If I'd Only Known (Milan Women Series Book 1) (29 page)

PART 2

Falling in love is easy to do,

The hard part is staying in love

Through thick and thin . . .

Nia
went to answer her door with a brand new stride in her step. “Get on in here,
girl.” She hugged her friend, pulling her inside.

“You
in a good mood today,” Tina observed.

“Yes
I am. And with good reason, too, I might add.”

Tina
laughed, placing her portfolio on the table in the foyer before joining her
friend in the living room. “Do share then, girl.” She plopped down on the
couch. “Whew, child, I am so dog tired. Sleep is gonna feel so good to me
tonight. Let me tell you.”

“Forget
sleep, Tina. I got great news.”

Tina
smiled, noting the glow on her friend's face. “Okay, I'll bite. What's up?”

“I'm
pregnant!” Nia announced with joyful laughter and a twirl around in a circle.
“Isn't that the greatest news?”

Tina
was still dumbfounded. She had to have heard her friend wrong.

“Tina?”
Nia called out to her. “Did you hear me?”

“I'm
not sure, Nia. I
thought
I heard you say you were pregnant—”

“That's
exactly what I said.” Nia beamed with unmistakable pride.

“How
can you be pregnant?” Tina questioned, still reeling from shock.

Nia
laughed out loud and stared at Tina like it should have been obvious. But then
again, she had to remember, her case wasn't exactly
normal
. “I'm not
exactly pregnant yet,” she admitted. “But I will be tomorrow,” she quickly
added.

Tina
tried not to, but she couldn't help it. She burst into laughter. “Oh, you
finally accepted a date with that fine as wine Kane, huh?”

Nia
crinkled up her nose. “Girl, please. Nobody over here is even thinking about
him.”

“Wanna
bet?” Tina laughed, fanning herself like she was all hot and bothered.

Nia
laughed, too. “You go out with him then.”

“Girl,
all the man gotta do is holler at me and I'll have him hollering all night.”

They
broke into laughter again.

“Girl,
he'll have a sister chanting 'say my name, boy, say my name.'”

The
two friends howled in laughter for the next five minutes.

“Girl,
you don’t have a lick of sense. Not an inkling thin string of it,” Nia told
her.

“This
from a woman who about to get her freak on with a man she just met?”

“I
didn't just meet him.”

Tina
laughed and shook her head, “Yeah, right. Okay, whatever you say, Nia. I’m not
even mad at you, girl.” She grinned mischievously.

“I'm
serious, Tina. I'm not about to be getting busy with no stranger.”

Tina
was thoroughly confused. “Then how do you intend to get pregnant tonight?”

“I
didn't say tonight. Did I? I said tomorrow.”

“What's
going on, Nia?”

“Life,
Tina, is going on; mine to be exact.” She smirked. “And as of tomorrow, the new
life of my child will be growing inside of me.”

“You
lost me, Nia. I don't understand. How can you be so sure you'll conceive
tomorrow, with whoever this mystery man is?”

“I
already made the arrangements. I'm gonna have a baby soon.”

“Whoa,
whoa, whoa, back up, Nia. What do you mean you're gonna have a baby soon? I
didn't even know you were seeing anyone.”

“I'm
not.”

“Then,
how are you gonna have a baby soon?”

“Like
I said, I've made the arrangements already.”

“Do
you mean to tell me you're going to some clinic to have some strange man's
kid?”

“He's
not a strange man, I know who he is.”

“If
you know who he is then why didn't you do it in the traditional fashion?”

Instead
of answering, Nia began tidying up her living room.

“Nia,
I'm talking to you.”

“And
there's nothing else left to say; just get ready to be called Auntie in about
nine months.”

“Hold
up.” Tina laughed. “You're gonna have to do better than that. I want details.
Dish the dirt, girl. Who is this alleged man?”

“He's
not alleged when he exist.”

“Who
is he, Nia?” Tina looked at her long and hard. “No you did not?” She slowly
shook her head in dismay. “Tell me you did not trick Barrington into getting
you pregnant.”

“I
do not have to trick any man into getting me pregnant,” she lied, “not
directly, anyway.”

“What
does that mean? And before you say anything, the mere fact you said what you
just said, lets me know that it does involve Barrington.” Tina folded her arms.
“Now you better start talking right now, Nia.”

Nia
sighed long and hard. “I am going to have a baby—Barrington's baby. But he
doesn't know it yet.”

“What
the heck do you mean he doesn't know it? How can he not know it? Was he drunk?”

“No.”

“What
the freak?” She took a deep breath. “All right,” Tina announced, grabbing her
head in exasperation and feeling a headache coming on. She sat on the edge of
the couch, attempting to brace herself for what she knew was one unbelievable
story. “Nia, let's have it. The whole story; start from the beginning.”

For
the next twenty minutes, Nia told Tina her diabolical plan and how it came to
evolve.

Not
believing her friend, Tina told her, “You are stark-raving mad, girl. Do you
honestly think you're gonna get away with that foolishness?”

“I've
already gotten away with it; he has no idea.” Nia smirked.

“Yet!”
Tina laughed sarcastically. “That's not something you can keep hidden, you
know. He is eventually gonna know you're pregnant; you're the man's
housekeeper.”

“Was.”

“What?”

“I
was his housekeeper.”

“You
quit?” Tina was shocked.

“No.
Not yet, anyway. But I do plan to take a leave of absence.”

“When?”

“End
of the week.”

“Why
so soon?”

“Can't
chance Barrington finding out my secret; I'm not ready yet. The time has to be
exact in order for my plan to come off without a hitch.”

“But
you don't really plan to go back, if you go through with this crazy plan of
yours, right?”

“Of
course I plan to go back, Tina. How else am I gonna be able to keep tabs on my
baby's daddy?” She laughed at her own pun.

