“How are you feeling?” someone asked her for the tenth time that night.
“Like I swallowed a bowling ball,” Aliza replied with a grin, earning laughter and sympathetic nods from the other women in the room.
Elias stayed close, one hand always hovering near her back, protective without being suffocating. He looked impossibly handsome in his suit, relaxed in a way she rarely saw him at the hospital. This night wasn’t about emergencies or charts—it was about celebrating the hospital meeting its fundraising goals to build the new wing.
Everyone seemed to be in high spirits and were partying like they were at their high school proms—especially Dani and Jonnas, who were celebrating hard. Aliza spotted them near the bar, Dani’s heels already abandoned beneath a table, her laughter ringing out far too loudly. Jonnas had his arm slung around her shoulders, a drink in each hand, clearly past the point of responsible decision-making.
“Oh no,” Aliza muttered.
Elias followed her gaze and winced. “They’re drunk-drunk.”
“Like ‘someone should take their keys’ drunk,” she said.
They made their way over just in time to hear Dani declare, “I love this song!”—despite the fact that the music had changed three times since she last noticed.
“Okay,” Aliza said gently, reaching for Dani’s arm. “I think you’ve had enough.”
Dani waved her off. “I’m fine.”
Jonnas nodded emphatically. “She’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine.”
Elias sighed. “You’re both disasters.”
“We’re happy disasters,” Dani corrected.
Aliza and Elias exchanged a look. “We’re going to head out,” Elias said firmly. “You two should probably come with us.”
“In a minute,” Jonnas said, already distracted by someone refilling his glass.
Aliza leaned closer to Dani. “Call me if you need anything. Anything.”
Dani grinned. “Go home, Mama. I’ve got this.”
Aliza wasn’t sure that was true—but she was also very tired and couldn’t wait to get out of her clothes and into her nice, warm bed. They slipped out early, the cool night air a relief against her flushed skin. Elias helped her into the car with practiced care, and she sighed as soon as she was settled.
“God, it feels good to sit down. My feet are killing me,” she admitted. “I see why you don’t drink at these things,” she said.
He chuckled. “It’s more entertaining sober. Do you think that we did the right thing leaving them there together?” he asked.
She shrugged, “I have no clue if we did the right thing by leaving, but they are both adults, and I’m sure that they will figure out how to get home safely. We can’t be everyone’s parents,” she teased. She would worry about her best friend in the morning. For now, she leaned her head back against the seat, Elias’s hand resting over hers and her belly, smiling to herself. Somehow, everything had fallen into place between the two of them, and the rest of the world would just have to wait until tomorrow.
The End
What’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey? You won’t want to miss Baby Daddy (Dirty Daddies Book 2), coming in June 2026!
Jonnas
Jonnas Black was a player. He didn’t mind when women called him that, and he certainly didn’t deny it. He had learned a long time ago to embrace who he was—for better or worse. But the woman standing in front of him, holding a pregnancy test and telling him that the baby was his, was about to change his status. He didn’t know too many dads in their forties who he’d consider to be players. Maybe his playing days were over. Or maybe the woman was just looking for someone to pin her kid on, and he just happened to be a good fit.
He didn’t remember sleeping with her, but that didn’t mean anything. He had slept with countless women who he didn’t remember the next day. That’s why he didn’t date anyone at the hospital where he worked. As a hospital administrator, HR frowned upon him dating the nurses and doctors who worked there. And he learned a long time ago that he shouldn’t shit where he ate—as vulgar as that sounded.
But he fucked up, and sleeping with Dani Hart had proven that to him. She was a newer nurse at the hospital, way too young for him, and now was claiming to be pregnant with his baby.
Dani stood in his office, clutching a plastic stick in her hand like it was a loaded gun. Two pink lines stared back at him, screaming the words you fucked up! He looked at the test as though it had hurt him in some way—cutting him deep.
“How do you know that I’m the father?” he asked. It was one of the first things he said to her besides, “Hello,” since she stepped into his office.
“Are you accusing me of lying about this, Jonnas? I came here to let you know, out of courtesy, that you’re going to be a father, and that’s what you have to say to me? Hell, do you even remember who I am, or was I just another notch in your bedpost?” That stung, but the truth usually did.
