Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

A Little One

A week after the cake tasting, Denise continued to suffer from her ailment. She basically survived on chicken and roast veggies because every other food she came across brought forth the urge to gag. She even had to give up on her banana smoothies in the morning because bananas suddenly tasted disgusting to her. Neither knew what it was that had Denise feeling the way she was. The symptoms exhibited hinted at a possible pregnancy, but after nights of discussion, they naïvely agreed that they were too careful for it to be true. It wasn't that they didn't want her to be, it was that they didn't want her to be yet. Even Chris, whose heart skipped a beat when Denise joked about babies, wished for it not to be true. She had too great an opportunity waiting for her in January, she simply couldn't afford to be a mother now. As excited as they were to start a family, it just had to be a in few years.

With 'I'm Pregnant' crossed off the list of reasons, they continued to scratch their heads even though there was a simple solution: a visit to their local clinic. Both were aware of the more practical option yet neither mentioned it. Instead, they chose to continue assuming in case they uncovered news they weren't ready for. Subconsciously they must have already known because since they agreed she wasn't pregnant, they'd both been mentally planning as though she were. But still, fear had them concluding it was probably the stress of planning a wedding and the lack of sleeping getting to her. "It's a big job to plan a wedding, that's why you're not feeling like you're usual self." Chris would reason and Denise would agreed. It was plausible reason but it wasn't the truth, and eventually the truth was going to catch up with them.

Moms had a sixth sense about things, and unfortunately for Chris and Denise, they were spending the day with their moms planning the seating chart for their wedding. Lisa had flown in from Boston, whereas Tina had just driven up from Holmby Hills. Both were spending the weekend to help their children complete as many wedding tasks as they could, hoping it'd lighten the load they had carried on their shoulders.

They'd chosen to start the morning early knowing the process was going to be tedious. Denise had scrambled eggs for breakfast, just like every other morning that week. Both moms looked concern upon seeing how worn Denise looked despite her getting eight hours of good sleep, but neither said anything knowing she had a lot on her plate with the wedding. It wasn't until Denise displayed some familiar symptoms that they decided to voice their concerns to Chris. They wanted to speak to him alone and knew it wasn't going to take long for an opportunity to arise, all they needed to do was wait for Denise to excuse herself upstairs to use the bathroom again. That was another issue she had: frequent urination. It wasn't just annoying, it was yet another symptom she wasn't ready to be having. She was still in denial but she was starting to see dents in her convictions.

"I'll be right back," Denise announced, getting to her feet. Dodger quickly followed suit, padding closely behind her as she made her way upstairs. Two weeks he'd been following her around, seemingly more protective of her than usual. There was a reason Dodger had appointed himself as Denise's guardian, but neither Chris nor Denise were ready to admit it.

"How's Denise been feeling these past few weeks?"

Chris felt his eyes narrow at Tina's out-of-the-blue question. She was subtle but he could already guess what she was hinting at. "She's- fine," he answered with a nonchalant shrug that couldn't hide his brief pause. It was then that both moms knew their assumptions were correct. "I mean- yeah, she's fine." He continued, rambling. "She's not feeling a hundred percent but that's 'cause she's stressed, which is understandable when the wedding is this close and we've still got so much to do. I'm stressed," Chris nervously chuckled. "I mean- it'll pass, she's fine."

"Has Denise's breasts been really swollen and tender?"

"Mom!" Chris' eyes widened at his mom's questions, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks. "Oh my God, stop. I know we talk about everything, but I really don't want to discuss my fiancée's breasts with you. Especially not in front of my future mother-in-law," he hissed through his clenched teeth.