A tug on my hand stops me.
“Hey, you only wrote out three.”
I scrunch my face.
“This morning’s gratitude list. There were only three items.”
I’m starting to recognize that not much gets past this man. That knowledge both terrifies and excites me. It’s an odd feeling to be seen so keenly when I’ve unconsciously worked to be hidden.
“I didn’t have time to finish,” I say.
“Then what are the last two?”
I should’ve been prepared for the fact he wouldn’t allow me to get away with that explanation.
“Beautiful weather,” I say.
“And number five?”
My hand moves to my belly without me thinking about it. I instantly think of the same thing that’s been on my morning list every day since my first ultrasound.
“My body … for keeping this baby.”
Travis squeezes my hand and leans in, pressing a kiss to my cheek. It should surprise me but doesn’t. It feels almost naturalto have his lips on me, my hand in his, his body crowding my space.
“I’m grateful for that, too,” he says in my ear. He pulls back, staring me in the eye. “And morning walks,” he adds with another squeeze of my hand.
“Have a good day.”
When he releases my hand, my body goes colder. I’m the first one to move, leaving him standing there watching me as I enter the stone building.
I don’t know what the hell has overcomes me, but I remind my body to calm itself down and focus on work not the man whose baby I’m having.
CHAPTER 19
Alyssia
Days after my first day of work, I’m laying on a bed in my new doctor’s office, ready to have my first 3D ultrasound.
“You don’t want to know the gender, right?” Dr. Dupas asks before she begins to lower the wand to my belly.
Travis looks down at me.
“Do you?” I ask even though we’ve discussed this before. He’s assured me that whatever I want he’s fine with, but I want to double check.
“No,” he answers, jostling my hand that he holds in his. “We’ve decided against it.”
My heart skips a beat. It sounds as if we’ve come to a mutual decision like a real couple.
But we’re not a couple. I have to remind myself of that
“No,” I agree, turning to Dr. Dupas.
She gives me the warmest look, smiling as she lowers the wand.
My new doctor is highly competent, and based on the dozens of pictures of parents with their newborns taped around her office, it’s easy to see how much she cherishes her work.Gratitude washes over me as I recall, not for the first time, that Travis put in some research and work to find her.
Moments later the rhythmic heartbeat fills the room.
