Chapter 27: Temporary Bliss
Hello guys,
First as always: Thanks for alle the great reviews. I love you all and your support! I can't believe were going to be hitting the 600 review mark soon! WOW! I am... I can't say anything. You made it: you rendered me speechless.
Second: I put out a disclaimer right here: Welcome to Phase IV. And what better way than to start the necxt Phase with a BOOM. So the next two chapters are going to be really angsty and very dramatic. If you don't want to read this, you can skip them. But don't worry it won't be for long. I don't want to spoil too much, but before anyone gets impatient, we're returning to Pepperony very very soon (Chapter 29 *hint, hint*) and we will have a happy ending.
Also I decided to continue this story for longer than I anticipated and there will be a Phase V, if only a short one. Maybe I will post this in a separate story as a sequel, I don't know yet.
Third: I hope to put the next chapter out before easter, but please don't be mad if I cant keep that deadline... The world wide pandemic is pretty hard on me and my family and I am super stressed because of it, cause I worry and thus take care for people close to me on top of a full-time job, who are at high risk, like my Nana who had chronic pneumonia for years and my mom who is a cancer survivor.
Like I said before I thank everyone of you who is out there working, as well as everybody who is staying at home! Please be safe and stay healthy.
Fourth: Big thank you to mrsstark83! Girl, I am really happy to have made a friend through this website! I'm so thankful for your support here and your ideas!
Now buckle up, it's going to be a wild ride :D
Song: Temporary Bliss by The Cab
Temporary Bliss
"Pepper, the board just called. There was a problem about the deal with JP International. Our stock points are about to drop 40 points. You as CEO need to come back immediately, maybe we can turn the deal still around."
She looked at Tony, totally bewildered. The deal with JP International had been standing for weeks. Also her proxy was head of the project deal, so surely he could handle it.
"Oh. That's not good." She started. Still it wasn't her responsibility. "Couldn't Handerson -"
"Handerson wants you to call him back immediately and fly home as soon as possible. The Stark jet will be here in a few hours." His voice was stern and demanding. And then she realized: Tony was giving her a way out.
She nodded imperceptibly at Tony and he saw a glint in her eye return. "Alex, I'm so sorry. I need to make this call…" She turned toward her still-boyfriend and looked apologetic at him.
"Seriously? I haven't really seen you all vacation. This was supposed to be our time." Alex was mad, there was no doubt about that, the way he was glaring at her and the angry twitch his eyebrow made were dead give aways. He then suddenly turned toward Tony. "Could you give us a moment?" He was very unnerved.
"Excuse me?" Tony asked back, irritated.
"Yeah my girlfriend spent more time with you this vacation, than with me, her boyfriend and now you come here telling us she has to go home after you coincidentally had a fight with your girlfriend? I call bullshit. Now please excuse me, when I want a word with my girlfriend in private, would you?" He mock asked.
"I don't see why you can't talk to her while I'm here." Tony's voice was vibrating and barely more than a growl. He was bad at handling backlash from anybody and now one of his biggest competitors for Pepper's heart wanted to throw him out? There was no way Alex was getting some time alone with her anymore. "And frankly I think this is between Pepper and I, so why don't you get the hell out of here?"
"Me? You spent more time with her here than I did. You use up all of her energy and attention, because your relationship is going south. When you freaked out on your girlfriend she was by your side. Even this morning you cut in when she was in distress because of her past here." Alex's head was bright red now his voice growing louder every second. He even took a step forward, seizing Tony up and down.
"Excuse me, that you weren't even dressed and showed no interest in anything about the property so far. Excuse me that she obviously likes spending time with me better than spending time with you! I mean look at you, you pathetic bloke. You don't even notice she has an aff-" Tony all but spat in his face.
"Tony!" Pepper cut in and warned before he would reveal what happened between them out of pure spite.
But before Pepper could say anything further Alex interjected, thinking he was defending her. "Grow up Stark, just because you can't do healthy relationships doesn't mean you are allowed to intrude into ours. She deserves a bit of free time from you and this slave house you call company. So who the fuck cares if you lose a few million dollars and a few stock points over a project. I think you could afford it, Stark. How do ya call yourself? Genius, billionaire, playboy? Well at least two of them are true." His laugh was fake and condescending.
