Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“And right there,” he says with just a tiny adjustment to the wand, “is your baby. Perfect size. Now, let’s listen for the heartbeat.”
My own heart practically stops and Lucas’s hand squeezes mind so hard my bones hurt a tiny bit, but I don’t say anything. I’m too amped up with anticipation to care.
Dr. Woods moves the wand, makes an adjustment on the screen, and then the gray staticlike image is gone and is replaced by long wavy lines that move in cadence with the heartbeat, which comes through loud and clear on the speakers.
And oh boy, it’s so fast, and it sounds like it’s in a drum and sort of squelchy sounding, but it’s definitely a heartbeat. Dr. Woods listens, checks something on the machine, and says, “Your little baby’s heart is functioning very well.”
I roll my head and look at Lucas. His eyes are round and wide as they stare at the machine, his mouth slightly open in wonder.
“Amazing,” he says softly, and then looks down at me. “Isn’t it amazing?”
I cannot help the smile that breaks out across my face. In fact, it may be the biggest smile I’ve ever worn in my life, and it’s all because of this man right here. I don’t know what will become of Lucas and me in the future, but I can say he’s given me one of the happiest moments I’ll ever have and I’ll treasure this time together for the rest of my life.
—
Lucas and I walk out of the doctor’s office and he follows me to my car. I’m exhausted after that visit. Hearing the baby’s heartbeat was the most amazing thing ever, and looking at Lucas’s expression was the most beautiful thing ever. Getting all of the information that came afterward, however, was extremely overwhelming. Lucas carries it all in a folder under his arm and he assured me we’d take our time and go through it together.
So yeah, I’m exhausted, I’m confused about my feelings for Lucas, and I’m hungry. All three of these things make me weak of mind, so I succumb to the pressure of wanting to know where we stand exactly.
“I can’t believe you asked Dr. Woods if it was safe for us to still have sex,” I reprimand Lucas as we come to a stop by my car door, but it’s really not a criticism. I just want to open up a conversation about what he’s thinking.
He smirks at me. “I’m sure the good doctor isn’t embarrassed about sex talk, Steph.”
“Regular sex talk, sure. But when you ask him if we can have wild monkey sex during the pregnancy, that’s a little too much information.”
“He had an answer for me, didn’t he?” Lucas retorts with another grin. “So it wasn’t that unusual a question.”
True. I was interested in the answer too, and it appears that sex is a go all the way up until my water breaks. Still, Lucas gives me nothing as to why he asked that question, particularly since things seem to be cooling.
“Do you have to go back to work?” Lucas asks, changing the subject before I can throw a good comeback at him.
I nod. “Yeah.”
Is that disappointment on his face?
He leans in closer to me, bringing his palm to my cheek, then pushing his fingers through my hair where he holds tight at the back of my head. Dipping his face, he brushes his lips softly over mine and whispers, “And when might you and I be having wild monkey sex again?”
Whenever you want.
I blink and pull away slightly. “You want to?”
Lucas pulls his chin in and looks at me like I’ve got antennas sprouting from my head. “When have I not wanted to fuck you?”
“Night before last,” I remind him.
He releases his hold on my hair and gets a guarded expression on his face. “I told you, I had to deal with that stuff with Simone. And I wanted to see you the next night after my game but you put me off, or have you forgotten that?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I snap at him, and then instantly I’m filled with regret. With a heaving sigh, I tell him, “I’m sorry…I think these hormones are getting the best of me.”
Lucas’s face softens. “Stephy, I wasn’t getting much from you when I was on the last road trip. You weren’t overly chatty in our texts, and the times I called you at night, you didn’t answer.”
“I was sleeping,” I hastily point out. But he and I know I was avoiding him. He just doesn’t understand that I was doing so because I thought he was backing off from me. So I give a tiny admission. “I thought you were pulling back from me.”
He shakes his head in denial. “It just seemed like things had cooled between us, and honestly, I didn’t think it would be a big deal to you if I canceled the other night. In fact, I kind of thought you were relieved.”