Page 154 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“I’ll get you anything you want, darlin’. Why didn’t you tell me you thought you might be pregnant?” he asked.

“I didn’t think I was. Being pregnant wasn’t even on my radar. I haven’t been feeling well, and after what happened with Lucas, I got scared. I didn’t want to worry you, so I called Dr. Winsom and asked him to do lab work.”

“Baby, please don’t hide things like that from me. If you’re ever scared, lean on me. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I will from now on. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He hugged her, and then he crouched in front of her and put both hands on her belly. “Hi, baby. It’s your daddy.”

Tears flooded her cheeks. This was what Juliette had wanted all those years ago. This was how Lucas should have been welcomed into the world. With his daddy showing him what it meant to be loved from the moment they discovered he existed.

“Your Mommy and I love you very much, and you have the greatest big brother…”

Oh God. Lucas. How is he going to feel about this?

“Be good to Mama, tiny one.” Seeley kissed her belly and pushed to his feet.

“Seeley, how are we going to tell Lucas?”

Lucas walked into their bedroom. “Tell me what?”

She and Seeley exchanged glances, and she quickly wiped her tears.

“Oh no. Is my cancer back?” Lucas asked frantically.

“No, honey. No,” she said.

“Is one of you sick?” he asked, his expression pained.

“No, Lucas. It’s nothing bad,” Seeley said. “We just found out your mom is pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” he asked incredulously.

“Yes,” she said. “I know this is a shock. It was a shock for us, too.”

“Wait. Let me get this straight,” Lucas said with a smirk. “This is your second child together, and you’ve never been married. I think you should’ve had that safe sex talk with each other instead of me.”

They both laughed.

“You’re both doctors,” Lucas said emphatically, but also teasingly. “You know how this works.”

They laughed again, but Juliette was worried.

“Lucas, can you be serious for a second?” she asked. “How do you really feel about this?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know much about babies, but I love Gus, and I think it’s cool that Doc has a big family, so…”

“You’re not upset?” Seeley asked.

“No. I think it’ll be fun to have brothers and sisters.”

Relieved, she said, “Well, hopefully this is just one baby.”

“Whatever,” Lucas said. “Since the wedding is at midnight, can I miss school tomorrow?”

“No,” Juliette said.

“Come on, Mom. You’re pregnant. Don’t you want to sleep late in the morning?”