Pepper could sense Tony was about to explode, unconsciously Alex was feeding his fear of losing Pepper to him. And to be honest he was angering Pepper as well now. He had been so understanding in the beginning of their relationship with her crazy schedule, but time after time he had complained about her coming home late, about her not being able to drop everything and going away over the weekend, and it had been HIM who had invited Tony and Emily in the first place.
"Alex," Pepper's voice was calm, but meant business and no messing around, "You have no business talking about my job. I'm CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. That means I'm responsible for thousands of employees, for thousands of people needing to feed their families. When a deal goes south I am responsible. I have to take that call and maybe I have to fly back to California today. That's not how we planned it, but it is what it is." Pepper closed her eyes for a second and then turned to Tony. "Tony, I call Handerson and see what happened and what needs to be done."
"I can stay and maybe help." He offered giving Alex a hard look at the same moment.
"No. You have done enough for the moment. I get back to you as soon as I know what's going on." Her voice was still firm and all softness was gone from it. Maybe he had gone too far, he figured. Nearly telling Alex about last night hadn't been his best move obviously.
"But -" Tony tried.
"B-" Alex said at the same time, both men looking at each other coldly.
"No, both of you: stop. I go take that call. Someone needs to finish those pancakes before they all burn, the other one can set the table outside." She left the kitchen still fuming. I'm choosing between a kindergarten-child and an idiot, she thought, and wasn't entirely sure whom was who.
It turned out she really wasn't needed back in Los Angeles, yet she stood there listening to the old guy rambling on, phone in her right hand pressed to her right ear. She tried concentrating on what Handerson was telling her, but found it hard. Her mind kept going back to Tony. She disliked fighting with him and he was right: Alex didn't even notice things were ging south between them. Soon she had no idea what the man on the other side of the line was telling her, because Pepper was too absorbed in her own thoughts.
She found Tony in her fathers old library, arms crossed over his chest looking at the books in the shelves. How could she stay mad at him when he looked so adorable and somewhat out of place in a room full of old-fashioned books. A man so fascinated and handy with tech being so engrossed in one of the oldest arts. She moved up quietly behind him and snuck her arms around his middle and lay her head against his back in between his shoulders, while inhaling his scent before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry." She confessed."And thank you for giving me a way out."
Tony still had is armes crossed, but she noticed his muscles soften underneath her touch.
"Are you mad at me?" Pepper asked sweetly over his shoulder, trying to catch his eye, but his remained glued to the books. "Oh come on, look at me." She kissed his neck lightly, with feathery movements. After a few more kisses and persuasion on Pepper's side Tony finally gave in and turned around to look at her.
"I'm sorry, Pep. I didn't want to lash out on him." He followed his words with a punctuated kiss to her temple and backed off, sitting in one of her fathers dark and well used leather chairs.
"Tony, -" She started as soon as he left her embrace with a soft smile, but he didn't let her even start.
"I'm sorry, but Alex he just… Since yesterday… I don't want…"
Now Pepper stopped him when her hands placed gently left and right to frame his face.
"I understand if you don't want to leave." He confessed finally, but looked not entirely sure.
The soft smile grew bigger on her face. "The jet will be here in three hours."
Tony had reassured Pepper again he was going to break up with Emily, but he wanted to do it right and most importantly in private, instead of openly, on vacation with another couple still present. Before Pepper could say anything in return, Emily burst into their room.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Pepper could I talk to you for a second?" She asked, looking unhappy, pale and somewhat sweaty. Pepper's heart sank, had she figured out what was going on between her and Tony, would she be picking a fight, screaming and calling her names? What was even worse, Pepper wouldn't, no couldn't deny any of her accusations and Emily had every right to rage.
"Uhm…" Pepper stuttered, "O- ok…" Without looking at Tony she followed the brunette out of the room and into the kitchen. Emily got a bottle of water from the fridge and opened the cap, carefully taking a tiny sip of water.
"Emily?" Pepper asked carefully, still waiting for the hammer to fall.
The other woman gave no answer, she just turned, even paler than before. "I…" And before her eyes, Emily's legs gave way. She crashed to the floor, panting, cold sweat running down her body.
"Oh my god!" Pepper gasped. "Tony, Alex" she shouted and heard the guys running towards her from different parts of the house. "Quick!" She then looked down at the woman under her hands, "It's ok, breath, breath. Steady." Pepper grabbed a towel from near by and wetted it quickly, before gently touching her forehead. Alex was the first one to arrive in the kitchen and knelt beside Emily.
