Page 33 of Nothing to Beat (Nothing to… #13)

THE NEXT DAY, Roxie made a call to the fertility clinic, and they got out of the suite without encountering the mothers, who were on their way for lunch. She and Breck wouldn’t be missing much, wedding talk was the topic du jour. God, marriage, she couldn’t even think about that.

The fertility clinic maybe wouldn’t be the best of fun.

Any experience that included a pelvic couldn’t really be put under that banner.

Luckily, paperwork and samples were all that had been demanded of them so far.

Yeah, it was delaying the inevitable, but she wasn’t sorry Breck’s contribution could be done before the doc was ready for her.

Sure worked out for Breck; the doc’s delay gave them an opportunity to get cozy for a good cause. Opportunity or excuse?

Semantics.

“I really shouldn’t…” the nurse by the admin desk said under her breath, gaze slinking left and right. “We have strict rules.”

That they’d turned a blind eye too, at least once.

Though that previous time, Zairn Lomond was the one doing the charming.

Which he kind of did professionally. His charisma was world-renowned.

God love her wonderful Breck for all his virtues, but, unfortunately, he couldn’t claim to have the same skill.

“No one has to know you made an exception.”

Except Roxie, because she’d ask.

The phone on the desk rang, interrupting their negotiation. Given their lofty roles at Breckenridge, it would be mighty embarrassing if they failed to succeed on this one.

“I have to get that.” The employee turned on her heels. “Give me a second.”

Was that their cue to sneak on past? Maybe, if the woman had directed them to the location of an appropriate room. This was not a place someone wanted to start opening doors to check what was on the other side. Rather who was on the other side and what they might be doing.

Yep. That.

Shudder.

She tipped her head back to rest it on Breck. “How bad do you want it, baby?”

“We can always bring the cup back later.”

“And I thought a guy like you might class up my life.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

“Oh, Stat, you don’t know how to do that.”

The nurse finished the call and came back, something tugging on the corner of her lips. “The doctor needs to see you, Ms. Drury. Down the corridor, room three.”

“Guess you’re on your own, Stat,” she said. “Enjoy.”

Better that the doctor call her in before she tangle herself up in any compromising situations. Interruptions halfway through might be… inconvenient.

Breck reached for the cup on the counter, but the nurse swiped it out of the way. “That may not be necessary.”

Oh, shit, what did that mean? Could they really tell from blood and urine that a person was completely infertile?

That was a damn quick turnaround; they couldn’t have handed over those samples more than twenty minutes ago.

Though if this was the kind of place people like Zairn Lomond used, they had to be dealing with the elite.

Could be their facilities were that swift.

Taking Breck’s hand, she was ready to face whatever might happen in that room. “If you’re not needed here, you’re coming with me.”

“Uh, you may want to go in alone,” the nurse said. “It’s recommended.”

“Recommended that I don’t take the man I intended to father my children into a fertility meeting with a doctor?” Did that mean it was really bad? “What can he say to me that I wouldn’t want Breck to hear?”

“It’s okay.” Breck kissed her head. “I’ll wait here.”

Except she didn’t want him to wait there. It could only be bad news. They couldn’t have a judgment on Breck’s sperm when they didn’t have it yet. It could only be her.

“What if I’m sick,” she said, wide eyes locking on his. “I could have cancer or something else horrific.”

His hand tightened around hers. “Room three?”

“We don’t test for that.” The nurse was missing the point. This could be profound news. If she needed support, there was only one person she wanted with her. “It’s something we suggest to all women in this situation.”

All women? This kind of thing had to happen a lot.

“A suggestion isn’t mandatory,” her guy asserted.

Tugging her from the spot, Breck strode down the hallway so fast, she almost lost her footing. Trust him to react with such purpose. No one would keep him from her, not when she might need him.

It helped that she couldn’t think of anything she wouldn’t share.

Whether sick or infertile, she wouldn’t conceal that news from him.

Wouldn’t? Maybe she should, to protect him from it.

Trouble was, if she came out of that room telling Breck they were over for good and tried to put distance between their lives—because she’d secretly discovered being terminal—he’d read her in a nanosecond.

“Wait…” She pulled him to a halt. “What if it is bad news?”

“We’ll deal with it. You’ll get the best medical care in the world. It’s insulting you’d make me say that.”

Yeah, but that wasn’t her point. “No, what if it’s bad news like I can’t have children?”

“You’ll be disappointed, and I’ll work through that with you, whatever you need, but it changes nothing.”

“It changes everything. I want you to live a full and happy life, if I’m incapable of giving that to you—”

“There are options beyond our basic biology; something you know. Regardless of what happens in that room, your wishes are clear. You want children, so we’ll have children, one way or another. Do you believe we’d love them any less if we went for fertility treatment or the adoption route?”

No. Breck’s ability to love was in no doubt; his whole family was the same.

“I don’t deserve you,” she said with a sigh and a smile. “You’re the most incredible man that I could ever…”

“This is not a grand act that deserves praise.” Him being his usually humphing self, so straightforward. “It’s not complicated. There’s nothing any doctor could say that would change our path.”

And she might argue with that, except she’d feel exactly the same way in his position. “It’s better to know now.”

“Yes, so we can make decisions.”

“Together.”

“Always together.”

He really was something else. “How do you still manage to surprise and humble me after all these years?”

