I looked at Amber and raised my brows. “Maybe. She’ll need us to look after her while the baby’s growing inside her, and when he’s born, we’ll need to help her look after him then.” Point made.
Zara got off the sofa. “I want to call him Oliver.”
I waited for her to be out of earshot. “That’s not a bad name actually.”
Amber laughed. “Agreed. I like that too.”
CHAPTER16
Amber
TWENTY-TWO WEEKS
It was after midnight,but I wasn’t sure how much after because I didn’t want to look at my phone to check. I couldn’t sleep, not because I wasn’t absolutely exhausted, but because my pelvis hurt, a dull pain that I knew wasn’t right, or I thought it wasn’t right.
For the last couple of weeks, Nate had been quietly selling the idea of moving into his house. He’d shown me the guest suite, with its own lounge and bathroom, a large light bedroom that was as far away from the girls’ rooms as possible.
I genuinely was still thinking about it, because I knew that once I moved in with Nate and stayed for the rest of my pregnancy and the first few months of our son’s life, I would find it so hard to move out.
Now, as another wave of worry swept over me, I wished I’d said yes days ago. I had to go and get checked out; the doctor had made it really clear when I was to present at the hospital, and this was one. Nate had training in the morning and a game the day after; I really didn’t want to wake him up. The other option was to call Genny or Neva. They’d both take me to hospital, but then I’d upset Nate because he would want it to be him I called.
It would be him I called.
I picked my phone up and tried not to notice the time, dialling Nate, who had somehow made his way into my favourites list.
He answered on the third ring.
“I’m on my way. Pack a bag.” He sounded croaky, because I’d just woke him up, but there was no hesitation there.
I could fall in love with you.
His words hadn’t stopped echoing around my head since he’d said them, always somewhere there, on the periphery of every thought.
He was a good man. Possibly the best man I’d known apart from my father and my brother. He was intelligent, patient, understanding and considerate, the sort of man I knew I could fall in love with.
And I was still fantasizing about the sex.
Fifteen minutes later and he was here, picking up my overnight bag which I’d stuffed quickly with sweats, yoga pants, T-shirts and underwear, as well as my Kindle, and then we were in his car.
“Do you have any spotting?” I heard the tremor in his voice.
“No. Just pelvic pain. Nothing sharp, just dull. If the doctor hadn’t said to be aware of it, I probably wouldn’t even have noticed.” This was true.
“When did it start?”
“I woke up about ten-thirty.”
He nodded. “It will be fine. I’m pretty sure because there’s no spotting it’s all okay.”
“When did you become a gynaecologist?”
He laughed, luckily, because that was a bit of a snipe at him.
“I’m panicking inside, Amber, and trying to hold on to something here.” He was driving above the speed limit, and this time I heard the tension in his voice.
“I can still feel movement. The fluttering’s felt stronger the last couple of days.” Which was why I wasn’t rocking in my seat right now. “Honestly, this is a precaution.”
“I know.” His hand left the steering wheel and found mine. “Please tell me you’ll come back to mine when we leave the hospital.”
