Page 130 of Embracing the Beat
Her question surprises me.
“Stay?” I don’t want to be anywhere else. I just didn’t think it was my place to ask.
“I thought you might want to see the baby for yourself.” Her entire face shows her hesitation. She probably expects the asshole who showed up the day we found out she was pregnant.
But he’s never going to make an appearance again.
I smile so big it hurts and nod. “I’d love to. If you wouldn’t mind.”
Over the next few minutes, she fills me in on her pregnancy while we wait. She found an OB she loves. This is the second time she’s had an ultrasound, and she admits to a love of yellow mustard on almost every food. I vow to buy every bottle I can.
“Knock, knock.” The nurse from earlier opens the curtain, and another person in scrubs wheels in a small cart.
“Did you know your nurse is a badass?” I ask Michaela.
“She is?” Her attention shifts from me to the nurse, who shrugs. “Cathy, why are you a badass?”
“She made Sawyer go stand in a corner,” I tell Michaela.
The sound of her laughter releases more tension through my neck and down my back. I love that sound.
“You did?” Michaela giggles again. “I can just imagine. My hulk of a brother facing off against a woman half his size.”
“Like I told him. I have two grown sons as big as he is. They don’t scare me. Why should he? Besides, you know what I found out about those big boys?”
“What?” Michaela asks, her gaze full of amusement when it meets mine.
“They may be all crust on the outside, but the inside is nothing but marshmallow.”
Michaela laughs until she clutches her stomach, scaring the hell out of me and having Cathy pause.
“Pain scale of one to ten,” she asks in a no-nonsense tone.
“It was just the laughter,” Michaela explains. “Not even a one right now.”
I think I lost a year off my life, but Cathy nods.
“Well, I’ll leave you in Jeanne’s capable hands, but will check to see if there are any other tests the doctor wants to run before we release you.”
“I get to go home?” she asks, her eyes lighting up.
“We’ll see.”
The smile on Michaela’s face fades slightly before she shifts her attention to Jeanne.
“Have you had an ultrasound before?”
Michaela nods. “At my first pre-natal appointment. The doctor wanted to confirm gestational age.”
“That first ultrasound was probably different, but you’re further along now so we can do a normal ultrasound. Ready?”
Michaela nods, and I mirror the action, even though I have no idea what to expect. Jeanne pulls her gown up, using the covers as a sort of curtain to expose only her softly rounded belly.
Possessiveness zips through me.
Mine.
Jeanne squeezes some gel along Michaela’s stomach and grabs the wand, pressing it against Michaela’s skin to spread the goo around as she presses several buttons on the keyboard. After several beats, a loud whooshing fills the room.
