She fingered the necklace Drew had given her. Such a surprise. He didn’t seem the romantic type. She hadn’t expected a gift from him at all, and if he had gotten her one, maybe a Travelers jersey or something. Nothing like this. She went into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.
The necklace was simple. Nothing extravagant, and yet what she’d told him had been the truth.
It was perfect. She felt his touch burn into her skin even as she stared at the necklace.
Ridiculous. She no more belonged to him than he was hers. Drew saw a lot of women, and none of them on a long-term basis. And why would she even be interested in what he did? They were just having some fun. He was going to go back home, play hockey, and no doubt hit on other women, while she was going to head back to work and not have sex with anyone else. She’d gotten exactly what she wanted out of him—hot sex and tension relief.
But as she stared at the necklace, she wondered how Drew felt, if what was between them was more than just sex.
Right. Like it could ever be anything more than just sex.
“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?”
Carolina came over and hugged her. “This is the life you wanted, the one you dreamed about. A husband and a family. You and Gray will make it work.”
“You’re right. We will make it work. As long as your father doesn’t fire me.”
Carolina laughed. “He’s not going to fire you. He thinks of you as another daughter. He loves you.”
“Wish me luck, then.”
“You won’t need it, but good luck.”
Carolina finished packing, then went downstairs. It was quiet. No doubt Evelyn and Gray were somewhere having a conversation with her parents. She found Drew watching a basketball game on television. She fixed herself a cup of tea, then sat down beside him.
“Hey,” he said, muting the television. “Where did everyone go?”
“No idea. Are you all packed?”
“Yeah. Are we flying out together tomorrow?”
“My flight is at ten thirty.”
“Mine, too.”
She smiled at that. “I figured my mother’s social secretary would put us on the same flight since we’re going to the same place. Do you have a home game next?”
“Unfortunately, no. We have two road games in a row. Then we come back home.”
“That’s too bad.”
“What about you?” he asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Is your staff coming back?”
She shook her head. “I gave them time off until after New Year’s.”
“That’s generous of you. So you’ll be toughing it out alone?”
“That’s okay. It’ll give me some quiet time to do some planning on advertising and take care of some of the myriad minor details I don’t have time to mess with when the staff is in.”