"What happened?" He asked Pepper, looking down an the other woman, feeling for her pulse and how fast her heart was beating.
"I don't know." Pepper admitted. "She wanted to talk to me and just broke down."
"Emily," Alex talked to her in a calm and soothing voice. "Can you hear me?" Emily nodded, eyes still wide and white as a sheet.
"Ok, we'll put your legs up onto a chair, you understand? Get the blood back into your head to your brain." Tony, who was now standing in the door, immediately grabbed a chair from the kitchen table and brought it over to Alex. He carefully placed Emily's legs on top and asked Pepper to place another towel under her head. Tony snatched the towel from Pepper's hands, placed it under Emily's head and continued stroking her hair and forehead lovingly.
Something fuzzy mad its way into Pepper's stomach at the way Tony was looking down at Emily, yes something fuzzy and angry. You are a horrible person, Pepper. You envy a sick person.
"Are you sick?" Alex asked Emily, who was crying now and she nodded. "Do you feel feverish?" Emily nodded again, while taking a deep breath.
"Ever since the barbecue at Bo's I felt sick." She brought out, while Tony shhed softly at her, trying to calm her down so her pulse would go even higher. "At first I thought I had one too many beers, because I had a headache all day and my stomach was quite upset. I wanted to ask Pepper if she had Tylenol and Peptobismol but before I could, everything just turned black… God I'm so sorry." She placed her hand over her eyes in embarrassment.
Pepper felt like the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders, before it came crashing back down on her, this girl had been sick and just wanted to ask for help and she had only thought about how bad she felt for cheating on her with her boyfriend. She really hated the chaos cheating caused in everybody's life. She really hated cheating. Period. And she hated herself for the person she had become. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn't just pretend that nothing had changed in the last few days, she couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened between her and Tony, not when her heart and head finally were on the same page and when in the first time in forever Pepper was finally sure of what she truly wanted: she wanted to be with him.
"I'm no doctor, but from what it sounds like you seem to have a heatstroke. The cold, headache, sickness all classical symptoms. You should rest the rest of the day and preferably stay inside, where the AC is running." Alex concluded and helped Emily to slowly sit back up and handed her the water bottle. "But if it's not better by tomorrow, I suggest we go and see the doctor, okay?" He warned and looked at Pepper and Tony as well, to make sure they're his witnesses.
"I'll make sure of that." Tony said. A few minutes ago he wanted to break up with Emily, now his voice was still laced with concern. The fuzzy creature in Pepper's stomach growled angrily as it realized the undertone. Get yourself together, Pepper.
"I will call ahead and make an appointment with your physician." Pepper said and stood, taking out her phone and going through her contacts.
Alex and Emily looked at her quizzically and she remembered she had yet to tell them about going home early. "Uhm, the jet will be here in three hours. Tony and I have to return to California." She hesitated when she saw Alex disappointed and angered expression.
"Emily, I think it's best when you come with me. You're sick, you should see a doctor. And I want you close as long as you're sick." Tony said softly to his still-girlfriend and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Pepper, can we talk for a second?" Alex asked. Pepper looked over at Tony, but he didn't look back at her. he was too busy studying his girlfriends face carefully. He didn't even recognize Pepper was about to leave the room with Alex. Though she felt uncomfortable she nodded at Alex and followed him outside.
When they reached the front porch she started before he could say something. "Alex, I don't wanna fight." Her voice was sad, almost pleading. "But I can't just -"
"I don't wanna fight either, B." He interrupted her and took hold of her hand. "I am sorry for the scene I caused before. It's just so frustrating… We barely had time to ourselves here and I was looking forward to our first vacation. But I knew when I got involved with you that your job almost always comes first, and while I'm not happy about it, I have to accept it." He smiled encouragingly at her and she smiled back, hoping her expression matched his. "And I am sure you'll make it up to me somehow." He told her with a grin, while carefully taking hold of her face and giving her a sweet, deep kiss.
Alright, no more kissing Alex. - But same goes for Emily. The words echoed in her head and got louder and louder with every split second he touched, until they made her break the kiss far sooner than she normally would. Instead of letting her go, Alex caught her in a deep and intimate hug, like he was telling her he was not willing to let her go.
