Page 58 of Rockland

My hips rise and I’m about to call his name when there’s a light knock at the door.

“Shit! Just a moment!” There’s panic in his voice and it makes me chuckle. Fearless Rockland scared of being chastised by Dr. Adamos. He hops from me, lying beside me and pulling the sheet over our bodies. When he’s satisfied that we’re both covered up, he calls, “Come in.”

The door opens and it’s Adrianna. She’s just as beautiful as she was when I first saw her—maybe even prettier up close. She says, “I just wanted to introduce myself—” Taking a closer look at us, she laughs a high, tinkling laugh and says, “Well, Rocky, you sly dog, you don’t waste any time, do you, but don’t you think you should⁠—”

“Not a good time for introductions, little cousin,” he says, his waiting erection pressing against my thigh.

She gives a silly smile, then says to me, “Pleasure to meet you, Tess.” She flips the lock on the knob of the door, pulling it closed behind her.

Rockland growls in my ear, “Where were we?” Then he’s on top of me and our bodies twine into one.

9

THREE MONTHS LATER

Tess

There’s a banging on our door. I yell, “I’m coming!” rushing down the stairs to answer it. After making him breakfast and coffee, Rockland was off to meet with Bronson. Something urgent that cut short our usual morning routine of sex in the shower. I wrap my robe tighter around me as I stand on tiptoe to look through the peephole.

It’s Sasha and she’s lifting her hand to bang on the door once more. I throw the door open and her hand falls by her side. She looks at me, frantic, then pushes past me, yelling, “Have you heard what’s happened?”

“What?” I ask, shutting the door behind her. I hurry to catch up with her. She’s at my coffeepot, pouring herself a cup.

She looks at me, annoyed that I don’t know what she’s talking about, and says, “About Paige? Have you heard about Paige?”

I go to the fridge to retrieve the vanilla creamer I keep just for her. I flip the lid open and pour a generous amount into her cup. “What about Paige?”

“Thank you,” she says, then takes a huge swig of her drink without even waiting for me to stir it. She slams it on the counter and begins to pace frantically between the fridge and stove, talking with her hands waving around to emphasis her words as she speaks. “I was just finishing up packing—you know I didn’t want to have to do any of it tomorrow since we have our going away party—and she called me and told me!”

“Sasha, what did she tell you?”

She stares at me. Slaps her open palms down on the counter and shouts, “She’s knocked up! Three months in already.”

“What do you mean? She’s… pregnant?”

“Yes!”

“But how is that possible? We’re on the pill. We’re all on the pill.” Babies are a carefully thought out thing in the Bachman family. Unless you’ve already had one and are living in the Hamlet, or in the Parish. Not in the Village.

“She lied to Bronson. She told him she was still taking it but that girl has had baby fever ever since he put that blue diamond on her finger. She left the jewelers and started working at the children’s boutique a few months ago. Ever since then she’s been all moony over babies and it gets embarrassing. Whenever we’d go out, she’d always be trying to hold strangers’ babies and⁠—”

“Sasha—so you’re saying she got pregnant on purpose without telling Bronson?”

“Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

I plop down in a stool at the bar. “This is unbelievable. This has never happened in the Village before.”

Sasha sits down next to me. “Tell me about it. I mean, Carter and I wanted babies too, but we had to wait. What’s it been now? Almost two years? And she wants one and just makes it happen. She knew Bronson would take his sweet time coming to grips with the idea of having children. Clever girl. Maybe that’s what I should have done.”

I stop her. “No. Better Paige than you. Can you imagine what Bronson would have said if you had pulled that stunt?”

“That girl is his only weakness.” She rolls her eyes. “Carter would have been furious.”

“What did Paige say that Bronson said about it?”

“She said he was furious. Then he was in shock. She said about five minutes after she told him he snapped out of his state and was happier than she’s ever seen him. He was twirling her around and saying, ‘I’m going to be a father. We’re going to have a baby!’ Then he… kissed her tummy. Blech.”

I shake my head. “I can’t picture Bronson like that.”