“Why
do you need to keep tabs on a man who is not your own, Nia?”

“That's
a temporary problem; believe me, Tina, I've got a permanent solution.”

“Meaning
what, Nia?” She shook her head. “Because if you think Barrington's gonna come
to you willingly, or for that matter, that Perri's gonna willingly give him up,
you're totally over the top, girl. He is her husband, you know, not to mention
the father of her baby that already does exist.”

“I'm
not worried about little Miss Perri.”

“Well,
you should be, Nia. In fact, you should be afraid; be very afraid.”

“She's
the one who needs to be afraid,” Nia said suddenly angry.

“Nia,
this whole thing is just ludicrous. No. It's downright insane. And it will
never work.”

“Shows
how much you know. I want what I want. And I am going to get what I want, Tina,
or die trying,” Nia vowed.

“No,
you're gonna end up in prison, if not in an asylum, time this whole mess is
said and done.” Tina shook her head. “I'm begging you, Nia. Don't do this.”

“Too
late; it's already done and it can't be undone.” Nia turned on her friend. “If
you can't get with the plan, Tina, then I honestly don't need you, much less
your approval so you can leave.”

“You
can say this to me after all we've been through together?”

“My
baby is what matters most, Tina. So, yes, if you don't want to be part of my
child's life, then leave is exactly what you need to do.”

“You're
serious?”

“I’m
dead serious.”

“And
that's exactly what your plan is, Nia; a deadly, dangerous game.”

“I'm
not playing games, Tina. I'm playing for keeps, and that's real.”

Tina
scratched her scalp. “You're trying to get, trap, and keep a man who doesn't
even view you in that way, Nia.” She shook her head. “That's just crazy any way
you look at it, girl. And if you think I'm gonna help you with something so
evil, you'd better think again. Long and hard!” She glared at her friend. “You
leave me out of whatever scheme you got cooked up.”

“Let
me explain something to you, Tina. With or without you, this baby—mine and
Barrington's is going to be born.” She quirked her eyebrow and said, “Now,
while you don't have to like it, I expect you to respect it.”

“Respect
it?” Tina repeated incredulous. “How, Nia, do you respect something so twisted
up? Sperm napping? What kind of mess is that? Who does that?”

“It's
not mess, Tina. And I resent that comment.”

Waving
her off, Tina said, “You do realize what you did is called stealing, Nia, right?”

“I
didn't steal anything. Sperm is a gift that no man is able to take back.”

Tina
couldn't believe her ears. “Sperm is something a man usually passes on to a
woman of his own choosing, Nia.” Shaking her head, she reminded her,
“Barrington doesn't have a clue you're even in love with him, let alone that
you took some leftover sperm you found in one of his used condoms. That's just
nasty, by the way. But did you stop there, Nia? No. From there, you had his
sperm frozen until you were ready to have yourself artificially inseminated
with it. That's just downright stupid, by the way.”

A
dark look passed through Nia's eyes, but she quickly reeled it back in. “I've
heard enough from you, Tina. I want you to leave my house this instant.” She
narrowed her eyes at her. “And, I expect you to keep your mouth shut about my
secret. It's my business to tell, and when and if I do is completely up to me.”

“Nia,
no one would believe me if I did say something. But this competition you got
going on with Perri is totally not healthy. And as your friend, Nia, I'm
telling you, you need to seek some professional guidance to get over it. I
mean, exactly what is with this vendetta you have going with Perri? For some
reason, to you it's personal. Why? What's she ever done to you?”

“She
stole my man, that's what,” Nia declared in a hostile tone.

Shaking
her head, Tina said, “Excuse me, but did I miss something? You see, I was under
the impression that you were Barrington’s housekeeper. When was he ever your
man, Nia?”

Nia
rolled her eyes hard, smacking her lips. “The point is he would've been were it
not for that heifer Perri. Why did she have to come into his life anyway?” she
complained with a scowl marring her beautiful face.

Tina
was honestly concerned for her friend, “Nia? Honey, listen to me, try to hear
me. This is beneath you. You are a very beautiful young woman; any man would be
proud to have you. Any
available
man,” she clarified.

“I
don't want any man, I want
my
man. And that's Barrington. Period.”

“For
the last time, Nia, Barrington is not yours. He's Perri's husband. Period.”

“Not
for long, I'll tell you that much.”

“That
woman doesn't deserve this, Nia. You say you love Barrington and yet you're
willing to intentionally hurt the woman he loves with his whole life. And as
for Perri, she's a very nice person—”

“She's
the bitch that stole my man!” Nia hissed. “I don't care about Perri.”

“That's
obvious. But you know what, Nia? Maybe you should because it would save you a
lot of heartache and embarrassment in the long run.”

“What
is that supposed to mean?”

“Girl,
jealousy is not pretty,” Tina stated the obvious. “Why do you think envy is
referred to as the 'green eyed monster'? That is not how your stunning emerald
green eyes were meant to be used, Nia.”

“Call
me what you want, Tina. Just stay out of my way, or I will make you regret the
day we ever met, girl,” Nia promised.

“Too
late, Nia, I already do.” Snatching up her purse, Tina parted with these words,
“If you come to your senses, Nia, you know where to find me.” And she was gone.

Nia
glared at the front door as if she could set fire to it. “Who needs you anyway,
true blue!” she screamed to no one in particular. Her eye caught a glimpse of
something and she moved over to the foyer. Picking up a portfolio, she realized
that Tina left it behind in her haste to leave.

Serves
her judgmental self just right
, Nia thought bitterly.

Looking
through the designs, Nia had to admit they were fabulous. “I didn't know Tina
could rock like this.” Then she examined the designs closer and knew Tina
didn't have it going on like that. She was good, true enough, but she hadn't
reached this level of perfection yet.