"I love you, Pepper." He whispered the words into her hair like they were a prayer, but instead of feeling a familiar warmth and happiness, Pepper felt dread and overwhelming guilt flood her systems and mix with insecurity about Tony and Emily. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath to calm herself, to keep herself from crying for how unfair all of this was. Fortunately Alex took her sadness and sigh as contend, instead of what it truly was: fear. He let her go and she smiled sadly at him.
"I have to go pack." She told him and stepped out of reach.
As soon as she was up the stairs the tears came flowing freely. How could she possible break up with him. He deserved better than that, than her.
"Pep, are you ok?" Tony's voice made her whip around. He stood in the doorway to her and Alex's room observing her. When he saw her tear stained face his eyes turned so unbelievably soft and were so full of concern and fear, she felt even worse. What had this all to be so complicated. "What happened?" He asked, like a small boy who saw his mother crying, almost too afraid to ask.
"Nothing, nothing." She tried to sound reassuring and quickly wiped away her tears. "We… we're going home." She smiled at him, pretty lopsided and turned back around to the bag that was already placed on the bed. She couldn't deal with him right now. She needed a little space to think and get her feelings straight.
There was a pregnant silence between them as she put things into her bag and she wondered if he had stepped away.
"Are you -" Tony begun, his voice wavering, but he stopped immediately when he heard footsteps on the stairs. When Pepper turned to look at him, he was already gone, instead she saw Alex coming through the doorway and her heart sunk again.
"Oh you're almost done." He smiled and reached for his own bag.
The flight had been pretty quiet. Emily had lain down in the small bedroom, still feeling very sick and weak, Alex had been sitting in one of the booths, busy typing away on his laptop, probably mailing with his friends, that he was coming home early or playing on of his computer games and Pepper had been sitting in another booth across from Tony busy with writing mails back and forth with Handerson and the board, while catching up on the nearly failed project. Tony had been supposed to do the same - and he had even been holding his mobile phone in one hand the whole time - had just been staring into the void. She wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but he wore a thoughtful, serious expression, his eyes flickering over to the bedroom door every now and then.
Shortly before they touched ground, Emily returned from the bedroom and sat beside Tony, stating she felt slightly better, but still a little uneasy in the stomach. She smiled weakly at Tony and out of the corner of her eye, Pepper saw him kissing her forehead softly, before hugging her close.
The monster i her stomach demanded salvation and for Pepper to rip Emily to pieces, but Pepper just gathered her laptop and phone and changed to another seat, no so coincidentally next to Alex.
After their landing Pepper packed her belongings up in her carry-on bag when Alex appeared beside her and took it from her hands, offering to carry it for her. She gladly handed it over and followed him to the door.
When she stepped outside she saw what looked like Tony pulling back from a kiss he shared with Emily. When he looked up he caught her eye and hold her sight for a moment before he stepped back and walked back towards the back entrance of the jet.
As soon as they were all off the plane they would go separate ways for at least a few days, it was the last time they would be in close proximity with both of them still beging in a relationship, and she couldn't help but wondered if Tony was still feeling the same way he did yesterday and this morning. And she wondered if he feared the same, that the next time they meet only one of them would be single. There were things still left unspoken between them and before returning to the real world she wanted, no needed to give them a chance to speak them out. "I'll meet you outside, Alex. I need to talk to Tony for a second." She squeezed his shoulder and gave her still-boyfriend a sweet smile as to reassure him.
Tony had already entered the plane through the other door, but wasn't quite looking at her, his gaze fixated on the floor, his body casually leant against the backside of one of the plane seats, with his arms crossed and though he didn't even try to catch her eye, Pepper knew he was waiting for her.
"Don't take to long, it's already getting dark out." Alex answered and kissed her cheek pointedly. She mouthed a thank you in his direction and moved over to where Tony stood, but said nothing, waiting for him to speak the words he hadn't gotten to in Texas. She leaned her hip against one of the armrests and mimicked his position with her arms crossed. The silence stretched over a few moments, and they just started at each other, searching the others features for answers to questions yet to ask.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly when he never said a word. She knew it was a stupid question, cause she knew what was going through his head. She was asking herself the same questions.
"Are you sure of this?" Tony asked eventually, holding her gaze questioningly.
Pepper couldn't help the smile that involuntarily spread across her face and noticed her heart beat accelerating and the familiar warmth spread through her. She loved his vulnerability, the way he finally showed all of his emotions. It made her feel important and loved.
"I am." She simply stated in return.
