Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) (8 page)

“What would make you feel better?” he asked.

She shrugged. “We could stop for ice cream? Would that be okay? Heidi’s answer would be Taco Bueno tacos, but we just ate. I could enjoy dessert, though.”

“Just so you don’t eat as many as you did that one night at dinner on the cruise…”

“Wait! Did you see when they pushed all their desserts in front of me and snapped that picture?”

“I saw you with a bunch of desserts in front of you. Are you trying to blame your friends for that too?”

She groaned. “They
were
to blame! Those two need to be locked up somewhere…separate cells though. No one needs to deal with the two of them together.”

He laughed softly. “I saw them push the desserts in front of you. When they snapped the picture, I almost laughed. I would have if I hadn’t been so annoyed with how obnoxious they were.”

Jenni shrugged. “Good friends are worth keeping, obnoxious or not.”

“That they are.”

He pulled into a Braum’s parking lot. “When you say ice cream, I can only assume you mean Braum’s.”

“Well, of course! What else could I possibly mean?”

“Well, you
could
mean Dairy Queen, and I’d take you there if that’s what you wanted, but I’d be disappointed in you and your taste buds.” He parked the truck and turned to her. “I’d have had to figure that growing up on all that fancy food broke you, so you didn’t know what was good.”

She made a face. “Trust me. I know good food!”

Thirty minutes later, they were on their way home again. “Thanks for being willing to stop for ice cream. I’m not sure I would have been able to steady my nerves without it,” Jenni told him.

He laughed. “You’re going to be a bear when you’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

She went still. “Pregnant? You want kids?” She couldn’t believe they’d never actually discussed children. Of course, they’d been a bit preoccupied in the short time they’d known each other.

He blinked a few times. “Yeah. You don’t?” He was sure he’d talked to Dr. Lachele about wanting kids. He’d always wanted several, having hated being an only child. Finding out he had siblings he couldn’t contact had only made the feelings worse.

“No. I’ve never wanted kids.”

His heart fell. How could Dr. Lachele have matched him with a girl who didn’t want children? “Really?”

Jenni realized she’d teased him enough. “Nope. Five or six would make me happy. Of course, my mother would be absolutely scandalized. How could someone of my breeding not know how to prevent children?”

“Will you still work?”

Jenni shrugged. “Probably. I don’t see myself wanting to give up my education by staying home. Do you have strong feelings either way?”

“Not really. I guess I’d prefer you were home with the kids until they were in school, but if you’d prefer a nanny or something, I’m fine with that.”

She sighed, relieved. “I just hope I can have kids. My mother had a hard time, if you’ll remember.”

“You don’t seem to be a whole lot like your mother.”

“Thank you, Tony. No one has ever said anything kinder to me than that.”

Chapter Eight

The first couple of weeks of marriage were an adjustment for both of them. Jenni had to work her usual long hours, and with it being tax season, Tony was working sixty hour weeks anyway. They decided to start looking for a house after April fifteenth, because that’s when his schedule would be freed up more.

So one Wednesday afternoon in late April, they met with a real estate agent, and began shopping for houses in Southlake. Tony immediately went into sticker shock. “We can’t afford any of these!” he said to her while they followed the real estate agent in her car. “What did you tell her our price range was?”

Jenni shrugged. “I figured anything under a million would be fine.”

He choked. “Anything under a million? Are you serious? Unless nurses make a whole lot more than I think they do, that’s a ridiculous figure!”

“I have a trust fund…”

“You have a million-dollar trust fund?” He took a deep breath, because that had sounded like an accusation, and he hadn’t meant for it to. “Do you really want to spend your whole trust fund on a house?”

She shrugged. “It would be a fraction of my trust fund. And I think it would be smart to just pay for it, and then not worry about having a mortgage. You could take the money and invest it however you wanted.”

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to having access to that kind of money,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not criticizing you for having it, and I don’t want you to think I am, but it’s weird.”

“At this point, it’s still in a separate account. Do you want access to it?”

He thought about that for a moment. “No, I don’t think I do. I’d rather keep it like it is. You have access to that, and I have access to both of our incomes.”

“That works.” She reached over and squeezed his hand as they pulled into another driveway. “Look at this one with fresh eyes, knowing the money is there. I really liked the huge bathroom at the last house.”

“But it was so big! What would we do with all that space?”

“Live in it. We both want a big family. What would it hurt to have what we want?”

