Now and Forever Read Online Free PDF

together.”
    “That sounds really good. But your place is so small. There’s not enough room for my clothes and shoes. Or my makeup and hair stuff in that tiny bathroom.”
    “But I own it, baby. No mortgage payment. We’ll make it work.” A flicker of dismay crossed her face as she walked past him, and Ben smacked her ass. She turned to give him a look that was supposed to be sharp, but it fell short. He knew she secretly loved the constant reinforcement of knowing how much she turned him on.
    “I don’t know,” she said. “But let’s stay here tonight.”
    “Yeah, we can.” Ben ran a hand through his hair and found his car keys on a table in the living room. “And tonight I’ll fuck away all your uncertainty, Cupcake.”
    Layla’s laugh was always music to his ears. “I’m not uncertain about anything but that apartment.”
    Ben winked at her, deciding to drop the subject so they could enjoy sharing their engagement news with her family. “Let’s go tell your folks I’m making an honest woman of you.”
    ***
    The whizzing sounds of cars flying past didn’t even faze Emma as she leaned out her car door and vomited. She could check crackers off the list of things the pregnancy book said might settle her stomach. This time she hadn’t even been able to make it home from the bakery. She was parked on the shoulder of the highway, and there’d been a split second when she wasn’t sure she’d get the car door open before puking.
    After a deep breath in and out, she closed the door and rested her head against her car seat for a few seconds.
    She was dreading dinner with her parents tonight. And Layla . . .
    What would her older sister say when Emma dropped the news that she was pregnant? Would she smile smugly? Make a sharp comment about using birth control?
    Emma sighed and gripped her steering wheel. Things between her and Layla had never been the same since Cole entered the picture. Even though Layla had found her perfect match in Ben, Emma suspected she was still hurt over the secret Emma had kept about her and Cole being together.
    Anytime the four of them were together, there was underlying tension. Sometimes she held her breath while Cole and Ben had broodish staring contests that looked like they would lead to a fistfight.
    Men. Everything was so simple to them. She was still frustrated over Cole’s lightning-fast acceptance of the pregnancy news. After steeling herself for Armageddon, his calmness had thrown her. They’d never discussed their future together. It was too soon. They were still young, and hadn’t even been together a full year yet.
    Cole didn’t understand the implications of this news. Their weekends spent sleeping in and making love would be over in eight months. Long, late-night dinners at a different restaurant every night wouldn’t be feasible anymore. And how would a baby fit into their demanding work schedules? They both worked twelve hour days. The bakery was still on shaky ground – how would she run it when she had a baby to take care of?
    So many questions without answers. Emma put the car in drive and eased back out into traffic. She was going home to crawl into bed and sleep off the nausea and fatigue. Hopefully she’d wake up more energized about telling her parents they’d be grandparents soon.
    ***
    Cole’s stomach rumbled in protest of the carrot stick he was chewing. He’d missed lunch because of a meeting that ran over, and he needed protein, not finger foods. Layla and Ben were late to the Carson family dinner, not surprisingly. She assumed the world revolved around her.
    Emma was wound tight, her pale face lined with tension. She was a wreck about telling their parents she was pregnant. He reached around her waist and pulled her hip against his. They were both leaning on her parents’ kitchen counter.
    “You want anything?” he asked softly. “Water?”
    She shook her head and laid it on his chest. “Tell me it’s gonna be okay,” she