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“But Reese won’t be. He’ll worry about a miscarriage just like me. A trial could take months or he could do his magic, corner someone into a confession, and end the trial.” Royce opens his mouth to speak. “Wait, please. Before you say anything else. There are already picketers, and it could get worse—”
“It will with this case,” he interjects. “Reese hired us to handle that for him.”
“See,” I say. “And if he’s worried that they are stressing me and the baby so he rushes something with the trial, even if it’s not conscious, what if he makes a mistake?” I look at Lauren. “You know the pressure. You’re a criminal attorney just like him.”
“It’s extreme pressure,” she agrees. “Your client’s depending on you.”
“But he’s also the father,” Royce says. “And your husband. He wants and needs to protect you.” He scrubs his jaw. “But I concede that you make good points.”
“But we’re best friends, too,” I say. “We tell each other everything and this is special.” I press the back of my hand to my forehead. “I don’t want to keep this from him. I feel like I’m selfish to keep it a secret and selfish not to have the willpower to wait and tell him.”
“When do you go to the doctor?” Lauren asks.
“I see the nurse in two days. My doctor is out until next week.”
“My suggestion,” she says, “is for you to let Reese get past his opening statement. See the nurse. Confirm the pregnancy. Think. Breathe. Then decide what to do.”
“I’d let him get through opening statements,” Royce agrees.
“Okay then. I wait at least two days.” I press my hand to my belly and start to tear up. “He’s going to be an amazing father.”
Lauren smiles and hugs me. “And you’re going to be an amazing mother.”
I stop by my favorite salad spot and grab lunch. I don’t feel sick. I don’t crave anything. By two I’m sitting at the island in the kitchen eating and googling pregnancy articles. It’s making me crazy to think of all the things that could go wrong which most would say are really statistically not a big deal. But Reese will read them just like me now and they will feel big when he’s in a high-profile trial like this. I don’t know what to do. I’m still hyper-focused on pregnancy articles when the door opens. I quickly clear my browser and hold my breath, waiting for Reese to appear. In a few beats, he’s entering the kitchen, and he’s stealing that very breath I was holding, just by being him.
He rounds the counter and comes to me, cupping my face. “I need you. You know that right?”
“Good. You’re stuck with me for life but why are you saying that?”
“Because I do.” He smiles and brushes hair from my eyes. “Which is why I’m going to keep you.”
I laugh at his mimic of my declaration from this morning. “When did you decide this?”
“Just reaffirming my vows, sweetheart.”
I have to tell him. I need to tell him. I have to tell him. “Reese—”
His cellphone buzzes and he glances at the screen. “The team is headed upstairs. Lori and Cole are coming too but you’re the one I need input from. My opening is a mess. I need you to listen to it.”
“I’ve read your opening. It’s brilliant. You even said it’s brilliant.”
“And then audio of my client fighting with her father, she’s accused of killing, leaked.”
I blanch. “What?”
“You heard me. An audio was leaked to the press.”
“Oh no. How bad is it?”
“Bad. The kind of bad that might have kept me from taking this case.”
“You think she’s guilty?” I ask, knowing how much he hates defending people who are guilty.
“I still don’t, but this is going to make it tough to win.”
“Strike it out of evidence,” I suggest.
“This judge is tough.”
