Page 53 of One Night with the Doctor

‘Just like that, huh?’ she demanded. ‘Suddenly I’m pregnant and suddenly you love me.’

How very convenient.

His knuckles whitened around the steering-wheel and took a deep breath. ‘Look… I know it’s a lot to take in. I know it’s sudden.’

‘Sudden!’ Callie could hear the note of hysteria edging into her voice. ‘You think?’

‘I guess sometimes it just happens that way.’

Callie snorted. ‘So we’ve spent months and months pretzelled together in either your bed or mine and there’s been zero mention of the L word. But today you’ve had a sudden revelation?’

‘Yeah…’ he admitted. ‘Pretty much. I know that love hasn’t been on either of our agendas. I know we just wanted to enjoy the ride without any of the normal relationship pressures and love has certainly not ever come up. But… yeah, spending all this time with you, working with you, sleeping with you… it happened anyway.’

Oh, God. Her head spun. How could he be so calm? She turned away from him. Now she was faced with not one bombshell but two.

‘Do me a favour,’ she muttered. ‘Don’t talk any more, okay?’ She already had too much to digest.

He nodded. ‘Okay. Sure.’

They completed the rest of their visits in relative silence. Sebastian didn’t push. He knew that he’d shocked her and that she was going to need time to process what he’d said.

Hell, he’d shocked himself. But he wasn’t sorry that he’d said it. Any of it. Because he’d meant every word of it – he loved her.

He’d spent a lot of time not examining his thoughts and feelings for Callie too closely because deep down he’d known it wasn’t just some work fling and he hadn’t been prepared to face that yet. But they were having a baby and it was time to rip the subterfuge away. To get right down to the nitty gritty. To what was important.

It was time for clarity. For honesty.

And it had felt damn good to give those feelings voice. To articulate them as they were – raw and real. It had felt damn good to be honest about his feelings for Callie and the baby. To himself as well as to her.

As shocking as they were.

And at least he’d declared himself. Callie needed time to sort out her thoughts and her feelings, he understood that. He’d just dropped an awful lot in her lap. But at least now she had all the facts to consider.

That was important even if it worked against him.

He daren’t think about what would happen if Callie couldn’t get past her fears. If she never loved him back. His life stretched in a long bleak road ahead of him at the very thought.

A single dad. A part time dad. Having to keep his feelings in check because they weren’t reciprocated. He shuddered at the thought.

But, no. It wouldn’t come to that. She just needed time. And of that he had plenty.

‘Could you drop by Ginny’s?’ Callie requested when Sebastian started the car after their last appointment for the day.

They were the first voluntary words she’d spoken to him since his startling admission and even though Sebastian could tell she was still pissed at him, it was a start.

‘Sure. Is Ginny okay?’

‘She’s fine,’ Callie dismissed. ‘I’ve taken to dropping in with the Doppler if I’m nearby to see if we can manage her pregnancy related anxiety before she gets herself too worked up.’

He nodded. That was such a nice thing to do especially when she didn’t have to. Callie was doing it because she knew her clients and their needs and passionately believed in the benefits of good community support.

‘Okay, sure.’

They pulled up at Ginny’s five minutes later. Sebastian sighed when Callie scrambled out of the car like it was on fire.

She really wasn’t taking the whole L word thing very well. Although to be fair, he couldn’t blame her – he hadn’t exactly thought it out.

He also exited the car, a little slower than Callie only to be waved back into the vehicle. ‘It’s okay, you don’t have to come. I’ll only be five minutes.’