“I’m sorry this is the first time that’s happened.” Sam said and looked down at her hands that were clutching the half empty bottle of water.
“The first time you threw up?” She asked incredulously and then shook her head. She had seen Sam throw up at least a dozen times that she could remember after they all had gone out.
“Can you keep a secret?” Sam asked softly as she lifted her gaze to meet Cara’s. She saw the change in her eyes and recognized it as fear. Cara nodded slowly and Sam just blurted out her secret. “I’m pregnant.”
Cara’s eyes widened for a moment as Sam’s words sunk in. “You’re pregnant.” She whispered more to herself than to Sam. She glanced at her flat stomach and then back up at her face.
“No one else knows.” Sam said quickly. “I’m waiting for Nick to come back home from Seattle before I tell anyone.”
Cara shook her head in confusion. “Nick is in Seattle?”
Sam rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story, but he’ll be back this weekend.” She bit her lower lip nervously as she gauged Cara’s reaction.
“Wow.” Cara said softly. Her hand hesitated a moment before she rested her palm on the flatness of Sam’s belly. She couldn’t explain what she felt at that moment. It was a mixture between happiness and sadness. She was happy for Sam because she knew she was finally getting her happily ever after. She was sad because the one person who would’ve loved to have witnessed it, Jake, wouldn’t be there to welcome the newest member to the Lanza family. A part of her was envious and she hated that part of her. Her own happily ever had been ripped away from her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled through her tears at the woman who would’ve been her sister-in-law.
“I hope you’ll still let him or her call me Aunt Cara.” She said softly and leaned in to hug Sam. “I’m so happy for you.” She whispered into her ear as Sam’s arms enveloped her.
“Of course you’ll be Aunt Cara.” She said as her own tears fell. She paused for a minute and relished in the embrace they shared. “You’ll always be a part of our family. We love you.”
“I love you too.” She said, pulling back looking down at her stomach once again. “And I already love this little peanut.” She said with a smile.
Nick wrapped up his presentation and turned around and faced the long table that seated some of the wealthiest men on the west coast. Each one of them had their poker face on, not ready to commit to anything as the wheels in their head turned, processing Nick’s words. Nick knew he was good at this. It wasn’t his passion, but every once in a while it couldn’t hurt to dabble. He got a natural high from closing a deal, especially one that included such powerful men. He could sway them to gamble their money on a venture, well, it gave Nick a rush to say the least.
He stood at the head of the table and his eyes browsed the faces of each of the men. When he was certain he had reclaimed their attention he clasped the palms of his hands together as if he was about to pray. His fingertips pitched a tent at the seam of his lips as if he was in deep thought. Suddenly, he dropped his hands and his lips curved in the slightest of grins.
“Gentlemen, I will give you a few moments together, to come to a decision.” He paused. “Let me leave you with this. I flew across the country to pitch this deal to you, and not because I had to, but because I believe this business arrangement is full of promise and only great things can come if you sign on. I hope you come to the same conclusion.”
All eyes were on him as he left the boardroom. He slipped his hands into his pockets and decided to inform his father that the deal would close this afternoon and he would need to be present in the boardroom to sign off on the deal. Sure, no one had even verbally agreed to anything Nick had proposed, but he was confident that by the time he returned to that room with his father, they all would be eagerly waiting to close.
He made his way to the bank of elevators that would take him up to the top floor where his father’s office was. He considered the fact that it was the middle of the week and he had originally expected to be back home by the weekend, now he could surprise Sam and come home either tonight or tomorrow.