“You’re being such a girl, Carolina.”
A soft knock at her bedroom door saved her from her ridiculous thoughts. She opened the door and smiled at Evelyn. “Hey, come on in.”
“I thought you might be up here packing. Have you had enough of family time?”
She let Evelyn in, then shut the door behind her. “Actually, I’ve really enjoyed these past few days. I don’t get to see Mom and Dad all that often, or you and Gray. Even less this past year since I decided to start working on creating a fashion line. So this has been nice. Really nice.”
Evelyn took a seat in one of the chairs. “I’m glad. And I think so, too. Though Gray and I love to have time alone, he needed this time with his family, too.”
“Until my mother brought up wedding planning?”
Evelyn drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Well, that isn’t without its own set of complications.”
“What’s holding you two back? Unless it’s none of my business.”
“It’s not that we don’t want to get married. God, we really do. If Gray had his way he’d haul me down to the nearest courthouse and marry me tomorrow. And I’d be just fine with that.”
“But my parents—and I’m sure your parents, too—want a big formal wedding.”
“My parents don’t really care, as long as I’m happy. But your father is the vice president now, and with that comes a certain amount of responsibility.”
“Meaning there has to be the pomp and circumstance of Vice President Preston’s only son having a formal wedding, as opposed to hopping a flight to Vegas and getting married at the Elvis Chapel?”
Evelyn laughed. “Something like that. But your mother is right in that we do need to speed up the timeline.”
“Why?” When Evelyn didn’t answer, Carolina frowned. Then it dawned on her. “Oh, my God, you’re pregnant.”
Evelyn nodded. “Just a little.”
Carolina wanted to scream and grab Evelyn into a huge hug. Instead, she ran over and grabbed her hands. “I’m so incredibly excited for you. And honey, you can’t be just a little pregnant. How far along are you?”
“I have no idea. Probably not too far. I was due to have my period before Christmas, and it didn’t happen, so I ran out and bought a pregnancy test. Hard to do in nosy small towns, too, so I had to do it surreptitiously.”
“Secret’s going to come out in a hurry.”
“I know.”
“How did Gray take it?”
“Are you kidding? He’s over-the-moon excited. I cried, he cried, and then we hugged. It was sloppy romantic.”
“Awww.” Tears pricked Carolina’s eyes and she sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re going to make me cry now. I’m going to be an aunt.”
Evelyn sniffled. “I know. I’m so thrilled. And terrified about what his parents are going to say. We’re ruining everything.”
“They aren’t going to be angry. Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how long my mother has been waiting to be a grandmother? She’ll be thrilled.”
“But your father—and his stature as vice president.”
Carolina waved her hand. “So you’ll be a little pregnant when you walk down the aisle. I think the country can weather that small scandal. There are bigger fish to fry, like the deficit and foreign relations and the economy and the price of oil and—”
“Okay, okay, I get your point,” Evelyn said.
“When are you telling Mom and Dad?”
“Today. I’m nervous.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I think this is something Gray and I have to do alone. I wanted to tell you first, though.”
“Okay. If you change your mind and you need me, let me know. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks.”
“And speaking of things that need to be revealed . . .”
Evelyn gave her a look. “You’re not pregnant, too, are you?”
Carolina laughed. “Uh, no. But did Gray tell you he walked into Drew’s room this morning and found Drew and I in bed together?”
Evelyn’s eyes widened. She planted her feet on the floor and leaned forward. “Oh, my God. He so did not tell me this. Was this before I got up this morning?”
“Yes. I fell asleep in Drew’s room, and I guess Gray must have just opened the door to ask Drew to have coffee with him first thing this morning . . . and there I was.”
Evelyn put her hands over her cheeks. “Oh, God, Carolina. Was he mad?”
“At first. You know, the whole overprotective-brother thing that we talked about. But then Drew talked to him, and I reminded him I wasn’t sixteen years old anymore. I think he’s all right.”
Evelyn nodded. “I’ll talk to him, too.”
“You don’t have to do that. You have enough on your plate to deal with.”
“It’s a long flight back to D.C. We’ll have time to talk about things besides the baby.” Evelyn stood. “Oh, God, I’m going to have a baby. How am I going to fit that into my life?”