“I am.” He nodded, totally used to the fangirl schtick.
Courtney totally checked the doctor’s wrists for an I-bagged-a-Bax bracelet. Thankfully, she didn’t wear one.
“I’m Courtney Lincoln,” Courtney said when the doctor just stared at Bax in that groupie trance. “Your patient,” she added, rubbing her tummy for good measure.
“Right, right, right. I’m Dr. Pepper.” The woman held her hand out to Courtney, but still stared at Bax.
Yeah, she wasn’t going to be delivering the kid.
Bax fumbled, putting the wand back in the hanger slot thingy.
“I really shouldn’t do this,” Dr. Pepper said, staring straight at Bax. “But I just have to say… Oh my gosh, I shouldn’t do this…”
Then don’t…
“I just want to tell you how much I love your music,” she gushed.
Okay, well, of everything she could’ve said, that wasn’t the worst.
“I lost my virginity to a guy who looked just like you, but he’s actually a podiatrist now.”Yup, there was the worst.
Bax did his standard thank-you, making the fan feel important, but somehow—and Courtney wasn’t entirely sure how he did this—he didn’t make Courtney feel left out. He glanced at her often, even as he spoke to Dr. Pepper. Those little moments of eye contact reassured her that she was important. That they were here as a team.
She hadn’t realized how much she craved that, wanted that… needed that.
“So,” Dr. Pepper said, staring at the clipboard in her hand but obviously not actually reading it. “Ultrasound day?”
Courtney nodded, and they made it through the preliminary questions as Dr. Pepper side-glanced at Bax every few seconds and flicked her hair over her shoulder.
“And who is this with you?” Dr. Pepper kept her eyes stuck to the paper as though she was asking a question on the list, but Courtney had her number.
“This is Brennan Baxter,” Courtney said, sliding her gaze to Bax, who only shrugged his shoulder. “We established that, I think.”
“His relationship to the mother and baby?” Dr. Pepper asked, still staring at the paper, pen held ready to scribble.
“We had sex, I impregnated her. She’s my…” He looked at Courtney. “What did you decide to be called?”
“Uh…” They hadn’t quite sorted that out yet, and he should never call itimpregnatedagain.
“Mother Goose?” he asked, apparently on the fly.
Okay, what?
“Seriously? You went from baby mama to Mother Goose?” she asked. “Find whatever would be between those two things and call me that.”
“She’smy Courtney,” Bax said, pulling her to him so their temples touched.
That was nice, seriously nice. Whooshy belly nice.
Dr. Pepper did look up then, and whatever crush she’d had on Bax seemed to dissolve. Meanwhile, Courtney’s heart was a puddle of mush.
Something about the way he said “my Courtney” made her not really care what else he called her, because it was sweet, super sweet.
Finally, questions answered, Dr. Pepper strode to the cupboard and pulled out the box of condoms. She grabbed one.
Okay, well, Courtney wasn’t one to judge anything, but that was a little forward if she was going for a bracelet at Bax’s first baby-daddy appointment.
Gah, no, she would not start calling him that.