When he didn't answer her stomach clenched and the monster roared again. His guilty face made her concern grow even more. It was written all over her face, he was worried. For Emily and for Pepper and their possible relationship. He was torn what to do.
Pepper knew she had to lay it all on the line. She pushed herself away from the seat and stood directly before him, her hands prying his apart and placing them on her hip, her own hands carefully cradling his neck. "I am sure, Tony. I finally know what I want, with all of my heart. I just don't know how I'm supposed to break his."
He nodded understandingly, but kept quiet.
"Are you still sure?" Pepper asked carefully eyes fixed on her hands, not daring to look at him, because she was afraid what she might find there.
It maybe took a second top long to answer her, but eventually he talked: "Pep, look at me. I am sure. It's just... I'm... It's been a long day." Tony just looked at her with big brown eyes. Before she could contain himself she reached down and kissed him sweetly and luckily he replied whole heartedly. Pepper was happy to feel him close again, having missed the feeling of his lips on hers. When they broke apart shortly after, he smiled at her, the familiar spark in his eye having returned.
"By the way: that was an argument." He retorted her own words back at her as he went for the exit.
Her laugh was music in his ears.
The next few days Pepper had barely seen either Tony or Alex.
Alex was always busy with work and the project he was working on with Rhodey, only asking her for lunch once or twice. Pepper wasn't really sad about it, it meant she had time plotting her breakup, without actually having to go through with it and didn't need to pretend they were still happy on the other hand.
Also Lisa had called two days after they came home and asked Pepper if she wanted to come over on Friday to her house to catch up and after everything that had happened between her and Tony she was more than happy to oblige. She also was looking forward to get some advice from her best friend on the best way to break up with Alex, without breaking his heart completely.
What she was sad about how ever was Tony's lack of presence in either her private life and at work.
Since their conversation - and kiss - in the airplane Tony hadn't so much as send her a message he wasn't coming to their meetings at Stark's due personal reasons. Apart from that, he didn't answer her mails, calls, sms and even a request from her placed through JARVIS. She followed the news like a maniac to figure out if he was on a mission, but Iron Man was nowhere to be seen and JARVIS had assured her he would inform her as soon as Tony would be flying out. Yet she never received a call.
She was worried, that maybe Tony had changed his mind after all, that everything they had had in Texas had only been short-lived and in the moment, not to last in everyday life, while the monster inside of her was having a field day.
After five days without getting any note from Tony he finally called her. She had just entered her car and put the key into the ignition, ready to drive over to Lisa's when her phone chimed. She recognized the ring tone immediately and scrambled for her purse on the passenger seat. Tony's photo smiled at her from the screen and she quickly pressed the answer button.
"Hey you." She greeted into the speaker and smiled despite herself. "Long time no hear."
"Hi Pepper." At first she didn't notice the lack of lightness and presence of seriousness in his voice.
"What do you think about dinner tonight?" Pepper asked cheerfully. "I haven't talked to Alex yet, but he's busy with a project and I am alone tonight. I know we said to first break it off… But I haven't seen you in forever. And to be honest I miss you." She smiled down the phone again. God she turned into a lovesick teenager.
"Uhm… I'd love to see you, but… We need to talk. I can't leave Emily. Not right now at least…"
"Wha… I don't under…" She stuttered, cold washing over her. "I thought we… in Texas. We agreed… Why?" Her voice was shaking, and her thoughts were spinning. Pure exasperation washed over her. When Tony spoke she barely realized his words at first. Two minutes later the phone fell from her hands, her face went white and tears started brimming in the back of eyes.
"Pepper, Pepper?" Tony's voice came quietly from the phone outlet.
"Don't." She said toneless as soon as she picked the phone back up and ended the call without waiting for any more words. Her whole body felt numb, like life itself had left her and had only left an empty shell. Involuntarily she chuckled at the irony of her last thought, though the laughter soon turned into dry sobs until the tears streamed freely.
When she had calmed herself down again Pepper finally drove to her best friend. She was more than thankful for Lisa's return, she needed that shoulder to cry on now.
"Pepper, there you are!" Lisa greeted her excitedly at the door. "We were all waiting for you." The giddy smile she wore should have been a dead give away that there was something going on, but Pepper was too absorbed in her own despair to notice anything.
Unfortunately Lisa wasn't alone. In fact there was a whole party going on and when Pepper stepped into the spacious living room everyone stepped aside, making way for her. Alex was right there in the middle of the circle, surrounded by it looked like everyone Pepper had ever met, in a dark suit, slowly getting down on one knee.
