Page 45 of Accepted Precedent (Love & Politics #3)
Evelyn
W hen we arrive at Finn’s, I’m barely a foot in the door when I’m surrounded by everyone talking at the same time. “Whoa, slow down! I’m fine.”
“What were you thinking?” Ileah cries while Mickey guides me farther inside, keeping his hand on the small of my back.
“She’s safe. That’s all that matters,” Mick insists gruffly, and the interrogation ceases.
As I sink onto one of the couches, Kristin announces, “The ultrasound tech should be here any minute now, but if you’re not feeling up to it, I can reschedule.”
“No, let’s do it. This works better—everyone I love is here.”
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Andrew quietly asks Kristen. She gestures with a nod toward the hallway, and they step away.
Jaclyn sits beside me. Her voice is soft as she asks, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about me. Did Andy bring my sourdough starter?”
Ileah barks out a laugh. “Yes. And your sister was right—you’re priorities are all fucked up.” She glances around nervously for a moment. “Where’s Finn?”
“He’s taking care of the threat,” Mick grunts, settling on my other side and handing me a glass of water. Today is supposed to be full of love, but has taken a turn for the worse. I hate that he can’t take a moment to breathe.
“Did he find Lisa?” Ileah asks, chewing on her lip.
“Not yet, but he will.”
The doorbell rings, and Alex walks briskly to answer it. A few moments later, he returns with a woman carrying what looks like a giant laptop with a handle. “Good afternoon. You must be Evelyn?”
I adjust to sit taller. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Don’t get up. I can set up right there if you’d like.”
I sink deeper into the sofa to get comfortable. Jaclyn rises, and the tech takes her seat, placing the device on the table and retrieving a bottle from her purse. As she helps me lift my shirt, I tug down my leggings a few inches.
“Are you wanting to know the sex of the babies?” she asks carefully.
“Yes. Though I suppose it doesn’t matter, I’ll probably just paint the nursery green anyway,” I chuckle.
She smiles and turns on the machine, then grabs the bottle of gel.
“All right, this is going to be a little cold,” she warns, squirting it on my belly.
Pressing the ultrasound wand into it, she smears it around.
“Okay, it looks like baby A is very active today. They’re measuring”—she taps and clicks the device with the screen—“twenty-six centimeters. A little larger than expected, but nothing to worry about. The heart and lungs are looking great. And… it’s a boy. ”
There are gasps and coos from everyone. Mick leans in, kissing my temple, and murmurs, “We’re going to have our hands full.”
“And baby B… is a girl. She’s measuring twenty-four centimeters, and everything looks great for her too.” She snaps a few images, then wipes the gel from my belly. “I’ll email everything over to you. These little ones are big, but doing great.”
Jaclyn hands me a wet paper towel to remove the excess gel. While Mickey, Ileah, and Alex are grinning ear to ear, she isn’t. There’s sadness poorly masked in her expression, but I don’t want to call her out with everyone here.
Everyone… but Kristin and Andrew.
I tug down my shirt as I ask, “Where’s Andy?”
Ileah shrugs. “Not sure. Probably still talking to Kristin. Want me to look for him?”
“Oh, that’s okay. I’ll do it,” I rush out. There’s no telling what conversation she could walk in on, and the last thing I want is more people discovering Andy has feelings for my sister.
“No, I’ll do it, angel,” Mickey insists, getting up before I can protest.
The tech packs everything up, and Alex walks her out.
The girls surround me, more excited than I am.
But while Ileah still beams, Jaclyn’s forced smiles have me wondering if she’s struggled with fertility.
It could also be that she can’t risk pregnancy while the Gallaghers work their magic getting her to the White House.
Either way, my heart aches seeing her like this.
Hopefully she’ll share when she’s comfortable.
Mickey returns, jaw tight, without Andy or Kristin. “They’ll be out shortly.”
Oh, Andy… What did you do?