Belladonna's Heart: One of the Boys Series, #6

By Teresa Crumpton

The soul of every restaurant is the kitchen, but at Belladonna, the heart is the front of the house.

Nessa and Adam have long reigned as the most-envied and most-aspired-to couple at Belladonna. And as warm and welcoming as they've made the restaurant experience for its customers, the queen and king of the front of the house want nothing more than to add a little patron of their own to nurture, as well.

When the long-deferred dream of having a child becomes the number one priority for the host and hostess with the mostest, Adam and Nessa must face the fact that putting their careers before family for so long might mean it's too late for the one dream they still haven't achieved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teresa Crumpton
• Release date: May 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201419660

Book preview

Copyright

Copyright © 2019 Teresa Carol Galinari Crumpton

Published by Teresa Carol Galinari Crumpton

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, or other status is entirely coincidental.

Ebooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever known, not known or hereafter invented, or stored in any storage or retrieval system, is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law without written permission of the author.

For more information, contact the author athttp://www.teresacrumpton.com

Published: Teresa Crumpton 2019

Cover Design: Kristen Hope Mazzola

Formatting: Kristen Hope Mazzola

Edited by:

Stephanie Taylor

Dedication

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To the love of my life, with love, we overcame it all luv.

Foreword

Dear Reader,

I Ain’t Your Mama is a collaboration comprised of 10 authors who have come together to bring you brand spanking new stories where strong leading ladies show exactly how good they can do it! Women are incredible beings filled with beauty and grace, and these heroines will have you cheering them on as they go after their own slice of happy!

Each book is a standalone and can be enjoyed while sipping an ice-cold drink, spiked or not––that’s up to you! So, one-click, pull up a comfy chair, and dive into these fun reads where women end up on top!

Chapter 1

Nessa

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Cramping abdominal pain doubles me over, and I drop to the floor, folding into the fetal position. The sudden urge to vomit ratchets up my discomfort.

Today is not the day for me to have issues. I have too much to do.

Taking a deep breath, I pull myself to my knees and crawl toward the bathroom. Pain stops me in my tracks as I hit the doorway, and I hunch over, laying my forehead on the cold tile floor.

What the everloving hell is going on?

Stomach heaving, I scramble across the floor to the toilet, trying not to expel whatever’s making me nauseous until I make it to the porcelain throne. Between my stomach heaving and the stabbing pain, tears spill from my eyes, slide down my cheeks and fall onto my bra-covered breasts. As another wave of nausea hits, so I lift the toilet seat and heave, but nothing comes out. Not that I'm surprised. For the last few weeks, I've been throwing up morning, noon, and night, which is why we have a doctor's appointment scheduled today.

After the last round of artificial insemination, the nausea started, and Adam and I decided it was time to see if we’re pregnant or not. And now, this. Stabbing pain shoots through my abdomen, and I scream out. I close my eyes and pray the dry heaves don’t start again. The pain lessons just enough that I’m able to drag my ass over to the sink. Opening the medicine drawer, I dig through it until I find a prescription pain reliever. Medicine in hand, I reach for the counter and pull myself up. As I get my feet under me and turn the water on, I pop the pill in my mouth then use the same hand to cup water under the faucet before drinking out of it to swallow the pill. Turning off the water, I’m leaning against the counter taking a few deep breaths when the urge to pee hits me, and I dash back to the toilet.

Blood. There is blood in my underwear. I’m bleeding, and I shouldn’t be. It’s not time for my cycle, and yet, I’m bleeding.

Why the fuck am I bleeding?

Worrying my lip, I hold back the sob that I so desperately want to let loose, but if I do, I won't stop.

Shit, shit, shit. This isn't good, I murmur to myself.

Another wave of nausea and pain wreak havoc on my body as my abdominal muscles tighten. The fullness I feel is pushed out, expelling all fluid. Slipping my soiled underwear off, I toss it on the tub to rinse out later. Cleaning up, I glance in the toilet, finding a lot of blood with what looks like tissue mixed in, and my heart aches with the realization of what just happened.

The sob I'd been holding in bursts from me, and I flush, not wanting to see what I've lost. What Adam and I have desperately been trying to accomplish. What my body rejected. Tears fill