My Love - Bobby & Sophie: A Crossroads Novella (12 page)

“Actually, can we get that to go?” Bobby handed a twenty to the kid who’d brought over their sandwiches on a plastic tray.

The guy’s eyes lit up when he saw the bill and he nodded quickly, turning on his heel and rushing back to the counter.

It didn’t matter what Sophie said. They were going back to the hotel. Bobby wasn’t sure if she was just overtired, dehydrated, or coming down with a bug, but he was sure that he was taking her back to rest. All day, she’d been trying to put on this brave face, but he’d watched as the day had worn on and dark circles had appeared under her eyes. Her pace had slowed and she’d yawned with increasing frequency.

He was deciding whether or not to drive them home as soon as they got back to the hotel when Sophie appeared at their table.

She smiled sweetly. “Hey, would you mind if we get the food to—”

“Here you go, sir.” The kid handed him a large paper bag.

Sir?

Damn. Was he that old?

“Thanks.” Bobby stood and grabbed their coats. When he felt Sophie’s arms fly around his neck, his hands wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closely to him.

Her chilly nose nuzzled into the side of his neck as she said, “You take such good care of me. You’re the best husband in the world.”

Kissing the top of her head, Bobby squeezed her once before releasing her. The head on top of his shoulders knew that they were in public. His other one was less concerned with that and only cared about how sweet Sophie’s body felt pressed against his. Luckily, his jacket covered the half-chub he was rocking as they made their way out of the crowded deli.

As he held the door open, Sophie walked in front of him and the cold air hit him like a slap in the face. Shifting his body so that he could shield her from the worst of it, Bobby wrapped his arm around her waist and then guided her to the curb, where he stepped out and put his arm up to hail a cab.

“What are you doing? The hotel’s only five blocks away.”

Bobby looked down at Sophie’s angelic face, which was staring up at him in confusion and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a dash of stubbornness. “I’m being a good husband and taking care of you,” he said, using her own words against her.

Her lips pursed and her face scrunched up the way they always did when he challenged her and she knew he was right. That look had always caused his heart to swell and simultaneously skip a beat—and not because it meant that she was conceding his point. Nope. It had just always done something to his insides since the first time he’d seen it. She must have been about eight and she’d come over to the Sloans’ house with Nick, who had immediately ditched her to head up into the ‘boys only’ treehouse that had been in the Sloan’s backyard since Seth was in Boy Scouts. Bobby had been playing “Super Nintendo Mario Brothers” and Sophie had asked to play too. When he told her that there were cheat codes that would make Mario go warp speed and turn into Super Mario, she informed him that she might be a girl but she wasn’t an idiot and she didn’t believe him. When he’d shown her, her mouth had dropped open and then she turned slowly to look at him with the same expression that was on her face now.

At the time, ten-year-old Bobby wanted to gloat about the fact that he’d been right and she’d been wrong, but the second he’d seen that look on her face, he’d gotten a funny feeling in his chest, which he didn’t understand. Now, he knew what it was and he still got it every time she looked at him like that.

After kissing her briefly on her scrunched nose, Bobby turned to see that a cab was pulling up. Just as he was holding the door open for Sophie, something caught his eye. Or, actually, someone.

“Dad?” Bobby called out.

Bob Sr. looked up over in their direction, and at first, his face didn’t register any recognition at all. Then, after a moment, he blinked, shook his head slightly, and crossed the sidewalk filled with people going in both directions like he was playing Frogger.

After carefully making his way to them, his dad asked, “Hey, what are you guys doing in the city?”

“We’re here on our annual Christmas trip.” Sophie smiled brightly as she reached out and pulled Bobby’s dad into a hug. “What are you doing here?”

Again, Bobby’s chest grew tight, filled with love. Sophie didn’t just like his family—she truly loved them. All of them. All of his brothers and their wives and children. His aunt and uncle and his cousins and their husbands. She’d loved them even before they’d gotten together.

“Oh, I’m just… I had to come in to pick up a part.” Bob looked back and forth between Sophie and Bobby. Uncomfortably.

A “part”? Okay.

As much as Bobby wanted to ask a follow-up question, he wanted more to get Sophie lying down. “Well, we were just headed back to the hotel. Sophie’s not feeling well.”

His dad’s face morphed from awkward and uncomfortable to worried and concerned in the blink of an eye. “Oh, yes. Don’t let me keep you. Do you need anything, sweetie?”

It was so surreal to hear his gruff dad call someone “sweetie” and ask if they were okay. Bobby had to admit that Bob Sloan’s daughters-in-law had definitely brought out a softer side that none of his son’s had ever seen.

“No, I’m fine.” Sophie beamed up at him before tilting her head towards Bobby. “
Someone
is just a little overprotective.”

Bob slapped Bobby on the shoulder as a look of pride and approval spread across his face. “I think he’s just the right amount of protective. Carry on, son.”

Bob stood on the side of the street as Bobby and Sophie piled into the cab and pulled away. After letting the driver know what hotel they were at, he turned to Sophie to ask if she thought that his dad’s behavior had been a little odd, but he found her mouth wide open in a silent yawn that ended as she closed her eyes and cuddled up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder with a little sniff. He decided he’d let her rest on the quick drive.

Reaching across her lap, he pulled her closer to him. He made up his mind then and there that, if she wasn’t feeling better after Christmas, which was only a day away, he was taking her in to see the doctor. He didn’t care if she thought he was being “overprotective.” In the wise words of his pop, he was just the right amount of protective.

S
ophie suddenly woke up with her stomach rolling like it was Tina Turner on the river. Placing her hands flat over her belly, she forced the heavy lids of her eyes open as she inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. With each breath, awareness crept in as her rebelling body settled down to a manageable state.

