Joan shoved a throw pillow from the department store's shelf underneath her T-shirt and smiled. "Look at me. I'm suddenly expecting. Overnight. It's a modern-day miracle."
Aria tilted her head back and laughed before punching Joan's shoulder. "Stop it. I can't believe he assumed it was you, or actually, I can't believe he's been spying on me like that. What are the chances of the lady from the daycare coming and telling him directly?"
Joan put the pillow back on the shelf and gave Aria the eye. "Oh, come on, yes, you can. Mr. Billionaire is head over heels for you, Linetti. Now get over it."
Aria stared at the array of baby bedding, décor, and the vast span of things she didn't know about babies. Not to mention the prices on necessities like diapers and formula. Maybe she needed to breastfeed? The truth was she planned to just wing it the best she could until she had to ask for help. She'd spent the entire Saturday morning Googling things that she would need for the baby.
After she cried for thirty minutes in her bathroom, because she felt overwhelmed and unprepared, she gathered herself, and called Joan for support. Aria was paid for the first time since she started at Devry Media and had a little extra money to buy for her little one.
Aria pushed her shopping cart down the aisle, her phone buzzing in her pocket, but she chose not to look. Landen hadn't stopped calling and texting since Friday afternoon. It wasn't surprising since he was hell-bent on the baby being his.
Joan stopped in front of a dark brown crib with an attached changing table. "Is this the one you liked on the website?" she asked.
Aria smiled and ran her fingertips over the display. "Yes. I think it will go good with the sailboat theme."
Joan grabbed the box and hauled it into the shopping cart. "What else today?"
"The bedding," Aria said. "Everything else will have to wait until I get paid again."
Aria bent down and picked out the sailboat theme bedding she wanted and put it in with the crib.
Joan walked beside her toward the checkout. "Have you thought of a name yet?" she asked.
Aria sighed heavily. "No, not really. It's harder than it looks. Whatever I choose, he is going to be stuck with forever. It's not a light decision to make."
Joan helped Aria put their items onto the conveyer belt. "I can only imagine. Maybe Ethan Maverick? Or Ethan Harden?"
Aria stopped what she was doing and stared at Joan. "I can't name him Ethan, Joan."
Joan put her hands on her hips. "And why not? He's the daddy isn't he? Or is there something you're not telling me?"
Aria sighed and rubbed her palm over the curve of her stomach. "What if he finds out and doesn't want anything to do with him, Joan? Then he will be reminded that his father doesn't want anything to do with him his entire life."
Joan watched Aria pull out her wallet, pay for her items, and load them carefully. Once they made it to the parking lot, Joan reached over and put her palm on her forearm. A worry line creased the center of her forehead, and she frowned. "Aria, sweetie, you know I love you, but you can't keep doing this to yourself. It's not healthy for yourself or the baby."
"Doing what?" Aria asked, opening the back door to her vehicle because the trunk was too small for the crib.
"Setting yourself up to fail. Ethan seems to like you, Aria. You need to accept the fact that he is the father, and he is a good guy. Why be so negative about it?"
Aria sighed, remembering the conversation they'd had at Ethan's condo. "I brought up having children in the future, Joan, and he doesn't see himself as a father. I know I have to tell him, and I am going to tell him, but I'm not sure how he will react. I don't want to give myself false hope."
Joan pulled Aria in for a hug. "Ethan likes you, and I can't see him abandoning his child. You need to keep your chin up, and I suggest you talk to your supervisor about maternity leave this week, Aria. She needs to know soon for legal reasons."
Aria sighed and closed her eyes in an attempt to keep herself from crying. "I'm going to talk to Marilyn Friday and then tell Ethan at the fundraiser that afternoon. I have to try and find a dress that will hide him one last time, and then I will have no reason to hide him anymore."
Joan gave Aria a reassuring smile. "Come on," she said. "Let's get this loaded so we can get them set up today."
Aria bit her tongue to keep her emotions at bay. Everything felt like a heavy weight on her shoulders, and each breath felt more labored than the last. Ethan Devry had one last week of thinking Aria Linetti was just another girl he wanted to date; he'd find out she was the mother of his unborn child in a few short days.
***
Aria walked back to the doorjamb of her room and stared at the small corner where her baby's crib sat. The bedding had been washed and dried and was now made with love. It'd taken Joan and Aria hours to assemble the crib since neither of them were known for putting things together. Landen had taken care of the building for the last few years.
Joan had surprised Aria with a small sailboat to go above the crib, and it fit perfectly with the bedding. The blue and greys meshed well and made Aria feel warm and fuzzy all over.
"It's all for you," she whispered to her stomach, loving the fact he'd become more active over the last few days.
Aria walked toward the kitchen where she started to cook her pasta for dinner and ignored all of the lingering guilt over her head.
Her phone buzzed, and expecting it to be another badgering text from Landen, she was pleased to see it was from Ethan.
Ethan: Thinking about that delicious cheesecake from last night. Any chances you'd be free this coming week for another?
Aria smiled, remembering the meal they had made her small bowl of pasta look sad and pathetic.
Aria: I think I can work you into my schedule. Plus, another slice of that cheesecake may make me tell you all my secrets.
More or less.
Aria sat down at her small dining table and twirled her fork around in her bowl of pasta. She took a bite and moaned aloud.
She looked down at her phone when it buzzed again and grimaced.
Landen: Please answer the phone. I'm going to come over if you don't.
Aria rolled her eyes, knowing she had the locks changed, and Landen couldn't get inside if she didn't answer it. And she wouldn't. Landen had made his bed and now he would lay in it.
She checked her phone for another text from Ethan, but didn't see one, so she finished her meal and walked toward her bedroom.
Her feet screamed under the pressure of her growing stomach, so she propped her feet against a pillow on her bed and turned on the TV.
She found herself smiling at the crib in the corner of the room, and the small sailboat stared back at her. In only a few short weeks, a baby would sleep in that crib, and it startled her to think her vision of her future with a husband wouldn't be there.
The spot next to her would be empty.
No mother wants to be a single mom, but Aria had to prepare for it, even if Joan thought Ethan would pull through.