21. Kitty

21

KITTY

“ O h, that was amazing, thank you so much!” I slid my card over to the waitress with a smile. “Everything was beautiful.”

“Yes, delicious.” Mom smiled as she dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “What an adorably quaint little place!”

We’d spent the past hour or so having lunch in a local café while waiting for the seamstress to finish up with her previous client. While my mom used to be rather well ingrained with life in town, there were a few gems that had crept up over the years in her absence like this cafe. The food was top-notch and all homemade, which continued to impress me with just how busy this place was.

I couldn’t imagine the stress on the chef in the kitchen, but the food was always delicious. Rook sat with us at the next table, draining his coffee cup. He was here as a friend, meaning he no longer wore that black and white suit. Part of me missed it because he looked so damn good in that thing, and I had fond memories of taking it off during our first night together. Now, he dressed more casually in a Polo and jeans, and in my mind, it was easy to trick myself that he was with us as my date .

Like we were all one happy family.

I yearned for that, quietly, under everything that had happened. This person my dad had turned into didn’t feel like my father anymore, and I was running out of ideas on how to get through to him. I didn’t want to accept that this was who he truly was and how my future was going to play out.

As the server returned with my card, I checked my phone to see a message from the seamstress that she was ready for us.

“Alright, time to go check out our dresses!” I grinned across to my mother, and she smiled back gently.

“What perfect timing,” she said softly, folding up her napkin and standing.

“Aren’t I just great at planning things?” I winked at her and then glanced at Rook as he stood. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him how amazing his ass looked in those jeans, but I was planning on it. As we gathered our things and left the café, Mom’s security stood to attention as we walked outside. It was strange having them follow us around when I’d grown used to just having Rook. Going back to a team of emotionless people who refused to hold a conversation was tough.

“Do you want me to drive you?” Rook asked, tilting his head toward his car. He had driven us here and was currently our only transport unless we wanted to eject a security guard or two.

“No.” Mom smiled, and she breathed deeply as she buttoned up her coat. “Let’s walk.”

I shot Rook a surprised glance—Mom wanted to spend time walking through town?—then fell into step beside her while tucking my scarf tightly around my neck. There still wasn’t a single hint of snow, which was incredibly disappointing, but everything else was doing its best to pull me into a festive mood as we walked.

Storefronts were decorated to the extreme with tinsel, lights, and artwork depicting everything from the Nativity scene to Santa getting stuck in a chimney. The brightness of those stores was almost enough to hide the few that had closed down over the summer, and I tried not to look at those. The air was cold and crisp and frost still clung to the sidewalk and the windshields of cars as we walked arm in arm, and every so often, a sharp wind would cut through me like a blade. Not even my warm coat could keep the cold out.

I liked it, though. Nothing compared to the bone-chilling freeze of being stuck in that flooded hole.

“Such a beautiful place when you have time to stop and look,” Mom said distantly.

It sounded like an opening, but I didn’t need to persuade Mom that this place was important. I would be preaching to the choir, and today was supposed to be about just us.

Like the old days.

So I stayed quiet and merely made an agreeable noise in my throat. “People have really gone all out with the decorations this year.”

“Does your friend still work at The Anchor?” Mom asked.

“Melanie? She owns it, remember?”

“Oh! I did wonder how she got time off to cater the ball.”

“She… don’t worry. She’s all covered, I promise.”

“Wonderful.” My mom smiled sweetly and remained like that until we entered the seamstress store.

“Hilda!” I left Mom and hurried forward to greet the elderly woman. She walked around in a threadbare shawl that looked like it held no warmth with a roll of measuring tape looped across her frail shoulders.

“Kitty!” She clutched at me with cold hands. “How good to see you! I wasn’t sure how much longer you would be, but I made some tea.”

Hilda greeted my Mom with a smile and then took my hand, leading us behind the counter and into the back fitting room. Three faded red chairs sat in a half-circle around a small table laden with a giant teapot and several small cups.

“This looks amazing.” I smiled. “How are you? You haven’t been working too hard, have you?”

“Oh, you know me,” Hilda croaked softly. “I don’t do the hard work anymore.”

Hilda retired from her own needlework some years ago and spent most of her time supplying other designers, so it had taken me and Mom some persuading to get her to make our dresses this year. She was being paid handsomely, of course. Now that I was here, the excitement to see my dress was building. Lately, it felt like there was very little to hold onto in the way of happiness, and a glittery dress was just the cure.

“Tea?” Hilda glanced at Mom, and then she paused when her eyes fell on Rook. “My goodness. What do I have to do to get me one of those?”

To my surprise, Rook burst out laughing and dipped his head down. “Send me a letter and pour me a cup of tea, and I’m yours.”

“What a gentleman!” Hilda chuckled, patting him on the arm as she moved past. “The tea is all yours. But you, my dear?” Hilda faced me and clutched at my hand. “Let’s see how you look in your dress.”

I flashed Rook an excited smile and followed Hilda behind the curtain into the dressing room. It was small, hidden away behind a blue velvet curtain. Hilda led me onto the small circular stage, and I sucked in a breath, clenching my abdomen as I looked at myself in the four floor-length mirrors that created an oval in front of me.

Beside me, Hilda busied herself with a dust sheet. “Strip for me, dear.”

