“Well, Tuck, I see you are in good hands,” Erich said looking at Tucker.
“I know I am,” Tucker said, and Lucas heard the pride in his husband's voice making him blush which completely erased his “I will hurt you” scowl.
* * *
“I needto ask you something, and I need you to be completely honest with me,” Lucas said to Tucker.
“Okay.” He looked over to the passenger seat at Lucas. They were on their way to Lucas’ doctor's appointment.
“Are you threatened by my wealth?”
“Should I be?”
“That’s really not an answer, Tucker.”
He’d never really thought about it. He knew Lucas was wealthy, but his wealth had nothing to do with the person he was and cared for. “No, I’m not.” Lucas sighed and slouched down in his seat. “Were you worried that I would be?”
“It never occurred to me that you were, but at lunch when you turned down the jet, I couldn’t help but think about it. I’m used to women throwing themselves at me because they were impressed with my bank account. Rebecca, independent and strong-willed as she was, felt intimidated by it all. I had to force her to spend money, and things are going so great for us, I would hate for me having more money to be what causes an argument between us.”
Tucker pulled into the parking lot of the doctor’s office and turned to Lucas after turning off the car. “I will be honest with you, I don’t need your money.” Lucas went to say something, but Tucker stopped him by placing a finger on his lips. “I have a great job, long hours and working weekends notwithstanding, and I’ve made some very good investments over the years. Granted, I’m not as wealthy as you and your family, but if I decide to quit my job tomorrow, I won’t need to work for the rest of my life. Finances won’t be an issue if we make it one, and I’m not afraid to spend money.” He smiled, and Lucas kissed his finger that was still on his lips.
“I . . .” Lucas stopped speaking when a car horn sounded.
“You what?” Tucker asked wanting to know what he was about to say.
“Nothing, it’s not important,” he said offhandedly. “Let’s go.”
Tucker stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what he was going to say if they were not interrupted. “Okay,” he said unbuckling his seatbelt, getting out of the car and walking beside Lucas holding his hand; he’d find out sooner or later what the other man wanted to tell him.
* * *
They were sittingin the waiting area, and Lucas kept going over the words he wanted to say to Tucker in the car. He knew he cared about Tucker, but it felt as if he wanted to tell him that he loved him.It’s too soon, isn’t it?
“Mister Hamilton.”
“That’s me,” he said getting up and walking over to the nurse, handing her the clipboard with all his and Tucker’s information that was needed. He was seeing Doctor Wilson, who came highly recommended from Ethan.
“Come with me,” she said to Lucas then looked over his shoulder to Tucker who had remained seated. “Sir, I’ll have him back to you in a few minutes, and then the doctor will see you both.”
She took Lucas to another room, and all he could think about was what he was going to say. They’d gone as far as getting married since finding out that he was pregnant but saying "I love you" were words that couldn’t be taken back once they were said. He meant every word he’d said to Tucker on the day they got married but saying "I love you" would mean something entirely different.
Fifteen minutes later after he was poked and prodded, weighed and almost died, he and Tucker were sitting in front of the doctor. Doctor Wilson was scanning his chart over his moon-shaped glasses and every so often would hum and nod, it all made Lucas nervous. His dad had faxed over everything he needed that morning. He’d read the report and his parents downplayed how serious his situation was when he was a baby.
“Well, Mister Hamilton-Stevens, you had a medical miracle,” Doctor Wilson said looking up at him finally.
“Then can you tell me how I got pregnant if the doctors tied my tubes.”
“It says here that two years ago you had an emergency surgery from a bullet wound to your stomach. It seems while the doctors were repairing the damages to your stomach they fixed your tubes while they were operating on you. Now, I don’t foresee any issues with your pregnancy. However, I still want to keep a close eye on you . . .”
“Wait a freaking minute,” Lucas said stopping Doctor Wilson. He needed time to absorb the information.
He remembered what happened two years ago. He and his team were chasing Alfonso Gianni who was dealing in more than just stealing priceless art. Lucas had gone undercover, and in the process was shot in his stomach, he literally thought he was going to die. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you’re on the brink of death, and his surely did. It had taken him months to recover from being shot. He remembered the doctors telling him they had to repair intestines and other things and now it all made sense.
“Okay, now that we know what happened. Once I have this baby, can I get pregnant again?”
“If that is your wish. Like I was saying, I do not foresee anything major affecting you during your pregnancy, but I would like to limit your diet and keep a very close eye on you.”
“Do you think the holes could open back up?” Tucker asked as he reached for Lucas’ hand.
