Read Online Dedicated Ink by Ranae Rose - Free Book Online Page B

herself not to hurry into her half-booth. The tee she’d worn was one of the loosest she owned, and black helped to mask all kinds of bumps and bulges, didn’t it?
    As she sank down into a chair, she wasn’t so sure. Sam had said the night before that she looked different, and she could definitely tell that her body had changed. Surely it was only a matter of time before other people started noticing, too – like the rest of Hot Ink’s staff, who saw her several times a week.
    She still hadn’t told anyone besides Sam, Natalie and her parents about her pregnancy. Having crossed into the second trimester, now was clearly the time. Still, the idea of spreading the news beyond Sam and her closest family members was daunting. They’d be bound to see her differently, but how differently? She valued her place at Hot Ink; it was unbearable to think of the others wondering whether she was fit to keep it anymore.
    Happy, at least, that she felt good enough to work, she made her way through two appointments. They were only a drop in the bucket when it came to the sessions she had scheduled, but it felt good to give her clients exactly what they’d wanted, to avoid having to disappoint them with a reschedule. By the time Zoe approached her booth and asked if she wanted to go down the street for a dinner break, she was ready to stretch her legs and get something to eat.
    They settled in at a little deli, heading to a corner table with trays laden with sandwiches and pretzels. “I know it’s none of my business,” Zoe said, sitting poised with half a turkey and rye in hand, “but Abby, are you pregnant?”
    Abby froze with a pretzel halfway to her mouth.
    “Don’t be offended if you’re not!” Zoe said, putting her sandwich down. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”
    Abby shook her head and sighed. “I am. Pregnant, that is. I’m three months along. I just didn’t think anyone at work knew yet.”
    “The guys probably don’t have a clue.” Zoe smiled and rolled her eyes. “And I won’t say a word. I’ve just been wondering ever since that day you got sick. You haven’t been yourself since, and your stomach has always been so flat that I can already see a tiny little bump.”
    “It won’t be tiny for long – I’m having twins.” Calling it tiny now was generous; even in her baggy t-shirt, she didn’t look like her pre-pregnancy self.
    Zoe’s carefully-shaped brows rose at least an inch. “Really? Wow!”
    Abby nodded. Whenever she really thought about it, she still felt a lot like Zoe looked – shocked. “I know, right?” She laughed despite herself.
    “So, uh…” Zoe looked a little sheepish, but a distinct light gleamed in her dark eyes. “The father – are you two together?”
    Abby nodded, grateful in the extreme that Zoe hadn’t asked her that a couple of weeks ago. It was a relief to be able to say yes, to not have to confess how she’d gotten pregnant and then be forced to deal with others’ shock, sympathy, or whatever else the early truth would’ve inspired.
    “I didn’t even know you were seeing anybody. I mean, I know you’re quiet, but I can’t believe you kept us all in the dark! So you two are serious?”
    “Yes.” Abby couldn’t help smiling. She was still glowing inside as a result of what she and Sam had done the night before, and the act of passion had erased some of the awkwardness that had lingered between them despite the consequences of their first time. Finally, she felt like one half of a couple.
    Zoe waggled her brows up and down. “What’s he like? I can’t believe no one at the shop has ever seen him.”
    “Actually, you have seen him.” There was no point in holding back; the situation she and Sam were immersed in was anything but casual and members of Hot Ink’s staff were bound to see him again at some point. “Remember my reschedule about a month ago – tall muscular guy, dark red hair? That’s Sam.”
    Zoe’s eyes went almost as wide as her plate.