He couldn’t look at money the way she did, but he didn’t argue with her. As they followed the real estate agent through the house, she pointed out various features. “This one comes with all stainless steel appliances. There are four bathrooms and six bedrooms. There’s even a den on the first floor that would be perfect for a home office for you,” she said to Tony.

Jenni looked through the house, liking that the master bedroom was on the first floor, as well as one other bedroom. “This would be a nice set-up for when the kids are small,” she told Tony. “There’s even an intercom system that connects to the upstairs rooms, so we wouldn’t have to worry as they’re a little older and upstairs on their own.”

The bedroom had huge his and hers closets, as well as the exact bathroom Jenni wanted, with a huge garden tub, and a separate shower. Even the commode had its own separate room with a door. “I love this one,” Jenni announced after they’d been through the whole house.

He frowned. “I just can’t see spending that much on a house.”

She sighed. “Then we’re going to have to leave the Southlake area. Do you want to go to Roanoke?”

“I hate the idea of you spending that much money on a house, and me not even helping with it.” That was at the core of his problem. He didn’t want it to be her money paying for it.

She shrugged. “Up to you. I think we should put an offer on it, but I’m not going to push too far.”

The agent was watching them carefully. “Do you want me to step out so you can discuss it?”

Jenni shook her head. “No. If he doesn’t want it, then we’re not getting it.”

“Oh, it’s not that at all. I love it. I just don’t think we should put that kind of money on it.”

Jenni tilted her head to one side for a moment, thinking. “What if we went to a lawyer and had him put it in writing that the house would be mine if we ever split?”

“Could we do that legally in Texas?” He didn’t know enough about divorce laws to know if it was even possible.

“No idea, but if it will make you feel better about it, we can try. I love this house, and I want it. It’s the perfect location, and just what I had in mind.”

Tony frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. He wanted her to have what she wanted, knew she had the money, but something was holding him back. Pride maybe? He felt like he should be able to give her the things she wanted, but with her money, it was the other way around. “I guess.”

“Really?” Jenni practically squealed, bouncing up and down.

He nodded, against his better judgment. He wanted her to be happy, and if this house would do it, then he’d buy it. He looked at the real estate agent. “We want to make an offer.”

The agent smiled, pulling out a piece of paper.

Jenni insisted on going out to celebrate that night, and Tony agreed, though after what they’d just offered on the house, he didn’t think they should ever spend another dime for the rest of their lives.

While they ate, Jenni carefully brought up money. “I’m planning on paying for the house upfront, but I think we should have a joint checking account that you manage. I do spend money a lot more frivolously than I should, given my profession.” She wasn’t sure she really meant what she was saying, but she knew they were words he needed to hear.

He nodded. “I think a joint checking account would be smart. I’ll deal with our paychecks and day to day expenses. It’s what I’m good at.”

“What about my trust fund? Do you want access to that?”

He frowned. “How does your fund work? Are you paid a monthly allowance, or what?”

She nodded. “I'm allowed to pull out up to ten percent for a home, but other than that, I get a monthly payment. More than enough to keep me happy for my entire life. I could quit work tomorrow and never know the difference in my income.”

He blinked. “So the trust fund is more than ten million?” He had a concept of that kind of money, thanks to his career, but he had never dreamed of being around someone who had access to that much wealth.

She laughed. “More than ten times that. I’d have to work at blowing that much money in my lifetime.” She shrugged. “I know my wealth bothers you, but it’s not something I can change unless I give it all to charity.”

Tony frowned. “I’m not sure how I’d feel about that either.”

“You can’t have it both ways. To me, the money means nothing and never has. It’s just something that’s always been there. I’d be the same person without it.”

He nodded, not sure if she was right or not, but he had no way of proving it either way. He knew he wouldn’t be the man he was if he’d been born with wealth. He’d had to work for everything he’d ever had, and he’d watched his mother do the same. She’d told him it built character, and he’d believed her. Jenni had character too though. He thought she did anyway.

Jenni sighed. “I wish it wasn’t such a big deal to you.”

“Me too.”

*****

It was less than a week before the move when Jenni started throwing up. She had never had a lot of stomach issues, so she was immediately concerned, but she stayed home from work, and packed the apartment when she felt like she could.

On the third morning, when she was vomiting once again, she called in to work, angry with herself. Heidi was pregnant, and she knew having to deal with the stress of having a nurse out wasn’t helping her. “I’m sorry! I feel so miserable when I wake up, and I can’t stop vomiting, but I always feel better by afternoon.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Heidi asked, “Are you pregnant?”

