Page 26

Cam wasn’t in yesterday, and he’s not answering my calls. It’s like he senses I have something important to tell him and so he’s avoiding me. He’s not in on Wednesday, either, but he never is so it’s not like I was expecting him.

I last texted him Monday night to see if he was available for a quick romp—but really so I could tell him our news, and he never wrote back.

At this point, it just seems a little desperate to text again. The ball is in his court.

He's finally back in his office on Thursday morning. I stop in to talk to him before I see my first patient.

“Can we talk?”

He glances up at me over the black frames he wears when he's studying paperwork. “Close the door,” he grunts.

I do and I walk over to the seat across from him. “What's going on with you? We haven't talked since Sunday, and that's not like you.”

“My apologies. A, uh, family member passed away and I’ve been helping with the estate. It’s why I was out Monday. And I have a lot to catch up on in my absence.” He says it thickly, like he’s trying to drop a hint…but he also asked me to close the door, so I’m confused.

His eyes return to his paperwork, and I feel like we’re back to that old dynamic where I’m the subordinate nurse and he’s the high and mighty doctor.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” I murmur. “You should have told me. Then I could have shown up for you the same way you showed up for me.”

I’m carrying his baby now. He deserves to know that, deserves the happy news, but maybe now isn’t the best time. He’s clearly stressed, overwhelmed by losing this family member and then returning to mountains of work.

Maybe telling him right now he's got a baby on the way isn't ideal timing.

“Do you want to come over tonight?" I ask. Maybe I can tell him then.

“I can’t.” His eyes aren’t on me. They’re down on the file again, and I wish he’d study me the way he’s studying the papers. I wish he’d give me that same attention.

“Oh. Okay. I'll let you get back to work.” I stand and move to walk out of his office when his voice stops me cold.

“I think we should stop seeing each other.”

I turn slowly around to face him. “You…you what?”

“I never should have gotten tangled up with you in the first place.” He shakes his head but continues to avoid eye contact.

“Do you really believe that?” I ask, my voice trembling as I stare him down.

We’re having a freaking baby together.

Granted, he doesn’t know…and with the words he just spoke to me, I sort of feel like he doesn’t deserve to know. Maybe I’ll never tell him at all.

This must be because of whoever just passed away. There must be some motivation behind him just suddenly cutting me off out of the blue.

It feels like a break-up even though we never committed to anything at all. For all I know, he’s been doing this on Saturday afternoons with somebody else.

He finally glances up at me. When his eyes connect with mine, they’re hard and cold. They’re not the warm, tender eyes that look upon me when we wake together from our Sunday sex naps. They belong to someone else. Someone who’s going through something, someone who is confused and unclear about what direction to head in next. “Yes, I do.”

I press my lips together and nod, and then I walk out of his office, that sweet little declaration of his the last words spoken between us. I stride straight to the bathroom where I break down in a stall for approximately thirty seconds, and then I blow my nose, draw in a shaky breath, and head to room one where Sienna Sorkin awaits her happy nurse. I pass Sara in the hallway. Her brows dip when she sees me.

Okay, so Sienna might not be getting the happy nurse. I might not have masked the fact that I was just crying in the bathroom as well as I thought I did.

And I might have to face Sara in a bit to explain why I look like a trainwreck.

Because I am.

Because I’m pregnant and the father just told me it was a mistake to be with me in the first place.

I blow out a breath as I push Cam from my mind and knock on the door to room one.

It isn’t until an hour before lunch that I run into Sara again.

“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.

I shake my head without a word. Maybe it’s time to let someone in on this. I’ve been going through it alone since I found out, and frankly I’m tired of feeling alone. Who better to unload it all onto than my best friend?

“Let’s grab lunch together, okay?” she suggests.

I nod as I look up at the ceiling in an attempt to ward off the tears heating behind my eyes. I take care of two more patients fill out their charts and notes, and then meet Sara in the breakroom.

“Sandwich?” she asks, indicating the sub shop located a few doors down from our office.

I shake my head since pregnant women aren’t supposed to eat lunchmeat. “Salad place?” I suggest, and she nods. We grab our purses and head out.

“What’s going on, Tessa?” she asks as we walk the two blocks to the restaurant. “You’ve been acting strange for weeks.”

I sigh. “I’ve been sleeping with Cam.”

Her eyes grow wide. “Foster?”

As if it needs clarification.

“And you didn’t tell me?” she screeches.

“I’m sorry.” I duck my head. “We didn’t want anyone at work to find out, and he just broke it off with me.”

She tosses an arm around my shoulder and squeezes me in a side hug. “Oh no. I’m so sorry. What an asshole.” She shakes her head as she lets up her grip, and I appreciate the solidarity. “But Cam Foster? Dang girl, that’s a score and a half.”

“There’s more,” I say.

She stops walking. “What is it?”

I clear my throat. “I’m pregnant.”

Her eyes bug out. “You’re…you’re…”

I nod. “Pregnant.”

“And it’s…it’s…”

“His.” I press my lips together at the confession, and then I sigh as we both start walking again. “What do I do?”

“Have you told him?”

I shake my head. “I’m only about six weeks along. I haven’t even gone to the doctor yet to check, and then he broke it off out of nowhere.”

“Oh man. And now, if you tell him…”

“It’ll just look like some desperate attempt to win him back,” I say flatly.

“Right. We need to come up with a plan.” We stop outside the salad place.

I knew talking to her about this was the right thing to do. It feels good to have somebody in my corner to help me figure this out.