Her Baby Secret (Friends & Lovers Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

button, ending the phone call and rapidly ending the annoying sound of Emerald's mirth.
    "Satisfied?" Robyn asked her mother.
    "Very," Marjorie said, smiling triumphantly. "I'm glad you came to your senses."
    "You really didn't leave me much choice," Robyn sputtered, feeling more than a little peeved at the entire situation.
    "Did you really expect anyone to be okay with you missing Christmas? You must be out of your mind. But let's not dwell on that. I'm too happy that I'll have my entire family together for yet another Christmas."
    Robyn saw the glowing happiness on her mother's face and felt ashamed of her cowardice. She'd gotten herself into this situation and she needed to deal with it like an adult. She wasn't anywhere near ready to confess to anyone but she shouldn't punish her family for her indiscretions.
    Unfortunately, spending time with her family on Christmas meant that she'd have to spend time with the Jamison family too. Specifically Devin Jamison. She could only pray that she'd be able to keep her composure in front of her former friend and keep her secret to herself.
     
    Robyn sipped from a steaming mug of tea. It was a tea specially made for pregnant women. Now that she'd officially made her decision, which still made her heart thump when she thought about it, she wanted to do the best she could by her baby. She was relieved that she'd been diligently taking the prenatal vitamins that Dr. Brynne had prescribed. Dr. Brynne had insisted that she take the vitamins because should she decide to go through with her pregnancy, the baby would have had the best care up to that point.
    Dr. Brynne had also wanted to do a sonogram but Robyn hadn't been ready for that. After the doctor had quietly lectured her about the importance of getting a sonogram whether she kept the baby or not, Robyn had promised that she'd come back very soon. Now, on a Sunday morning, she was eager to make an appointment for the sonogram. She'd call first thing Monday morning.
    She'd spent a good half hour on the phone with Emerald the night before, listening to her friend laugh constantly as she explained the pack of lies that she'd told her mother. When she got off the phone, she'd fallen asleep on the couch in the clothes that she'd worn to clean the house.
    She'd woken up that morning and rushed to the bathroom, feeling sluggish and disgusted. After she'd emptied the contents of her stomach, she got on with her day, brushing her teeth and showering. After she was dressed, she actually felt halfway decent. That was the first full night of sleep she'd had in weeks, since Devin had broken up with her.
    She'd gone to the grocery store, spending more money than she'd ever spent on groceries. She knew that she hadn't been taking very good care of herself and she was determined to do better. She had to for her baby's sake.
    Her baby. It still didn't seem real that she was going to be a mother. Her heart ached because she couldn't share the news with anyone, not even her baby's father. In time, she'd have to tell Devin and then everyone else. All she could do was pray that the news wouldn't tear the Phillips and Jamisons apart. Decades of friendship hung in the balance.
    Robyn took another sip of tea. It really was very good. She'd been expecting some kind of medicinal taste but the tea kind of tasted a little like chamomile, which was one of her favorites.
    Emerald entered the living room, having been in the bathroom for several minutes.
    "Are you okay?" Robyn asked her friend as she sat down on the couch.
    "I hope so," Emerald said. "You know that stepmother number 3 is still learning to cook, right?"
    Robyn nodded quietly.
    "Well I had dinner with her and Dad last night and she made rice and chicken... How do you fuck up rice and chicken? I don't get it. But I forced myself to eat as much of it as I could. And now I'm paying the price for it."
    "Are you sure it’s her food that did it?"
    Emerald rolled her eyes. "I spoke to Dad this morning. He