“No.”
“Okay.” He looked at the wand again. “Do you like getting ultrasounds with this thing?”
I knew exactly what he was asking. “You’re kind of an idiot sometimes,” I complained as I got horizontal on the examination table.
“I was just asking.” He returned the wand to where he’d found it and moved closer to me. He looked nervous. “This doesn’t hurt you, right?”
“What? The examination? It’s not comfortable, but it’s no different from my yearly visit to the gynecologist.”
His eyes moved to the stirrups. “It really does look like a torture device, Ruby.”
“Just keep your eyes up here.” I motioned to the top of the table. “No looking below the waist.”
“I’ve already seen what’s below the waist,” he reminded me. “That’s how we ended up here in the first place.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I shook my head. “Let’s not make it weird, okay?”
“What about when the baby comes? Am I going to be able to look below the waist then?” His tone was teasing, but I was serious when responding.
“I haven’t really thought about it. I’ll get back to you.”
The doctor picked that moment to enter the room. He was young—in his thirties—and had a huge smile on his face. He was also hot. That hadn’t escaped my attention the first time I’d met him. It obviously hadn’t escaped Rex’s attention either, because he stood straighter.
“Hello.” The doctor extended his hand to Rex. “I’m Dr. Miles Graves. You must be the daddy.”
Rex took his hand and shook it. The way he looked at the hand before gripping it gave me pause, almost as if he was imagining where that hand had been before the doctor joined us. “Rex Carter.”
“Rex.” Miles smiled before turning to me. “And how are we feeling, Ruby? Is the morning sickness hanging around still?”
“It’s pretty much gone,” I replied. “I threw up a couple days ago, but that was the first time in about four weeks. Other than that, it’s been smooth sailing.”
“Good.” Miles had a perpetually happy face. That was probably by design. If he frowned, it would send expectant mothers into a panic, which wasn’t good for them or the babies they were carrying. “How about your energy level? Have the vitamins been helping with that?”
I shrugged. “I guess. I’ve been napping more than I’ve ever napped before. In fact … before I got pregnant, I only napped when I was hungover.”
“I love a good nap,” Rex said out of nowhere. “I nap whenever I can. Maybe my kid likes to nap and he’s forcing his preferences on you.”
I gave him an odd look. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it works.”
Miles chuckled. “Not generally, but there’s a first time for everything.” He grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from the rolling stand. “So, we’ll start with a quick vaginal exam and then we’ll get to the ultrasound. How does that sound?”
I merely nodded. There was no point in responding either way. “Eyes up here,” I reminded Rex, pointing to my face.
Rex nodded and dutifully joined me. The paper gown made for a visual obstruction when my knees came up in the stirrups. “Are you going to use your torture devices on her?” he asked.
Miles’s forehead creased. “Um…”
“He’s talking about the transvaginal wand.” Irritation started bubbling up. If I knew Rex was going to be this annoying, I would’ve left him at home. He wanted to be part of the process, so it made sense to invite him. Now I was rethinking my decision.
“We won’t use that unless we find something abnormal on the regular ultrasound.” Miles’s smile never diminished.
“I told you,” I muttered.
Rex didn’t take my crabby attitude to heart. “What about that thing?” He pointed toward the speculum.
“Have you been having vaginal discharge?” Miles asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
