Page 67 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer

I didn’t have time to question the stuffed animal thing before the whooshing sound filled the room. Man, this was cool. Surreal. A satisfied smile filled my face. We did this. We’d created this tiny little human. I was really going to be a father, and I could not have been any happier in that moment.

“Did you decide whether to find out the baby’s gender?” Evie asked.

“No, not yet.” Harper looked at me. “What do you think?”

“It’s up to you, Harper. You’re carrying this baby. You get to be the one to choose.” I didn’t care if we were having a boy or a girl, but I did want to find out. I wanted to know everything I could about our baby.

Harper kept her gaze locked on mine. “Let’s find out.”

My heart thudded inside my chest. I probably looked like a fool. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes at the first glimpse of the baby.

“You got it,” Evie said. “If the baby doesn’t move, we should know in a second or two.”

I squeezed Harper’s hand.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Harper

Evie’s ultrasound wandscanned across my belly. The soothing sound of the baby’s heartbeat continued to fill the room.

“Here we are.” She paused dramatically. “Congratulations, Mom and Dad, you’re having a girl.”

Wow, a girl. Now all I could picture was a little girl that looked like Lincoln in our arms. Happy tears filled my eyes. I was thrilled to experience this moment with him at my side.

Evie switched back to the 2D screen and added a little pink bow to our pictures. We were getting all of them on a disk before we left.

“A girl,” Lincoln whispered.

Lincoln’s tone didn’t indicate his feelings, and I was too afraid to ask if he wanted a boy instead. I didn’t want to hear it if he did, and I definitely didn’t want our baby to listen to that either, even if she couldn't understand what the words meant right now.

“You’re happy, right?” Lincoln asked.

I finally turned my head to face him instead of the screen. Deep grooves lined his forehead, while his concerned gaze locked onto me. My stomach knotted. “Are you?”

“If you have to ask, then I’m doing a shitty job of showing that I’m ecstatic. Harper, I’m good whether we have a girl or a boy. To be able to see this—” He waved a hand at the screen. “—is incredible. Thank you for setting this up today.”