He looked at me for long moments. I don’t know what he was looking for, but he must have found it. “I’ll make it happen.”
“Thank you,” I said, rushing forward to hug him.
My burst of affection seemed to catch him off guard, but after a moment, he returned the hug. “You’re family.”
When they were gone, I collapsed back in the bed. “I thought they’d never leave,” I groaned.
“You and me both,” Claire quipped.
“I am so ready to get out of here.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what’s up with you and Gavin?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.
“Nothing.”
She gave me a look.
I sighed.
“Fine. There’s something, but he isn’t available.”
She groaned. “Is he married?”
“No. Nothing like that,” I said, not wanting to tell her about Dani. I wasn’t sure how he would feel about that, and I wanted to respect his wishes.
Stitch entered the room in his white coat and stylish haircut. His eyes went first to Claire, and she blushed. Perhaps I needed to press her for details.
“You ready to blow this joint?” Stitch said, giving me a smile.
“Please!”
“I’d like to look you over first, but then, yeah, I’ll spring ya.”
I couldn’t help but glance at the door, wondering where Gavin was.
“I sent him home to shower. He was scaring the patients,” Stitch said, following my gaze. “He wasn’t happy, but I told him I wouldn’t let him back in this room unless he was clean.”
“Oh…”
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” he said, pulling his stethoscope from around his neck.
“I’ll wait outside,” Claire said, exiting the room.
Stitch’s eyes followed her as she walked away.
“You like her.” I teased.
“Shhh,” he silenced, pretending like he was listening to my heartbeat, but he punctuated it with a smile.
After a general exam, he glanced at me. “I guess your head is okay?” he asked, looking at the missing bandage and combed hair.
“Uh, yeah. That bandage drove me nuts.”
“Still no more cramping? Any spotting?” he asked, concerned.
“No,” I said, fear prickling the back of my neck. “Should I be worried about the baby?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s still so early on that I’m sure everything is fine. I would order an ultrasound, but we wouldn’t be able to see much.”
“You’re sure I’m pregnant?”
“Your HCG levels were low, so it’s very new, but yes, you are. Come back in a month, maybe a little less, and we’ll do an ultrasound, make sure everything looks good, take some more blood work, et cetera.”
“Are you an OB?”
He smiled. “No. I’m not a baby doctor,” he quipped. “But that’s my best friend’s baby. I want to make sure you and it are healthy. I’ll have an OB there when you come in. She can read the ultrasound and look at your blood work.”
I know I only just met Stitch, but I trusted him. I was intensely glad he was looking out for my baby.
“I really appreciate it.”
He smiled. “Until then, take care of yourself. Rest. Don’t push your body. You just went through a serious accident.”
As he spoke, Gavin entered the room.
Stitch glanced at him, then gave me a smile. “I’ll go get those release papers. See you in a month.”
On his way out, he stopped beside Gavin and took a deep breath. “You clean up good!”
Gavin laughed and gave him a shove out the door.
When he turned back, I couldn’t help but stare. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a red T-shirt with the word SURF written across the front. His hair was still damp on the ends and it wasn’t sticking up all over his head anymore.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.” He prowled to the bedside, his eyes inspecting every inch of my body, making it tingle with desire. “You feeling better?”
“Yeah.”
His azure gaze deepened to a cobalt shade and his eyes narrowed. “Then why do you have to come back in a month?”
“Just a follow-up.” I lied.
“They wouldn’t schedule a follow-up for your type of injuries a month away. It would only be a week or two.”
“Oh.” Why the hell did he have to be a doctor? I wasn’t trying to keep this pregnancy from him, but I wasn’t about to spring it on him either. I felt like I needed to wait until I wasn’t in the hospital. Maybe by then we would have a chance to talk. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Stitch.” I tried.
“Talie,” he said, a warning in his tone.
I looked away from the intensity of his gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
He sat on the side of the bed, using his finger to turn my chin toward him. “There’s something. Did they find something in your test results?”
I searched his eyes. I didn’t know what I was looking for.
“Tell me,” he urged. “The thoughts I’m having right now… Please don’t do that to me.”
I took a breath and whispered, “I’m pregnant.”
The silence stretched on so definitively I started to think he hadn’t heard.
Just like hitting the play button on a screen that had been paused, he started to move. He pulled away.
“Does he know?” he asked, his voice slightly hoarse as he paced to the other side of the room.
“Who?” I asked, confused.
“That bastard you’re married to.”
He thought the baby was Blake’s.
I guess it wasn’t a stretch for him to think that. It’s likely what most people would assume. He didn’t know the pregnancy hormone in my system was low and just beginning to build. He didn’t know I hadn’t had sex with Blake in over six months.
He didn’t know this baby was his.
“No, I—”
“How could you?” he said, low, spinning around to pin me with anguished eyes.
“What?”
“How could you let him touch you like that? How could you let him tie you together for the rest of your life?”
“Gavin,” I said, wanting to tell him I wasn’t tied to Blake. I was tied to him. The pain I saw in his eyes surprised me. It was almost like he wished this baby was his.