His heart racing, he clicked the next message. “Luke, please come home. I think I need to go to the hospital. My waters broke.” There was definitely panic in her voice now.
That was all he needed. Not even bothering to change out of his scrubs, he raced downstairs faster than he’d ever run, got in his car, and drove home. The whole way, his heart raced. Bella was alone and scared. She was at the beginning of her labor, if she even was in labor, but she was still alone and scared — and it was all Luke’s fault. He should have stayed home today, like he’d originally planned. He shouldn’t have let his own fears push him to run off.
When he got home, he burst in through the door. The house was quiet.
“Bella?” He saw her phone on the floor, and the worry intensified. “Bella, where are you?”
He heard a faint noise upstairs. There was a pause, then a voice called out, “I’m… here!” She sounded out of breath and in pain.
Luke took the stairs two at a time and found Bella hunched over on the carpet by the bathroom. She had a couple of towels next to her, along with a bowl of water and a bottle of hand sanitizer, the bath was half-filled in the room behind her. Luke’s eyes widened as he took her in. She didn’t look like a patient in the early stages of labor. Her face was flushed red, her hair was plastered to her cheeks, and her eyes were frantic. She was clutching a comb in her hand so hard that her knuckles were white.
“Luke!” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “You’re here. You came.”
“Bella.” He fell to his knees beside her and took her hand. “I’m here. And I’m so, so sorry. I never should have left you. Everything is going to be okay now.”
A contraction hit her, and her face scrunched up in pain. Luke held her hand tightly and breathed through it with her, andwhen it subsided, he squeezed her hand and let go. Luke got up to wash his hands, as quickly as he could.
“I need to check you now, okay? To see how far along you are. I’m not going anywhere.”
A quick inspection showed thatneitherof them were going anywhere. Bella was at ten centimeters and completely effaced. She was ready to deliver their baby. There was no chance an ambulance would come in time to get her to the hospital. Taking a deep breath, Luke returned to Bella’s side.
“It looks like you’re going to have the baby right here, right now,” he said in his best calming doctor’s voice. He expected Bella to panic — most people would at the prospect of having their baby unexpectedly at home — but Bella just nodded.
“You’re here,” she said. Her green eyes were trained on his face.
“I’m here,” Luke agreed. “It’s going to be okay.”
Another contraction came, and she squeezed his hand.
In that moment, certainty came over Luke. He’d made a terrible mistake, not just by leaving Bella to go to work this morning, but by ever doubting his feelings for her. He loved Bella. He loved their baby. Even now, something could happen to either one of them, but Luke keeping his distance wouldn’t stop that. The best thing he could do was love them as hard as he could, as long as he could, and trust in their future.
Luke didn’t just want to be a co-parent. And he didn’t just want to be Bella’s doctor, or a one-night stand, or a roommate. He wanted to be the one she told when something went well with her business. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms each morning. He wanted to be the kind of sappy couple that kissedeach other whenever one of them left for work and embarrassed their son.
None of that would stop anything bad from happening. Nothing Luke could do would. But it wasn’t worth missing out on a life with the woman he loved because of fear. He was scared and uncertain, and the world felt dangerous and unpredictable, but he wanted to be with Bella. He wanted to be by her side. He wanted to face whatever came next, together. Always.
He didn’t say any of that right then, though, because this emergency situation was far more pressing than his revelation. Bella was holding his hand tightly, her eyes scrunched closed as another contraction overcame her. She was still lying on the hallway carpet, but there was no time to move her.
“Did you bring this water and the towels?” he asked.
Bella nodded. “I had to… triage… like your… talk.”
In that moment, Luke’s love for her grew a thousandfold. When he’d given that talk almost nine months ago, he’d hoped that just one person would listen and learn something. Clearly, one person had: Bella. The woman he loved. And she was the one who mattered most.
“You did so well,” he told her encouragingly. “And you’re almost done.” He checked again and nodded. “Okay, Bella. It’s time to push.”
Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand tighter, sitting up slightly. “Wait. I’m… not… ready.”
Luke squeezed her hand. “Yes, you are. You can do this.Wecan do this. I promise.”
Bella nodded, her expression set, as she shifted her position and began to push.
Luke could hardly believe this was happening. They were about to meet their son. He was about to deliver his own baby. And he loved Bella — he could finally admit that.
CHAPTER 23
BELLA
The pain was still all-consuming, but Bella’s fear had subsided now that Luke was by her side. He was here. He was a doctor. Everything would be okay. Their baby would be okay. She would be okay.
