Chapter Twenty-Five
Clover
* * *
I had one leg crossed over the other in the clinic waiting room. Three other patients waited for their appointments. I squirmed. I needed to pee thanks to my upcoming ultrasound, but I had to wait.
My phone buzzed.
Poppy: When’s your appointment?
Me: Tomorrow
Her sister’s radar was too strong. I tucked my phone away. She wasn’t the only sister who’d been hitting me up this week. Alder and his damn memory probably told them all he thought my big appointment was today. I had told them when it was at Christmas. And then after my New Year’s Eve humiliation, I had hoped they’d forget about it.
My embarrassment knew no bounds around Sullivan Wagner. The two worst times of my life had been witnessed by him.
First, getting ditched by Elijah. And getting dropped by Van.
The poor guy. He would be on his way to Denver at this very moment. Probably grateful to be taking off.
I’d put him in such a tight spot. We’d been wrapped up in the New Year’s Eve thrill, and I’d crawled all over him. I’d read into it all and put myself out there. He’d set me gently back down.
I bobbed my foot and stopped. That wasn’t helping the bladder situation.
Was my face hot over the memories, or was it hormones?
My phone buzzed again. I wasn’t going to look. I would let my family know how everything went after my appointment. It wasn’t like I was finding out the gender.
I’d just get to see Bean again. See how much Bean had grown. Hear the heartbeat. Get more pictures to hang on the fridge. It’d be exciting. Then I’d use that high to tell my sister what happened between me and Van.
The door to the exam rooms opened, and Emery popped out in lilac scrubs. “Clover. Come on back.” Her smile was just the right amount of friendly and excited. I needed that.
I smiled for the first time in a week and pushed out of my chair. This would be a good appointment. I’d have a pleasant time, get some blood drawn, and then I’d stare at the images tonight and think about my future. My very single future.
Emery stepped back to let me pass through and hit the handicapped button. The doors clicked all the way open. “How are you doing today?”
“Good.”
The hum of the door stopped, and another click sounded before they started to swing shut.
“Clover!”
I spun around just as the last guy I expected to see pushed through the door, ramming it with his shoulder. “Van?”
He was breathing heavy. “I’m sorry. I meant to come earlier.”
“What are you…” Emery and the other nurses were looking our way. I’d moved to town, married to a different man than I’d planned to be. Only Emery knew that, but the others might also know Van and I were no longer married. And here we were on the verge of making a scene. Yet I didn’t care. “What are you doing here?”
“Denver can wait.”
Everyone around us vanished. “No, it can’t.” A horrible thought bashed into my brain. “Did you cancel? For this?”
He formed a lopsided grin. “Yeah.”
“Why?” I screeched. Glancing around, I gave everyone an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“Why don’t I bring you to an exam room?” Emery said. Her tone was the perfect amount of supportive and hopeful. “I’ll get your vitals in a few minutes and then take you to radiology.”