Jenni hadn’t even considered that possibility. She and Tony had been married for over two months, and they
had
decided not to use protection, since they both wanted children. She sat down on the edge of her bed and thought back to her last cycle.

“I’m pregnant.” Somehow, she’d been sure she would've had a harder time conceiving like her mother had.

Heidi laughed softly. “Go take a test. If it’s positive, come in when you feel better. I’d say go see Slade, but that would be weird.”

“No, I’ll find a different doctor if that’s what it is.” Jenni rubbed the back of her neck. With as weird as Tony was still being about money, she really didn’t want to spring a pregnancy on him. “I’m going to go get a test.” She’d have sent Tony, but he was working out like he did at that time every morning. She had yet to meet his racquetball buddy.

Twenty minutes later, she had the test stick in her hand. Positive. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have a baby! How on earth was she going to tell Tony?

*****

Jenni debated with herself all day about whether or not she should tell Tony about the baby right away. He had a right to know, and he’d wonder why she wasn’t doing much with the move if she didn’t tell him, but she knew he would only worry about the whole financial situation even more. She really didn’t understand why he was so upset because she had money, but she couldn’t stop his feelings. No one could.

She was in the kitchen cooking supper when he got home that evening.

He came to her and felt her forehead. “Are you feeling better?”

She nodded. “I am.” She took a deep breath. “We’ll talk over supper. Are you hungry?”

He nodded, a look of concern on his face. “Did you see a doctor?”

“No, I didn’t.” She served them each a bowl of the soup she’d fixed before sitting down at the table. “I’m not sick.”

“Oh, good. I was starting to get really worried something was wrong.” He frowned. “Did you stay home from work again?”

“I worked this afternoon.”

Tony took a bite of the soup. “What’s going on then? Why are you feeling so badly?”

“I’m pregnant.” Surely there was a better way to announce your pregnancy to your husband, but it was out. She waited a moment while he stared at her in disbelief.

“
Already
? But we’re moving in just a few days!”

“I know we are. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m pregnant. You’re not upset, are you?” She twisted her hands together in her lap, more nervous than she’d thought she’d be.

“I’m not exactly sure what I am.” He thought for a moment, feeling as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “You’re sure?”

Jenni nodded, wishing he’d show more emotion. “Yeah. I have all the symptoms, and I took a test. It’s definitely positive.”

“Are you going to see a doctor soon?”

“I made an appointment for two weeks from now. Do you want to go with me?”

“Do you need me to?” Tony asked. He’d never been around a pregnant woman. How was he supposed to know if he should go or not?

“I don’t need you to, but there’ll likely be a sonogram, and I thought you might want to be there to see the baby.”

He swallowed hard, grabbing the water she’d put in front of him and swallowing it in one big gulp. “I don’t even know what to say.”

Jenni frowned, staring at the soup in front of her. All of her joy about the pregnancy was gone in one minute. “We should probably call your mom after supper.”

“What about your parents?”

She shrugged. “They’re not desperate for grandkids the way your mom is. My parents are better told over a nice, civilized dinner. Maybe when the baby is three? Or six?”

He smiled, taking her hand in his. “I’ll go with you, and we’ll tell them together.”

They’d been back to see her parents’ once more since that first visit, and her dad seemed to be getting along well with Tony. Her mother had expressed her concern about Tony when they’d spoken on the phone, but there was never anything real she was concerned about. She just didn’t think her daughter should have married without them checking her future husband out first. She could just imagine what her mother would say if she found out he’d been chosen for her and checked out before she’d met him.

“All right.” She took a bite of her soup. “Are you going to tell your mother right after supper?”

Tony nodded. “Of course. You’re right. She’ll be over the moon about it.”

Later that evening, after he’d called his mother, she called hers. “We thought it might be nice to see you sometime soon. Can we make a dinner date?”

There was a long, dramatic pause after which her mother said, “You’re pregnant.”

“Well, I guess we don’t need to come for dinner to tell you our news. You figured it out.”

“You never ask to come for dinner. You wait until I browbeat you into it.” Her mother sighed. “A grandchild. I guess I’ll have to get used to the idea.”

“Most of your friends are already grandmothers several times over.”

“I’m
not
most of my friends. Do you know yet if it’s a boy or girl?”

“No, I just found out I’m expecting today. I won’t know that for a few months yet.”

“Well, as soon as you find out let me know, so I know if I should buy pink or blue gifts.”

Jenni sighed. Her mother would overwhelm the baby with gifts either way. “We’re moving into our new house in Southlake in a few days. Do you want to come over and help me decorate it?”