Bidding Wars (Love Strikes)(30)

A light knock sounded on the door, and a doctor came in with a nurse. It felt like déjà vu. Only this time, no one was smiling. Molly took a deep breath in and out, feeling almost rooted to her seat.

The nurse leaned against the counter, and the doctor took a seat on one of those spinning chairs while he intently looked over her chart. She gripped the sides of the table, wishing he would hurry up. She needed answers now! Finally, he looked up. “Hi, Ms. Harper, I’m Dr. Smith.”

She shook his hand. “Do you have bad news for me?”

He studied her chart a little more and then set it down in his lap. “We got the results of your pregnancy test, and it was positive.”

Another nut job. Where were these doctors getting their licenses? “I don’t understand.”

“I’m sure this is confusing—”

“Confusing…that’s an understatement. I’ve been to fertility specialists. I’m infertile. And now I have two doctors telling me I’m pregnant. I don’t understand.”

“These things sometimes happen. We’ll confirm it in a moment on the ultrasound. But first, I need to do a pap smear because it’s been over a year since your last one.”

She closed her eyes and lay back as the doctor did what he had to. This made no sense. What was she going to do when she saw nothing on that ultrasound screen? She was worried she wouldn’t even be able to walk out of this office. She couldn’t handle another heartbreak. Didn’t they understand?

“All done. Flip the lights off.” Dr. Smith came around the side of her and squirted a warm liquid on her belly. “We use a warmer now. It makes the process a lot less uncomfortable.”

At this point she could care less if it was ice cold or burning hot. She just wanted to get this over with. She didn’t even care that the blank screen was angled away from her.

He pressed the wand to her lower abdomen and pushed it around a bit. Then something happened that she didn’t expect. He hit a switch and a rapid heartbeat came through the speakers. It felt like slow motion as he turned the screen to her and pointed with his finger. “There’s your bean.”

Her breath caught in her throat. She stared at the screen at something that resembled a lima bean, listening to the heartbeat filling her ears. He zoomed in and spoke, but she had no idea what he was saying. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and before she knew it, she was sobbing into the bed sheet clenched within her tense fingers. The nurse rushed over to her with tissues and did her best to comfort her.

The doctor finished up with what he needed to do and wiped off the wand. He handed her a set of photos. “You’re about seven weeks along.”

She stared at the photos. “How can I be seven weeks?”

“We start counting from the date of your last menstrual cycle. I know it’s confusing to a first-time mother who’s only a few weeks late. You would think that’s how pregnant you are. The truth is, the first four weeks you don’t know and you’re technically pregnant ten months, not nine.”

This was a lot of information for her to take in. “I don’t know what to say. My ex-husband and I tried for over a year.”

“It happens.”

“But why? Why did the doctor say I was infertile?”

Dr. Smith looked her in the eye and tilted his head. “Forget the past and what anyone has told you, Molly. You’re pregnant. You’ve seen it with your own two eyes and heard it. You have a bad case of morning sickness; that’s all. I am going to ask that you go on bed rest temporarily because the morning sickness has hit you so hard. Stay on fluids. You’ve got to take care of yourself.”

She nodded. What else was she to do? She couldn’t process this information.

“Is there anyone we can call to come pick you up? I’m not sure driving is a good idea.”

Luke. Oh God, she wasn’t sure she could find the right words to describe her current condition. Sammy was going to be a big brother. She covered her mouth with her hand and began to giggle. “I think I’m OK. I need to go to the father and tell him.”

“That’s a good idea. The nurse has a bag of goodies up front, including the vitamin pills you need to take daily. Try morning and evening. With your sickness, you’re going to need the one in the evenings before bed. Congratulations, and I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

Molly dressed and then took a moment to stare at the pictures again. She couldn’t believe it: that was her baby inside of her. She hoped like hell she wasn’t dreaming.

She carefully placed the pictures in her purse before typing out a text to Luke.

Meet me at my house. I have news.



* * *


Luke showered in rapid speed after he got the text from Molly. He was thanking his lucky stars that she wasn’t shutting him out.

Before he ran out the door, he grabbed the vegetable soup he’d made for her. It was his goal to keep her hydrated.

He parked his car next to hers a few minutes later, thankful she lived so close now. He grabbed the soup and practically ran up her steps. Yes, he was in a hurry.

He knocked on the door and waited. He heard her holler from inside to come in, so he let himself in.

“I just got out of the shower. I’ll be down in a minute.” She was calling from the top of the stairs.

She was up and moving—a good sign. He set the soup down in the kitchen and then walked around. He didn’t really get to explore yesterday, but as he walked around and saw Molly’s things in the house, he saw this was her home. It was perfect for her. He knew he’d made the right decision.

Molly walked up behind him in the kitchen. Her hair was wet and curled slightly at the ends. She had no makeup on, and tears were in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He reached out to her.

She took his hand and pulled him with her to the living room. She was clutching something to her chest, but he couldn’t see what it was.

“We need to be seated.”

He did as she asked but stared at her as her tears started to fall. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You’re scaring me.”

She sat down next to him and took one of his hands. She still held whatever was in the other hand tightly against her chest.

“Something’s happened that I can’t explain. I still don’t know if I’m dreaming. I hope I’m not.”

“Why are you crying?”

She smiled. “This house is my new beginning. My new life. Only…I didn’t realize how true that was going to be. It seems miracles do happen, and I’m proof.”

He was really confused. What was she talking about?

“What’s the miracle?”

She moved her hand away from her chest and held a long, thin strip of paper out to him. He took it from her, wondering what this paper had to do with anything. He turned it over; it was photos. Several of them. They were ultrasound pictures. Of a baby. A baby? Molly’s baby? Their baby?

He looked at each of the photos, studying them. In the corner of the photos he saw her name and the statement “seven weeks.” He was speechless.

He glanced up at her; tears cascaded down her cheeks. Now he knew why she was crying. She wasn’t sad…she was happy. “Is this ours?”

She nodded.

“We’re having a baby?”

Her lips quivered. She was having an even harder time speaking than he was. And he didn’t blame her. He set the photos down and pulled her to him. He laid his hand against her belly and gazed into the eyes of the woman he loved.

“I love you, Molly.”

“I love you too.”

His mouth claimed hers with greed. It had been too long since he’d tasted her, and he didn’t intend to stop until neither of them could take it any more. He had a million questions for her about the baby, but right now none of it mattered. At this moment he had to connect with her.

“I missed you so damn much.” He trailed his lips down to her neck.

“I missed you too. I don’t ever want to be away from you again.”

He cupped her face. “You’ve got me forever.”

She smiled. “I don’t think forever is long enough.”

“I hope this isn’t too forward, but can I please take you to bed?”

She leaned forward and kissed his chin before looking back into his eyes. “Yes. Besides, it isn’t like you’re going to knock me up. You already did that.”

He laughed and scooped her up to carry her upstairs. They had a lot of making up to do, and because they had forever, he had plenty of time to take things slow.





Chapter Twenty-Three


Tonight was a special night. Not only was it Molly’s first time cooking with her new appliances, but it was her housewarming party. She’d been away from work now for a few weeks—doctor’s orders. She was just over the twelve-week mark and had told Luke it was time to share the news. This party was where they were going to unveil their big surprise. Both of them.