She pulled the seat lever and popped upright. Apparently her reputation was safe now that we had left downtown Aspen Springs. “Why are you so obsessed with your pig, Steven?”
“She’s cute,” I defended.
“It’s weird,” she replied. “You know that, right?”
I hummed noncommittally. When I looked at her, she was still thumbing through my photos, hearting her favorites and smiling to herself. My chest pinched with the knowledge that I was going to spend some time tonight looking through those photos myself, trying to see her favorites through her eyes. Something was definitely wrong with me.
“So,” I said cautiously.
“So.” She circled one wrist in a gesture for me to continue.
“You didn’t text me back.”
“Right. Sorry about that.” She worried her bottom lip. “I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t know what to do. So I ignored you because I wasn’t ready to think about it. I needed some time to work through it.”
We were treading through something delicate now. I still didn’t know what this doctor appointment was for. I didn’t know what she had decided to do about the pregnancy. Nomatter what she had decided, no matter what was going to happen at the doctor’s office, I was in it with her. If this was a regular checkup, I was driving her there. If this was an abortion, I was driving her there. No regrets either way.
My gaze flicked to her face and immediately sought the open road again. “And did you? Figure it out, I mean?”
She blew out a breath. “I’m keeping it. If I can.” She scowled at a perfectly adorable photo of Stevie wearing a pink sweater. “It still feels fake, you know? Like fate, the universe, whatever”—she did jazz hands—“is playing a joke on me. They’re notreallygoing to let me have a baby.” She sighed again. “Anyway. We’ll see what the doctor says today.”
I frowned. She had said something similar the night she took the test, that pregnancy hadn’t ever been a concern for her. No wonder she didn’t want me to drive her. This was a high-stakes doctor appointment, not just another box to tick.
I pulled into the parking lot in front of a gray, square building and cut the engine, then twisted in my seat to face her. She had a white-knuckled grip on herself, her hands folded tightly in her lap, her eyes staring straight ahead, her mouth a grim slash of pink.
“I can wait here for you,” I offered.
She paused. I swore I could hear my heartbeat in the silence. “You might as well come in with me,” she said finally.
That was as close as Chloe would ever come to admitting she needed something from me. I wasn’t going to make her say it twice. I unbuckled without another word.
The waitingroom was packed full of women, about a quarter of whom had protruding bellies and a man by their side. I settled next to Chloe in the world’s most uncomfortable chair and watched her fill out the intake form, glancing from the other women to her stomach. Very soon that would be her.
“Are you imagining me with a baby bump?” she hissed, smacking my thigh with the clipboard. “Stop that!”
Busted.“Why? It’s going to happen.”
She sneaked a peek at the woman cattycorner to us, who looked like she had swallowed a basketball. “God, I hope so. I would be so cute, right?”
I could picture it. “Cute. Yeah.” Why did my chest suddenly ache like a motherfucker? It wasn’t even my bun baking in her oven. The only reason I was here was becausehewasn’t. She’d probably trade me for him in a heartbeat if she could.
The nurse appeared in the doorway. “Adams?” she called.
I turned toward Chloe and opened my mouth to ask if I should wait here, but her sudden death grip on my thigh made me snap it shut again. I managed to pry her fingers off my leg and interlocked her hand with mine. “Right here,” I called back, tugging Chloe to her feet.
The nurse held the door open wider so we could join her in the hallway. “I’m Renee. I’ll be assisting Dr. Davidson today in examining you. Is that all right?” Chloe nodded and Renee beamed. “Great! We will be in room three.”
She ushered us inside and handed Chloe a folded blue paper hospital gown. “Put this on so it opens to the front, then hop up on the table and lay the cloth over your lap. Daddy, your job is to stand there and look handsome. No pressure.” She gave me a wink. “Dr. Davidson will be right with you.”
The door closed behind her with a quiet snick, leaving us staring after her with slack jaws.
Chloe pivoted to me with a scowl. “I can’t believe she was flirting with you right in front of me. That’s so rude.”
I blinked. Apparently we had very different viewpoints of what just happened. “She wasn’t flirting with me.” Although I did kind of like the idea of Chloe being mad about it. I wasn’t so delusional as to believe she was jealous, but a man could dream, couldn’t he?
Chloe rolled her eyes like she thought I was trying to pull a fast one. “She called you daddy.”
Laughter roared out of me. “Fuck, Chloe,” I wheezed. I couldn’t breathe, I was laughing so hard. “You’re pregnant. She meantbaby daddy, notspank me daddy.”
