later and reuse it.

"Jus!" I practically screamed at him. I was so nervous and jumpy. "Stop teasing. We can afford to buy new wrapping paper. You're just being obnoxious."

When he finally got the package open, he pulled the glasses out and stared at them with a puzzled look. "Sunglasses?"

It was clear he didn't understand my excitement. The lenses were light gray. It was easy to confuse them for sunglasses.

I shook my head. "Colorblind correction glasses." I clapped. "What do you give the guy who has everything? The gift of color!"

He frowned, clearly at war with himself. He obviously didn't want to disappoint me by being disappointed with my gift. But he clearly wasn't thrilled. "Kay—"

"I know. I know. You like seeing the world the way you do. But I have a reason for giving them to you. Trust me. I'm hoping the way they change the color of your world will be a good thing. It's never wrong to try to see the world from a different perspective, is it?"

"You've become philosophical now?" He looked both amused and bemused.

"Just open the next one." I pointed, feeling like I was about to toss my cookies—or monkey bread, in this case. Everything hinged on the next gifts. On the revelation they contained. "That one."

Here goes everything.

He picked up the box and shook it. "It's in a shirt box. It shakes like a shirt. I'm guessing it's a shirt."

He opened this one more quickly. Probably because he sensed, rightly, that I would slug him if he didn't. Being his birthday wouldn't stop me.

He pulled off the lid and pulled back the tissue. "It is a shirt! A T-shirt." He frowned. On the shirt was a picture of a block of aged cheese with a small piece missing. He read the words on it aloud. "The old block?" He stared at me.

I bit my lip.

"What's this? A tiny T-shirt." His frown deepened. "The chip?" It had a picture of a small chunk of cheese on it.

Okay, it wasn't as tacky as it sounded. Britt had done an excellent job procuring them. They were exactly what I wanted. Funky and cool. Stylish for T-shirts. In top-quality cotton, breathable and comfortable. Organic and chemical free for the baby. And funny on his birthday. Him, at twenty-two, being "the old block."

"Is this part of our new Doggy and Me line?" He held the T-shirt up to Data, who barked happily at his feet, worked up by the excitement.

For a genius, he was kind of slow at this.

"It's part of a new line, all right." I pointed to the last gift. I hated to resort to this. But what could you do? "Before you open it. Put on your new glasses."

He sighed and did as I commanded.

"They make you look sexy and mysterious. Like James Bond or a CIA agent." I folded my hands together and pressed them to my lips.

He stared at me, looking at me with a startled expression. "Kay! Your eyes…and your nightgown and robe…they're…a color I've never seen before."

Oh crap! I hadn't counted on him becoming distracted. He sounded almost upset. Like the world didn't look right.

"Just open the present," I said in a rush. "Don't look anywhere else. Keep your eyes on the contents of the package." I still had my fingers pressed to my mouth so my words came out a little muffled.

He shrugged and opened the box. When he pulled the pregnancy test wand out, he looked at it and at me. "What the hell? What is this?"

"Oh, just something I peed on for you." I laughed. "Yeah, I went all out for your birthday, as you can tell. And gave you a part of myself. Nothing says happy birthday like bodily fluids—"

Understanding was beginning to dawn on him. "Kay—"

"It was important you be able to see pink, Jus. Just this once, you had to be able to see pink. There are two pink lines in the test window. See them? That means the test is positive."

"Chip off the old block?" He paled. And then his face lit up. "Does this mean…?"

"We're going to have a baby, Jus. I don't know how it happened. It was a complete accident. That damn one percent failure rate of the pill—"

He let out a whoop and grabbed me in a hug so tight I thought he was going to bruise my ribs again. "I love you, Kay," he said into my neck.

I felt something wet.

When he pulled away there were tears in his eyes. He put his hand on my abdomen. "I love you both."

I'd never seen him so emotional.

"A baby for my birthday?" He still sounded stunned. "You really did go all out." He paused. "Best birthday ever! When is it due?"

J
ustin

I stared at Kay with new eyes. I was so damned happy! She hadn't just given me the gift of color. Or the gift of fatherhood. She was mine now. It was only natural for me to ask her to be my real wife. Not now. I had to do it in some romantic way. A real proposal. I'd cheated her out of a wedding. She deserved for me to go down on one knee for her.

The clock in the living room chimed.

"Shit! It's late. I have to get to work."

"Time flies when you're having a baby!" Her eyes sparkled.

I gave her another quick kiss and headed to the bedroom to change, still wearing the glasses. In awe of how different the world looked now that I was going to be a dad.

In the closet, my clothes looked different. Seeing color through the glasses, I finally saw what everyone else did. I held up a shirt and pair of pants I used to pair. "These really do clash! When seen through your eyes, you were right."

I took her hand. "Now that I've admitted I was wrong, can a guy get a birthday screw?" I nuzzled her neck, going hard for her. "It won't hurt you…or the baby?"

The baby. I was going to be a father. Shit, that sounded grown-up and odd.

"I thought you were running late?"

"What I have in mind won't take long." I moved her hand to my dick.

"Jus," she said softly. "We've been making love and it hasn't hurt that baby. And you've been so gentle with me, it hasn't hurt me, either." She dropped her robe and slid her nightgown off until she was wearing only a tiny thong panty.

With the glasses on, I could see the faint green tinges of her bruise for the first time. At least, I deduced the color I was seeing was green. "This is a hell of a way to see green for one of the first times." I softly kissed her ribcage, scooped her into my arms, carried her to bed, and made love to the mother-to-be of my child.

On my way to the office, I got a call from Dex.

"Have I got a birthday present for you!" He sounded excited. "The birthday present to top all birthday presents."

I doubted that.

"Dude, we got her! We got everything on her."

The last time I'd heard Dex this excited, we'd won the all-campus college video game tournament.

"What?" I couldn't believe it. This birthday had just run past golden, right on to platinum.

Dex started rattling off details. "Time to put the plan in action." He gave an evil laugh.

At Flash, I could hardly keep my smile down. People thought I was obnoxious about birthdays. I promised Kay not to spill about the baby to anyone until we'd told our parents and family. Britt, however, had helped with my present. She gave me a knowing look and whispered, "Congrats, Papa!" in my ear.

They had cake for me in the cafeteria. And then I was off to a meeting. I missed Kay when she stopped by while she was out running errands. I suspected she'd been to the bakery by Flash to pick up my birthday cake.

Ophie caught me just as I returned to my office. She was waving a phone. "You Greens and your phones! This fell out of your wife's purse, I believe. She's going to need it. She said something about expecting an important text or email or something from the hospital about the sample sale. Shall I have someone run it over to her? I think she said she was heading home from here."

"I'll take it to her." I was too happy to stay in the office. It was my company and my birthday. Why couldn't I take the rest of the afternoon off?

I'd ordered a balloon bouquet and flowers for Kay. I wanted to deliver them myself. I decided to pick them up on the way home and take them and the phone to Kay. Surprise her by coming home early.

"Good idea," Ophie said with a smile that was too smug. She looked damn happy about something.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off, too."

Ophie nodded. "Of course, boss. It's your birthday. You deserve it. We can handle things here." She clutched my arm. "Happy birthday, Jus."

K
ayla

I'd picked up the cake and set up for Justin's party. I wanted to wear something special tonight. I wanted to look glamorous for Jus before I became so big I waddled around, and serene and happy for our parents. We'd decided that it wouldn't be stealing Justin's birthday thunder to announce another birth at his party tonight. Why not when we had so many family and friends together?