Page 23 of Twin Surprise for the Italian Doc
The overwhelming memory was the anticipated relief at the first sign of that period, with that disturbing aftertaste of sadness, but what had the next day been like? Georgia thought harder.
‘Lighter than normal, I guess. Especially the last one.’
Kathryn nodded. ‘I think wemight go and borrow the portable ultrasound while we’re waiting for those bloods.’
Georgia couldn’t identify the emotion that seemed to be gathering somewhere deep inside her gut.
Horror...or hope?
‘You’ve heard of decidual bleeding, haven’t you?’ The consultant was leading her into a cubicle and whisking the curtain shut behind them. She carried on speaking as Georgia got onto the bed andunbuttoned her uniform trousers. ‘Twenty to thirty percent of women will have some type of bleeding in the first trimester. It’s not uncommon for spotting or light bleeding to carry on into the second or even third trimesters.’
‘Yeah... I’ve heard of it.’ The gel was cold against the skin of her abdomen.
‘It’s due to hormones being a bit out of whack. More common in the early days, before thelining of the uterus has completely attached to the placenta. In most cases, it’s not thought to be a threat to the baby.’ Kathryn was staring at the screen of the ultrasound machine as she angled the probe.
There was silence for a long moment. Too long for Georgia to keep holding her breath.
‘Oh, my God...’ she whispered. ‘You can see something, can’t you? Iampregnant?’
The sideways glanceshe received was cautious. ‘How would you feel about that?’
‘Um...’
Unidentifiable emotions were roiling now. Fear and excitement. Memories of how strong that desire to have a baby had been. Strong enough to have made her come up with the plan that the international competition was the perfect place to find the father of her longed-for baby.
An intense flashback to how it had felt being withMatteo. Being touched by his hands and lips.
That twist of sadness that fate hadn’t stepped in to override her decision that she couldn’t possibly go through with the plan.
‘I think... I think I would be very happy about that.’
‘Hmm...’ Kathryn angled the screen so that Georgia could see the image. Not that she could recognise the blobs amongst the grainy black and white shapes but she couldsee something moving rhythmically. The beat of a tiny heart...
No...wait...
Time seemed to be standing still as her startled gaze caught the doctor’s steady one.
‘So...’ Kathryn’s question was somewhat tentative. ‘You’re going to be twice as happy to know that you’re pregnant with twins?’