“You say the sweetest things,” I teased. Then I obeyed. As I undressed, my Yuletide Ball dress was slowly revealed from the dust sheet and my heart pounced right up into my throat.

“Oh, my God,” I gasped.

It took a few long minutes to get me into the dress, but as soon as it was on and Hilda busied herself at my back lacing up the corset, I couldn’t take my eyes off myself.

The corset was a deep crimson with a swooping neckline and a cinched waist that made it look like I was sucking in every loose bit of tummy. But with this design, I didn’t have to do anything. The red bodice was studded with white and silver gemstones that ran from the breast to the abdomen. They glittered like a thousand stars with each breath. White fluff clung to the top of the corset and around the waist, where the red corset was attached to a white skirt that puffed out around my thighs and draped down my legs like silk. The skirt was scattered with red glitter, and silver strands nested in the white fluff and through the sheer straps and lightly caressed just below my shoulders.

I felt like a Christmas princess and tears stung in my eyes.

“What do you think?” Hilda asked as she worked behind me. “I hope I captured your vision.”

“It’s beautiful,” I said thickly as emotion clogged my voice. “It’s beyond anything I imagined when I scribbled out my design for you. You’ve made a masterpiece, Hilda.”

She snorted behind me, then pulled tightly on the corset. I winced as the bodice pressed against my breasts, and while I didn’t say a word, somehow, Hilda knew.

“Too tight?” she asked.

“A little,” I replied, pressing my hand to my chest. “Just around here.”

Hilda darted around me with her tape, whistling through her teeth as she did so. “Hmm. Your bust is larger than what I wrote down. Did I measure you wrong?” Hilda moved away and conferred with her notes while I continued to admire myself in the mirror.

I turned this way and that, soaking up every sparkle and flash of glitter that caught my eye. The colors were festive, the sparkle was enough to make me compete with even the largest crystal chandeliers in the manor, and the fabric was light enough that the warmth at the ball should be no issue.

“Your boobs are bigger,” Hilda stated, tapping her notes. “I checked. Are you due your period?”

“Maybe?” I tried to think back. “Will that affect my dress?”

“Not at all,” Hilda said. “I will just make some adjustments to how the corset is laced up and you will be good to go.”

“Amazing.” I beamed at her, then pointed toward the curtain. “Can I show Mom?”

“Of course.” Hilda held out her wrinkled hand for me to take and helped me down from the platform.

I walked forward and Hilda drew back the curtain. It was impossible to keep the smile from my face, and my cheeks flushed hot as Mom and Rook came into view.

“Well?” I said softly, awkwardly twisting my fingers as I suddenly became painfully aware of my arms. “What do you guys think?”

“Oh, my God!” Mom was on her feet immediately, and she darted forward to clasp my hands. “You look beautiful! So stunning. So elegant! Oh, my God! The gemstones. The glitter. The softness. It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful!”

Mom danced around me, taking me in while my attention was on Rook.

Rook, who watched me silently from the chair with a cup of tea in one hand. He didn’t drink. He didn’t even blink. In fact, he barely even looked like he was breathing. He just stared at me, and I couldn’t decipher if it was a good look or a bad look in his eyes.

I so hoped it was a good look.

He stared at me for so long that none of us heard the phone ringing until Hilda stomped past me.

“Whose phone is that?” she demanded.

Her words knocked Rook out of his trance. He shook his head and picked up my bag. “Kitty’s, I think?”

“Oh, let me…” I edged forward and took my bag, then quickly hunted out my phone from where it vibrated and sang at the bottom next to my purse.

My mom quickly fell into conversation with Hilda about her own dress as I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, there,” drawled a sharp voice. “This is Sasha calling from Silver Hills Memorial. Am I speaking to Kitty Morgan?”

“This is she.”

“Excellent, excellent. I’m calling to let you know that we finally received all your test results,” Sasha said.

Test results? I’d completely forgotten that my father had demanded a full body workup while I was in the hospital. He was just trying to act like he understood everything and I could only imagine the pain that was for such a small hospital.

“Alright, anything I should be worried about?”

“Yes, the medicine the doctor prescribed to manage your ankle pain isn’t suitable for those who are pregnant, so you will need to stop taking it immediately. Doctor Rowan has already written a new prescription for you. Do you want it delivered or will you pick it up?”

I stood there, utterly frozen, as the noise of the dressing room washed over me.

“I–I’m sorry,” I gasped hoarsely, pressing one hand to my collar bone. “Could you, uhm… could you repeat that part about…?”

“The medicine isn’t suitable for those who are pregnant?” Sasha drawled on. “It can cause complications. Nothing serious, given the dosage you’ve taken these past couple of days, but we advise you to stop immediately.”

“Right,” I gasped.

I could feel Rook’s eyes on me, burning two holes into my back.

Pregnant .

I was pregnant? There was no way.

“So, what would you prefer?” Sasha continued. “Delivery or pick up?”

“Uhm… delivery, please,” I choked out. “Thank you.” I hung up quickly as if there were a chance anyone else could overhear what she was saying, then I turned very slowly back to the room.

Mom was moving through the curtain with Hilda and Rook remained seated, watching me intently.

Oh, my God .

I was pregnant. I was pregnant with Rook’s baby.

What the fuck .