"Virginia Potts, around a year ago I got invited to a party and I never thought that day, that small birthday house-party would change my life forever. But it did. It was the day you came into my life." His voice was filled with admiration, love and affection and his eyes were full of hope and happiness.
"Alex -" Pepper tried to interject, hoping he would stop, before he made a foul out of both of them. The tears in her eyes were threatening to spill over again, not because of happiness, but because too much had happened in the last hour and because she never wanted it to get so out of hand.
Unfortunately he mistook her whimper and her tears as tears of joy and continued, "That last year, you changed me so much. Because of you I became more of a man, I ever dreamed of being capable of and because of you I still want to be better each day than the day before. I know you are strong and independent, and one hell of a woman. But I want all of that in my life, so I ask you if you want me in you life, forever? Will you marry me?" With his last sentence he pulled the teal blue box from his pocket and opened it to her, revealing a 1.5 carat clear diamond ring.
Pepper bid back the tears, not wanting to embarrass herself or himself even further and stepped forward, toward him so only he could hear her. "Alex, stand up please." He looked at her quizzically, fear and rejection running over his face, but did as he was told. "I need time to think about it." She really didn't want to break up with him in front of all those people, though now a break up was inevitable, and he probably knew that.
He looked at her irritated, but then nodded sharply, his jaw set and closed the box, shoving it back into his pocket and taking a step back from her.
"Lisa?" Not able to hold back the tears any longer, Pepper looked frantically around for Lisa. "LISA?" Tears blurred her vision and dripped down onto her light gray blazer. She, noticing her despair, rushed forward and grabbed her arm, supporting her best friend and lead her to the master bathroom, before locking the door behind them. Pepper sat down on the carpet and leaned against the bathtub.
"Pepper, what's wrong?" Lisa asked, sitting down next to her onto the closed toilet, not angry, but worried.
"I… I can't marry him, Lisa." Pepper brought to through tears. She wanted to ask her friend why she was part of this whole charade, hadn't she listened to her on the phone a week ago? Was this her way of telling her she didn't want her to leave Alex and be with Tony?
Before Pepper could ask the question, Lisa brought forward her own question. "But, I thought you were so happy in Texas? And the night at the treehouse? You told me you want be with him as well. You were so excited." It dawned on Pepper that there had been a big misunderstanding between herself and her best friend.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the tub softly, taking a big, defeated breath, while the tears continued streaming down her face. "You thought I was talking about Alex." It wasn't a question, it was a conclusion and when she opened her eyes again she saw she was right.
Lisa looked at her and Pepper saw the look on her face change from confusion over wonder to realization as her eyes went wide and her mouth gaped open. "No way." Was all she could say. Pepper didn't need to say anything the guilty look on her face gave her away instantly. "Why? How? I… Pepper? Why?" It was a rare occasion that her best friend was rendered speechless, but know Lisa Gardner was.
Another sob built in her throat, and all Pepper could do was shrug.
"I mean, you've been in love with him for years." Lisa started explaining, more to herself. She was that type of friend to never question your action or judging you, rather looking for a valuable explanation. "Honey, are you sure about this?" She asked softly, referring to possibly leaving Alex and getting together with Tony.
Pepper nodded and looked up at her after wiping her eyes. "I am. I… I was." The tears came again and Pepper buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. After a while she finally calmed down, her tears run dry. "Alex deserves better than a cheating girlfriend. And I want Tony with every fibre of my being. I really wanted to be with him." She stopped with a sigh, just feeling empty and numb. Still she couldn't contain the words that tumbled out her mouth and they ripped her appart from the inside out. "For the first time we were finally on the same page." Tears brimmed again in her eyes and she looked down again.
Luckily Lisa was quick to pick up details and noticed it immediately: "Were?" She asked a little mortified.
And when Pepper looked up with watery, bloodshot eyes she knew she had every reason to be: "Emily is pregnant."
Fifth: Everything I ever said in my authors notes still applies. What ever this means is for you to find out ;-) Also thanks for some of your great inspirations in the reviews!
Here's your sneak peak:
Instead of telling him off like she had anticipated, her mouth - though she suspected, actually it was her heart - betrayed her. "How? Tell me how. How can we rewrite the stars?"
I know it's cliche, but what can I say. We're nearing our happy end.