While she stared up at a white ceiling, repeating steady breaths, it took her a moment before her surroundings registered. It slowly dawned on her that she was not at home, not in her bed. Glancing to her left, she saw the beautiful Chicago skyline lit up to postcard perfection.

Chicago? Oh, right.

Bullet points scrolled across her mind’s eye like the ticker tape of the NYSE. She was in Chicago. With Bobby. And the reason she felt like she was about to toss her cookies was because she was carrying the newest addition to the Sloan family.

The room was dim and Bobby was not beside her. She wondered if he’d gone down to the vending machines or something. Pushing up on her elbows, she scooted her rear back and sat up. When she did, she saw her husband sitting across the room, their suitcases beside him.

She jumped slightly at the sight and brought her hand to her chest, still feeling a little disorientated. “You scared me.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” Sophie glanced at the clock and noticed that it was nine fifteen. Why did she feel like she was late for something?

Memories came back to her with crystal clarity. After their cab ride back to the hotel, Sophie had brushed her teeth and told Bobby that she just wanted to lie down for a half an hour. Then she’d planned on getting up to go see
The Christmas Carol
, which had begun at seven p.m.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” She started to scramble out of bed but was stopped by two things. First, her stomach did not appreciate the sudden movements and was now staging a full-blown protest. Second, it didn’t matter if she had a fairy godmother that could bippity boppity boo her with the flick of her wand to make her look red-carpet ready in an instant—the show was over. They’d missed it.

With her legs slung over the side of the bed, Sophie rested her head in her hands, trying to wait out the rumble tumble currently happening in her midsection. Feeling a warm hand on her knee Sophie opened her eyes to see Bobby kneeling in front of her, his face twisted in worry.

“We’re packed and ready to go. I called Dr. Jenkins and he said that he can see you if we get back—”

“Whoa.” Sophie sat up straight. “I don’t need to go to see Dr.—”

Bobby’s face set stubbornly. “This is not up for discuss—”

“I’m not sick,” Sophie interrupted, her shoulders slumped.

She knew this was the time. She needed to tell him. Running her hands through her hair as she took in a deep breath, she knew that the two words that were about to leave her lips would change her life forever. It would make this
real
.

For a moment, she thought about walking Bobby through her path to this discovery, but if she went that route, chances were she’d go off on a rambling tangent that would probably be as confusing as it was long. Nope. Growing up, when she’d gone swimming at The Plunge, the community swimming pool, she’d never been a dip-her-toe-in kinda girl. Even if she had known that the water was freezing—especially if she’d known it was freezing—she would take a deep breath, plug her nose, and jump. That’s what she needed to do now—minus the nose-plugging.

Deep breath. Jump.

“I’m pregnant.”

Just as they had when she’d read the pregnancy tests, Sophie’s ears began ringing. Her face was tingling and she was vaguely aware that her hands were shaking. The pounding of her heart was the only thing grounding her in this moment, in her body. If it weren’t for her rapid heartbeats, this would totally have been an out-of-body experience.

Bobby’s face went totally blank. His expressions tended to lean to the side of unreadable, but the poker face he wore now could have easily been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records. She waited, giving him time to adjust to the baby bomb she’d just dropped on him.

“When did you…? Are you sure…? How far along…?” Bobby Sloan did
not
stumble over his words. But, if anything would cause this verbal hiccup, she guessed the fact that he’d just been told that he’s going to be a daddy would do it.

“I found out about ten minutes before you got home yesterday. I think I’m probably between six to eight weeks along.” As much as Sophie wanted to tell Bobby everything she was feeling—how scared she was, how shocked she was, how confused she was—she held her tongue. He needed time to process this.

“Are you sure?” he repeated, his brow wrinkling. Finally, his face showed some emotion, although his clear, aqua eyes were still fairly guarded. At least he didn’t look mad or removed. Those two things had been her greatest fears.

“Yep.” Sophie nodded as she stood and stepped around Bobby, heading over to her suitcase. Then she bent over and unzipped the top pouch, where she’d stuck the triple threat of pregnancy tests. When she stood and turned around, she almost face-planted into Bobby’s chest. “Dang. If ninja skills are required in your new job, you’re going to do great,” she teased.

Bobby didn’t look amused.

Holding out her hand, she displayed the tests so that the two lines, the plus sign, and the word ‘pregnant’ was facing up.

“You took three?” he asked.

“Yep.” There was so much that she wanted—needed—to say to him, and she would. After he had time. “I knew I’d need a second, er…third, opinion.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Okay. Now he looked mad.

Placing the tests on the small table beside her, Sophie felt tears threatening her eyes. Shoot. The last thing she wanted to do was cry. She wasn’t a crier. They needed to talk.

After clearing her throat in an attempt at an emotional reset, Sophie explained, “I was going to, but then I got distracted on the drive in. Then, at dinner, you told me your news, and after that, I wasn’t sure how to break it to you. I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.” A single tear fell down her cheek. She quickly raised her hand to brush it off, but Bobby beat her to the punch.

His thumb brushed along her skin as he cupped her jaw and his face softened. “You’re pregnant.” His voice was quiet, reverent.

“Yes.”

Bobby’s breathing came in shorter pants. “We’re having a baby.”

Sophie nodded as she swallowed over the large lump that had decided to form in her throat, and she reminded herself to breathe. Her head was spinning. Or the room was spinning—she wasn’t sure which. But she decided that, either way, her best bet was to sit down. She was planning on collapsing on the chair Bobby had bent her over the night before when she was swept off her feet.

Literally.