All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Forty

        The next morning, the doctor confirmed it: I was ten weeks pregnant. By now I was more coherent, but that didn't make the news any more devastating.

        "What are we going to do?" I asked, unable to meet Grayson's eyes again. We sat on the couch, needing to talk but neither of us knowing what to say. 

        "I'll move," he blurted out. When I raised an eyebrow, he hastily explained, "I'll move to Arlington. That way when they grow up, they'll have their dad around. And we can switch weekends, or something, and I'll be able to run the company while you work at the hospital—"

        "Whoa, you don't need to move," I said gently, stopping his idea in his tracks. "I'm perfectly capable of raising them on my own, okay? I got this." 

        Surprisingly, Grayson looked...hurt. "I mean, I'm sure you can, I just thought they might want to know their dad," he mumbled.

        Okay...unexpected plot twist. "Um, okay," I said slowly. "Maybe...you could have them half the year and I could have them the other half?"

        "Maybe." He didn't seem super thrilled with this idea. I wasn't either, but at this point I was willing to consider anything.

        "And what are we going to do about citizenship?" I asked worriedly.

        "It should be dual, at least until they're eighteen," Grayson said dismissively. "So that shouldn't be an issue, at least right away."

        Suddenly I felt very overwhelmed. I curled up tight in my corner of the couch, hugging my knees. Grayson noticed and scooted closer, grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard enough that I could feel it. 

        "I'll stick with you, Jacks," he said, his eyes warm and concerned. "I promise. Through your pregnancy, through the hard years, through primary school, through their graduation, through all of it. I promise. I'm there for you, I'm there for them. Nothing can change that."

        "Okay," I said, taking deep breaths. I knew he was serious. I knew he was in this with me.

        "You're not facing any of this alone," Grayson murmured, hugging me again. 

        "That goes for you too," I whispered. "Maybe we're both freaking out, but I'm here, Grayson. You deserve to not know what to feel or to feel scared or anything."

        "Thank you," he said, and I knew he took it to heart. I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned into his warmth, controlling my breathing.

        "Are we telling anyone?" I asked. 

        "No," he said immediately, then winced. "I mean...maybe like, Kylie, Nina, and Clay. But we can't let mother find out and we can't let the press find out. Otherwise it'll be a nightmare."

        "Right," I said meekly. I didn't need one more nightmare. "But they'll notice. I'll be six months along by the wedding. My dress won't fit."

        Grayson grimaced. "Maybe we could find another dress that hides it?"

        I nodded miserably. Even my dress, one of the few things I was enjoying about my wedding, was now being taken away from me. Grayson noticed my disappointment and hugged me harder, whispering, "I'm sorry."

        "It's just a dress," I said with a quivering lip. "Not...not like something important."

        "It was important to you," he said sadly.

        I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. What else do we need to think of?"

        He didn't look satisfied with me brushing off the dress, but he went on to say, "I think that maybe around the beginning of April I should come stay with you, then maybe stick around for a few months afterwards."