Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(82)

The back door of the office opens. I wipe my tears and get out of the car.

Jaxon runs over and takes my hand, holding it all the way into the office until they ask him to step aside so they can take my vitals. And as soon as they’re done, he grabs it again, offering as much assurance as anyone can at a time like this.

Dr. Peterman comes in the room. He sees the looks on our faces. Empathy crosses his. He takes the stool next to the exam table. “There are no guarantees here. You’ll need another scan in four to six weeks.”

“We understand,” Jaxon says.

“Let’s get started, then.”

I raise my shirt and lower my pants. He tucks a paper thingy over the waistband and squirts gel on my lower tummy.

“This could take a minute. Please try to be patient.”

I’m glad he told us that before starting because it does take a while. He’s being extremely thorough. And his expression gives nothing away. Jaxon and I look at each other, both of us out of our minds with worry.

Finally, he puts the probe down. “I’m pleased with what I’m seeing.”

My heart thunders. Jaxon’s grip tightens. “Pleased?” Jaxon asks, his voice laced with hope.

“While we have limited views of the anatomy and placenta due to the early gestational age, from what I can see, the placenta doesn’t seem to have attached over any synechiae.”

I give him a blank stare.

“Scar bands,” he clarifies. “As I said, you’ll need an anatomy scan in a month, and that will give us a better picture of the placenta. As the placenta continues to grow, these scar bands can potentially interfere, but at present, I’m not seeing signs of placenta accreta. That’s not to say it won’t or can’t happen.” He studies the screen again. “But I’m cautiously optimistic.”

“You are?” I feel my racing heartbeat in my ears. “That’s good, right?”

He smiles. Smiles! “As good as can be expected at this early stage, and better than I anticipated.

The reason being, you seem to be a little further along than we thought. Based on my measurements and the lack of information about your last menstrual period, I’ve recalculated your estimated due date to be May twenty-first.”

Jaxon laughs. He leans down and plants a kiss on my forehead. “Two weeks,” he says. “My kids will be born less than two weeks from each other.”

I’m crying. In this moment, I don’t even care that he will have another baby a few weeks before this one. All I care about are the words Dr. Peterman said. Pleased. Cautiously optimistic. I feel I’ve won the lottery.

“Jaxon, that means I’m over fifteen weeks,” I say through my relieved tears.

We kiss again, both knowing what a milestone it is.

“Would you like to know the gender?” Dr. Peterman asks.

I swallow. “You know?”

“I do.”

“We don’t want to know,” Jaxon says. He looks into my eyes. “We don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. We already love it more than we can say.”

I squeeze his hand. “Jaxon, I think I want to know.”

“You do?”

I nod. “I love him or her so much. I’m tired of being scared. I want to make plans. I want to talk about tea parties or T-ball. Pink or blue. I want to be able to do everything we couldn’t do last time.”

“All right, doc,” Jaxon says. “Let’s have it.”

Dr. Peterman smiles. “Tea parties it is.”

My hands cover my face as I blubber the ugliest happy cry anyone has ever heard. Jaxon collapses onto me. “It’s a girl, babe. It’s a girl.”



~



Hours later in bed, we’re still reeling. And Jaxon has taken to talking to the baby.

“Do you know how lucky you are to have the mom that you do?”

“I’m the lucky one,” I tell him. “But we still have to be careful. You heard what the doctor said.”

“Yes, I did. He said you’re farther along than we thought. Over fifteen weeks, Nic. Did you know anatomy scans can be done as early as sixteen weeks? That means what he did was basically one of those.”

“For regular pregnancies,” I remind him. “They wanted me closer to twenty weeks because of the Asherman’s. They need a more detailed view of the placenta.”

“Nicky, can we please take this win? She’s going to be fine. And we’re going to be an amazing family.”

“Clarice—she’s the one who does my wardrobe—already knows. She’s going to try to get me through the next few weeks, but Jaxon, we’ll have to tell people sooner rather than later.” I run a hand across my tiny bump. “Especially now that I’m even further along than we thought.”

Something occurs to me, and I reach for my phone. I search for a due date calculator because there is something I need to know. I snuggle back into his shoulder. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“We got pregnant the first time we did it.”

“Nicky, the first time we did it you were fifteen and we were in the back of my brother’s pickup truck in the parking lot behind the high school.”

I giggle.

He slings himself on top of me, careful not to squish me. “It was meant to be. It was always meant to be.”