And then she was crying in earnest, tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugged her arms around her stomach. Instinctively, Luke reached for her hand, threading his fingers through hers and squeezing gently.
“The difference now is, you don’t have to do this alone,” he told her. “I can help you.”
“Really?” She looked up at him through teary eyes. “You’d help me after I didn’t tell you about the baby?”
“Of course,” Luke said. “I already told you, I’m not angry. You made what you thought was the right decision — it was the wrong decision, but you didn’t know that.”
Bella gave a watery chuckle.
“And,” Luke continued, feeling more confident now, “I have a gut feeling that this is something we should do together.”
Bella brushed away her tears and laughed again. “I’m not very good at accepting help.”
“You’ll get better,” Luke said with a wink.
“I really don’t understand how you can be so calm about this.” Bella shook her head again. “When I found out about the baby, Iwas overjoyed but also overwhelmed. I couldn’t imagine how I’d work and be a mother at the same time. But you seem… fine.”
Luke smiled. The truth was, he already knew he was stretched too thin. He’d have to cut back his hours at the hospital, and try to restructure things, but he could do it. It was worth it. He already felt protective over Bella and their baby, and there was no way he was going to turn them out of the hospital to struggle on their own. Whatever it took, hewasgoing to help. And though he was surprised about the baby, a part of him was excited, too.
“I’m used to dealing with crises,” he said instead, an equally true answer. “I work in the ER, after all. I know how to stay calm when everything feels like it’s changing.”
“That’s impressive.” Bella turned her head to the screen of the fetal heart-rate monitor, and Luke followed the gesture. For a few minutes, they both watched the calm, steady heartbeat, then Bella sighed. “I know I need to do whatever it takes to keep my — our baby healthy. Even if that means resting. I just have no idea how I’m going to do it. I… I really don’t have enough savings to take time off.”
“Well, that’s simple,” Luke said. “You’ll move in with me.” He hadn’t known he was going to offer that, but the moment he did, it felt right. His house was big and empty anyway, and the idea that he could come home to Bella… well, it felt right. And it would help her. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help with your business, too. I can find temporary staff for you, help with logistics, talk to your clients, help financially, or just make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”
Bella bit her lip, her brows drawing together. “Luke, that’s too much.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Yes, it is.” She let out a puff of air. “If I move in with you and you help with my business, I’ll be completely reliant on you, and then…”
She trailed off, but Luke could imagine she was thinking that if he backed out, she’d be left in an even more precarious situation.
“I’m committed to this,” he said. “I want to be involved with the baby. I want to be a father. We’ll have to work out the specifics of that later, but right now, this makes sense. You said you don’t have enough savings to take time off. Well, if you’re living with me, you won’t have to pay rent or utilities or anything, which will mean you’ll save a bunch of money.”
“I know that, but…” She trailed off again. Her face looked paler than ever. “Luke, you’re being so generous, but I thought when you said ‘help,’ you meant helping me pick out cribs or something.”
Luke smiled despite the tense situation. “I’m happy to help you pick out cribs, but Bella, what you need is more help than that. And I can help you. Iwantto help you. I want to make sure you and the baby — our baby — are in the best possible situation.”
“I do, too.” Bella bit her lip again. “Of course I do. I just… it feels like a lot. I would never ask you to do this.”
Inwardly, Luke agreed. Inviting Bella into his home, into his life, would mean a huge change from the solitary workaholic lifestyle he’d embraced these last five years. But the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that it was the right thing to do. Yes, this was a momentous change. Just a few hours ago, he hadn’t even known he was going to be a father, and now he wasoffering to move in with a woman he’d just met. But for him, there was no other path forward.
Luke could keep Bella and their baby safe. It was as simple as that.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Look at it this way: you’re making our child, a brand-new human being, from scratch. The least I can do is give you a bed and a little help with work.”
Still, Bella hesitated. “I don’t mean to be rude; it’s just that I’vealwaysdone things on my own.”
Luke squeezed her hand again and, as gently as he could, he asked, “And how is that working out for you?”
Bella stared at him for a long moment, and Luke was sure he’d made the wrong call and that she’d yell at him, push him away, and storm out of the hospital. Instead, though, she let out a slow breath.
“You may have a point there.”
Seizing his chance, Luke leaned forward. “You don’t have to do everything on your own. But that doesn’t mean you can’t doanythingon your own, either. As your doctor, I’d recommend two weeks of really taking it easy — ideally bed rest, but in any case, not working. How about we give this a try, just for those two weeks? I’ll help you, and if it’s too much, you can walk away at the end.”
Bella looked up at him and bit her lip. In that moment, her worry seemed to fade away, and Luke saw in her the gorgeous woman he’d met at the bar, the woman he’d initially only wanted to know more about. His heart skipped a beat. Until now, he’d mostly been thinking about doing the right thing by her andthe baby (and yes, a little about not wanting to be alone in his house any longer). But now, he realized what living with her would mean: a thousand small, shared moments with a woman he found fascinating.
