But she just shakes her head again. “No. That’s not why I’m here,” she says.
Confused, I let my hand drop. “Okay, what is it then?”
She’s starting to worry me. An unnamed fear starts creeping into me.
“Olivia, what’s wrong?”
“Remember, at the donor center yesterday, they took me back for further screening.”
My vision goes black at the edges. “Yes,” I say, hoarsely.
They found something. Something’s wrong. She’s sick.
The familiar grief of losing someone I love comes back and nearly bowls me over. “Olivia, I—” My throat closes, and I punch through it. “Whatever it is—"
“Roberto,” she says, reaching for my hands.
But my mind is somewhere else.
“What is it? We’ll take care of it,” I say, in a rush.
“No,” she says firmly. “It’s not like that.”
“I’ll get you the best doctors in the world.”
“I’m not sick, Roberto,” she snaps. “I’m pregnant!”
The spinning in my head slows and narrows in on her. I stare blankly at her.
“You’re what?” I ask, stilllost.
“They took me back and tested me,” she says, gentling her voice. “The results were positive. I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant,” I repeat slowly. “That’s why you couldn’t donate blood.”
“Yes.”
“You’re pregnant,” I whisper.
She sounds concerned when she says, “Yes. Are you all right?”
I stand, pulling her up with me.
I can’t breathe again. It’s too much, the feelings inside me. I have to do something with them.
I grab her upper arms and squeeze. “Olivia, you’re pregnant.”
“Yes,” she says, and there’s a laugh in her voice now. “Roberto—”
The rest of her sentence is lost when I pull her in and take her mouth. I wrap my arms around her, trapping her arms at her sides.
She makes a startled sound against my lips, then opens to me, warm and alive in my arms.
My relief is so sharp it’s almost pain. I kiss her as if my life depends on it, until the spin in my head stops and I can breathe again.
I run my lips over her face, kissing every inch of skin I can. She laughs and says my name. Just my name.
I ease back, touch my forehead to hers, and finally release her arms. She wraps them around me and holds me close.