“It’s a gift.” His knuckles skimmed her cheek. “No more delays.”

That wasn’t her intention, though it hadn’t not been her intention either. Could’ve been her subconscious’ intention. Science was science, no matter how she tried to postpone it.

Breck knocked once but went inside without waiting for a response.

The doctor rose from the desk, a smile on his face, though it faltered a little when he glanced from Breck to her and back.

“I’m going to guess he’s glaring,” she said, too busy trying to read the doctor to check Breck’s expression. “It’s his default, he doesn’t mean it.”

Whatever was wrong, it wasn’t the doctor’s fault. Was it hers? She tried to eat right. Didn’t smoke. Didn’t drink that much either. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to find out the cause of her issue was genetic? How much more could her family take from her?

“We recommend—”

“We know what you recommend.” Yep, Breck was in no nonsense mode, no way of getting around him when he was so determined. “If you want me to leave the room, you better bring an army.”

Oh, shiver. Prioritizing her needs was his default too, and even after all this time, it still made her swoon.

“It’s okay.” She led Breck to the chairs opposite the doctor’s desk and kept hold of his hand even when they descended into them. “I want him here. You can talk freely.”

“Okay.” The doctor sat and an age passed before he spoke again. “We have to perform another procedure.”

Yes, she’d known that more than bodily fluids would be required of her. “Procedure?”

“An ultrasound.”

Again, expected. “To check my ovaries?”

No wonder they didn’t need Breck, his proximity wouldn’t change the outcome.

“To check your fetus.”

“To check my…” He may as well have slapped her across the face. “Wait, my what?”

His smile grew. “You’re pregnant.”

“No, I’m not,” she said, adamant. “I did a test.”

“They’re not always accurate, which is why we’d like to do the ultrasound.”

“You think the test I did was a false negative?”

“It’s possible.”

“How do you know your test wasn’t a false positive?”

“We’ll confirm with the ultrasound, if you consent to proceed.”

They’d come there to check whether biological children were an option for them, it would be ridiculous to withdraw her consent at that moment.

“Yes, but I… You want to do an ultrasound to find out if I’m pregnant…” That made sense. Something else didn’t. “Why would you suggest the father of that child not be present?”

“In case I’m not the father of the child,” Breck answered.

Oh.

The poor doctor squirmed. “We often find it’s best to give the news to the mother first. With the ultrasound, we can narrow down the date of conception.”

Right, was their “suggestion” something they reserved for all women or only the unmarried ones?

Standing up, pushing her shoulders back, she didn’t want to get her hopes up before they were certain, a hundred percent certain.

“Let’s do this.”

She didn’t need a gown or to do anything other than roll up her top and down the waistband of her pants. And then it was there. After all the waiting, she didn’t need to be told what the sound was when the doctor turned up the volume and adjusted the monitor so they could both see.

“Yes, you are definitely pregnant. Strong heartbeat. Steady.” Yeah. Wow. Breck’s hand was already in hers; the physical link strengthened them and right now, they both needed that. “Around twelve weeks.”

Hold on just a second… “Twelve? No, that can’t be right. That’s November and I didn’t—”

“Conception may have been around the first week of December.”

Because they counted from her last period rather than the intercourse date, right. “Okay, but that doesn’t make sense either, because we didn’t—”

“I don’t care,” Breck said, kissing the back of her hand locked in his. “This baby is our future.”

No matter who the father was? Was that what he meant? Sweet or insulting? Anger was so far beyond her capability right then.

“Way to call me a slut in front of the doctor, Stat,” she said, too giddy and confused to do anything other than exhale a laugh.

“If there’s a baby in there, you put it in there.

No question. I haven’t been with any man but you since…

” Did her memory go that far back? “More years than I want to admit. We weren’t together in December, not at the… ”

Oh…

“The Simion deal?”

“That doesn’t count,” she dismissed him, “that was at work. Work doesn’t count, we always say that.”

Because in Breckenridge HQ, there were highs and lows, adrenaline and grievance.

Emotions could shift like a riptide and sometimes they needed to…

vent those emotions. Work was a, “Yeah, we did it, but we’re not going to talk about it,” venue.

Sometimes they did or they didn’t, it was all allowed because it didn’t count.

The doctor laughed. “If there was sexual contact…”

Oh, there had been that. “But we… That means I was pregnant at New Year’s when we…”

She hadn’t even asked him about having kids at that point. Not seriously. Not in an active way like she had at New Year’s. And, shit, that meant she’d spent a million dollars for no reason. Other than the charity.

“Would you like a video?” the doctor asked.

“Yes,” she said quickly, then landed her certainty on Breck. “We are not telling your mom.”

“She’ll be ecstatic.”

“There are options…” The doctor’s tone dropped to a serious octave. “If you don’t want this child—”

“We want him,” Breck said, “or her. My mother is…”

“Full on,” she added, not ready for the rocket to hit the stratosphere. “We have to get used to this news first.”

Pregnant. Just like she’d wanted. Phew. Deep breath.

With her father and the case, could she be pregnant right now?

With Breck’s baby? This little one had kind of stolen their choice.

Decisions had to be made now, there was a clock.

And she’d thought the last few days were a mental and emotional rollercoaster?

Child’s play. Nothing to this psychological slalom.

The paternity of the baby, when she’d decided to go for it, was supposed to be a secret.

This wasn’t a secret.

She was having Breck’s baby.