Page 45 of Can't Win 'Em All
“Any cramps or discomfort?”
I shook my head again.
“Then that won’t be necessary for today. I just want to take a quick look at what we’re dealing with, okay?” If he was bothered by the way Rex was watching him, he didn’t show it. “Here we go.”
I jolted when his hands moved underneath the paper gown. I was expecting it, and yet somehow I was still surprised.
“Are you okay?” Rex’s concern was a raging bull. “Did he hurt you?”
“It’s fine,” I assured him. Without thinking, I grabbed his hand. The aim was to offer him comfort, which was ridiculous given the position I was in.
“Don’t hurt her,” Rex ordered the doctor.
Miles chuckled. “You guys are adorable.” He leaned down to look. “How long have you been together?”
“Oh, we’re not together,” I replied without thinking. Next to me, Rex stiffened. He didn’t disagree, however. “We just got drunk and … you know.” I shrugged. “We’re having a baby together. As friends.”
“I see.” Miles finished what he was doing between my legs and had me scooch up on the table. “Have you guys known each other long?” For the first time since I’d met him, he looked concerned.
“Oh, we’ve known each other since we were kids.” I waved off his worry. “My brother is his best friend, and his sister is my sister-in-law. We’re one big happy family. It will be fine.”
“Ah.” Miles nodded as he removed his gloves. “It sounds … interesting.”
“We both live in the casino,” I explained. Why I felt the need to keep talking—it was none of his business what our plans were—was beyond me. The whole situation was uncomfortable. “It will be easy to split time with the baby. My understanding—I’ve been reading a lot—is that I’m going to be exhausted for the first few weeks. With Rex being close, and us both having baby areas set up in our suites, he’ll be able to take the baby occasionally so I can nap.”
“Yes, and I’m not terrified about that in the least,” Rex agreed dryly.
“You’ll have your sister … and my sisters … and our mothers if you’re nervous,” I reminded him. “If you think our mothers are just going to leave us to our own devices for the first few weeks, then you’re dreaming.”
“Yeah.” He was still holding my hand, so he used his free hand to rub his jaw. “I can’t break the baby, right?” he asked the doctor. “Like … I won’t accidentally squeeze it too hard or anything, will I?”
“Okay, Lenny,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. “Take it down a notch.”
He ignored me and kept his focus on Miles. “I’m being serious. I’m terrified of breaking the kid.”
“I think that’s a common fear for most first-time parents,” Miles assured him. “Babies are more durable than you think. You have to be wary of their necks for the first few weeks. Be gentle and you’ll be fine, though.” He moved up the paper gown so he could get access to my stomach. “Ready for the ultrasound? You’re at nineteen weeks, so if you want to know the sex of your baby, we have a good shot at being able to ascertain that. Is it something you’re interested in?”
Weirdly, despite our constant conversations and lists, we’d never really talked about that. I glanced at Rex. “Do you want to know?”
He looked thrown by the question. “I don’t know. Do you want to know?”
I had to think about it. While I was doing that, Miles put the gel on my no longer flat stomach. I wasn’t popping just yet, but it was obvious something was going on with my midriff these days. I could no longer wear my favorite pants, and I’d taken to wearing dressier leggings so there was some give in the waist area.
“It would probably make sense to know,” I hedged. “I mean … we’re going to want some clothes, and it will help when I decide on a theme for the nursery.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “I kind of want to know.”
“I do too.” Rex gave me a warm smile. “I like the idea. Plus, we won’t have to refer to it as an it any longer. We’ll know if it’s Rex Jr. or Rexanne.”
Miles’s lips puckered. “Rexanne?” He’d probably heard every strange name in the book and yet he was thrown. That should’ve been a dead giveaway to Rex that he was barking up the wrong tree for names.
“Ignore him,” I said. “Nobody is naming this baby Rexanne.”
“So I guess it had better be a boy,” Rex said, not missing a beat. “Rex Jr. is going to cause bullies to come out of the woodwork if we have a girl.”
“Knock it off,” I warned him. Even though I wanted to be irritated, his impish grin was infectious. “You’re such an idiot sometimes,” I said as I closed my eyes.
Miles turned our attention to the small screen next to the examination table as he started moving the ultrasound over my stomach. Rex almost came out of his skin when the sound of a heartbeat became obvious.
“What’s that?” Rex demanded, clutching my hand tighter.
