Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105253 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“I guess I should.”
She snapped on one glove then the other. “Any other questions for me?”
“I do have one. Is the potential father’s name listed on the sample or anything? Confidentiality is an issue for one of the men.”
“No, samples sent to the lab are identified by number only.”
“Okay, great.”
Dr. Talbot smiled. “So I take it the gentleman who was in here wasn’t just a Robert Valentino lookalike?”
“No, it wasn’t. It’s him.”
She nodded. “Would you like me to explain the DNA testing to them after we’re done, or do you prefer to handle that yourself?”
“It would be great if you could.”
“No problem.”
“Thank you.”
Dr. Talbot did a quick internal exam and then told the nurse to bring Robert and Owen back in. The exam room was small, but it felt claustrophobic once the two of them were in here.
Owen took my hand. “How did everything go?”
“Good.”
Not to be outdone, Robert walked around to the other side of the exam table and took my other hand. “How are you holding up?” he asked.
I glanced back and forth between them—one holding each hand—and swallowed. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”
Dr. Talbot flicked off the lights. “Why don’t we get started?”
Everyone’s eyes were glued to the sonogram screen. We got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, and the doctor gave us a quick anatomy tour. It was surreal, but we could actually see the baby sucking its thumb.
Robert stood tall when the lights came back on. “I sucked my thumb until I was three.”
Through my peripheral vision, I saw Owen’s face fall.
Dr. Talbot must’ve noticed, too. “Eighty percent of babies suck on their fingers at some point.” She smiled politely. “Why don’t we let Devyn get dressed, and she can meet the three of us down the hall in my office to talk. Second door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
The office had three guest chairs. Not surprisingly, the men had left the one between them open for me. I took the seat, anxious as hell for this appointment to be over. Dr. Talbot explained the DNA testing to the three of us. She was thorough, going over the accuracy and minimal risk we’d already discussed. When she was done, she looked at me.
“So we’ll draw your blood down the hall on your way out. Would you like us to swab one cheek as a process of elimination or both? The lab charges per DNA profile, so doing two would be extra.”
Robert raised his hand. “You can just swab mine.”
Owen frowned. “I live locally, so it makes more sense to do mine—just in case there’s an issue. Plus…” He reached over and took my hand. “I’ll be with Devyn when she gets the results, not halfway around the world.”
Robert shook his head. “It makes more sense to use mine.”
“Why?” Owen said.
Dr. Talbot held up her hands. “Okay, so two mouth swabs it is.”
Ten minutes later, we walked out of the building, all three of us having left our DNA behind.
“The limo should be here any minute,” Robert said. “I texted the driver before we left the office, and he was around the corner waiting. That went quicker than I thought, so we can drop you before I head to the airport. Aiden probably needs to get back to work anyway.”
The man on my other side piped in. “No, Owen doesn’t need to get back to work. I’ll take Devyn home. Wouldn’t want you to miss your flight and be stuck here any longer than necessary.”
“I’ll drop her,” Robert said.
“I’ll do it,” Owen countered.
I put my hands out, keeping the two of them separated. “Stop it! No one is dropping me. I’m taking a cab. Alone.”
“But…”
I looked to my right. “Goodbye, Robert. Have a safe flight back to Rome.” I looked to my left. “Go to work, Owen. Have a good day.”
Neither man looked very happy, but I didn’t care. I started walking and never turned back. It was definitely going to be a very long three to five days.
CHAPTER 26
Devyn
The following day, I paced as I spoke to Mia over the phone. “Now that it’s done, I’m freaking out. As much as I need to know, I’m not ready.”
“I get it. This isn’t the kind of thing you’ll ever be ready for.”
“I feel like I can’t breathe until the results come in.”
“I can only imagine.” She paused. “How’s Owen handling things?”
I peeked out the window, noticing the raindrops gathering on the glass. “He’s busy with a bunch of showings today. But I feel bad for the way I handled things. He and Robert kept trying to show each other up. When I left them both standing there after the appointment yesterday, I’d had enough. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on Owen. It wasn’t his fault. Robert had egged him on.”
“Give yourself grace. You’ve been so stressed. I don’t know how anyone could’ve handled Robert showing up like that. I can’t blame you or Owen for behaving badly. The situation is tough on everyone.”