Cole held the door open for me, and we were immediately greeted by Mia holding out two glasses of champagne. “Welcome to La Fuga,” she said in a fake Italian accent. I picked Italian because it was in Italy where Cole had given me hope for having a normal life. It was where he made sex about love and trust, and when I realised that I wasn’t too broken to be in a relationship.
“Oakley,” Kerry shouted, bouncing her way over to me. “This is amazing! I want to work here! I love it You’ve done such a great job.”
Laughing, I gave her a one-armed hug, being careful not to spill my champagne. “Thank you. Wanna be a receptionist?” Lizzie was doing it until I found someone suitable, someone with experience, and someone that I trusted.
“Are you being serious?”
“Yes. Look, we’ll talk later. I really should mingle.” I left a beaming Kerry gazing after me. “Who first?” I asked Cole.
He shrugged. “Why not go to one of the bigger rooms, there will probably be more people we can get through at once.”
“Sounds like a plan. Gymnastics room?” Cole smirked and pulled on my hand, leading me there. Of course that was going to be where I wanted to go first. It was the room that meant the most to me.
Cole was right. It was full. I could barely see through the crowd of people. Children were already playing on the equipment. I didn’t mind though, they were being supervised, and hopefully it would encourage them to sign up for classes. Plus we had the insurance!
After spending the whole day talking to hundreds of people, giving interviews and having my picture taken, I was exhausted, and beyond ready to go home. I felt lightheaded and dizzy, even though I’d been eating canapés throughout the afternoon.
Mum and Jenna had lists of people’s details and what they were interested in. Not all would follow through and come to classes, but I hoped a fair few would; the place had a buzz about it. David and Miles had been talking to people from local businesses and handing out a lot of leaflets for them to put in their shops.
“Thank you all so much,” I said, once the centre was all locked up and we could leave. Mum, Miles, Jasper, and Abby all gave me hugs and got into one car, and then I said goodbye to Cole’s parents and Mia.
“Take me home, please?” I asked Cole, leaning against him.
“My pleasure.” Cole smiled and leant in, kissing me deeply. I gripped his arms, and the whole world disappeared.
I kicked my shoes off the second we were home. My feet hurt, and I just wanted to sleep. “I don’t feel good,” I muttered, pressing my face into one of the cushions.
Cole sat beside me. “You’ve said that a lot recently. Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, just tired from being so busy.”
“Let’s go to bed then.” There were no arguments from me. I followed him upstairs and stripped off. Our bed was so inviting. I climbed under the cover and laid my head on Cole’s chest.
“Night,” I whispered. My eyelids were so heavy I fell asleep before I could even hear his reply.
I woke up early. The clock on my bedside table showed seven-thirty in the morning. I groaned. Jasper and Abby were opening the centre so Cole and I could go to Leona’s nursery school f?te for a few hours. I hated not being there the first morning it was open but family came first. We didn’t have to be at the nursery until ten, so I had hoped to sleep in until about nine.
Groaning, I pressed my hand to my throbbing head. Cole stirred beside me. “You okay?”
“Fine.” I lied, then, “No.” I jumped up and rushed to the bathroom. Oh God, I was going to be sick. Cole ran in after me and dropped to his knees just as I threw up in the toilet.
I stood up and flushed the toilet when I’d finished. My head was pounding, and I felt like I was going to faint. “Oakley, you don’t think you could be pregnant, do you?”
My heart stopped. “No. I’m just run down.” I’m on the pill.
Cole frowned. “You’re going back to bed, and I’m going to get a test. We need to make sure.” Please no. Nodding my head, I turned on the tap and rinsed my mouth with the ice cold water.
Turning around, I stumbled out of the bathroom. Cole’s arm kept me upright. I felt so weak and fell back into bed. “You relax. I’ll get some water and then go to the shop.”
I mentally rolled my eyes and snuggled under the cover. Cole left the room, and I started to panic. Pregnant. I couldn’t have a child. What the hell was I going to do if I was?
Perhaps it was just food poisoning? Although no one else was sick, and Cole and I ate the same things. My heart was in my throat as I waited. How could I protect a child when I couldn’t even protect myself?
I curled up and pulled the cover over my head, hiding from reality. Placing my hand over my flat stomach, I tried to feel a connection. Shouldn’t I just know if I was carrying another life inside me? Shit! No, no, no, no! I gulped as my eyes stung with tears.
“Oakley,” Cole called softly. I pulled the cover down and looked up at him. “Hey, come on, let’s go and do it now, yeah?” I took the box from him and got out of bed. The sooner we knew the better. “It’ll be okay, whatever the result.”