Best Friends Don't Kiss(91)

“You guys seriously think I’m pregnant?” I retort. “You do realize that Luke has been gone for four freaking months, right? How in the hell would I get pregnant? The immaculate conception?”

But even the words coming out of my mouth don’t do anything to reassure me.

And when I start trying to remember when I last had my period…I can’t remember at all. Like, at all.

“Oh shit,” I mutter. Then my eyes go wide. “Wait, that would be crazy, right? I mean, that would mean I got pregnant the night before Luke left on his mission. Which, like, what are the odds?”

“How about this?” Desi offers and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go grab some dinner for tonight, and while we’re out, we’ll get a pregnancy test. Just so you can take it and see.”

All I can do is shrug and nod.

I mean, the chances of it being positive are probably one in a freaking trillion, but yeah, why not just take the test so I don’t have to wonder?




Less than twenty-four hours later, I find myself sitting in my gynecologist’s office, my legs in stirrups and a paper gown covering my body while Desi and Claire sit in the chairs against the wall, both of them grinning at me.

“I’m not pregnant,” I say and roll my eyes.

“Three pregnancy tests would disagree, my friend,” Desi retorts, and Claire just keeps on smiling.

Thankfully, three soft knocks rap against the door, and Dr. Marlow walks inside, promptly ending comments from the peanut gallery in the corner of the room.

“Hi, Ava,” she greets. “It looks like you’re here because you got a positive pregnancy test?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Though, I would bet money on the fact that it’s wrong.”

“Okay.” She smiles and slips on a pair of medical gloves the nurse hands to her and sits down on a stool that’s positioned close to the exam table. “You’re just going to feel some pressure,” she says and begins her exam.

“When was your last period?” she eventually asks, looking up to meet my eyes.

“I think I had one last month,” I comment, and she tilts her head to the side.

“You can’t remember?”

I cringe and shake my head.

Once she takes off the gloves, she lifts the paper gown away from my belly and palpates my lower stomach with her bare hands.

“Betty, could you slide the ultrasound machine over?” she instructs the nurse. And a few moments later, she squirts some cold gel on my belly and begins to roll the probe over my skin.

“Well, Ava,” Dr. Marlow announces with a soft smile. “The test was right. You’re pregnant.”

“What?” My eyes go wide and turn to the side to look at the screen of the ultrasound.

“There’s your baby,” she says. “And by my calculations, I’d say you’re around four months along.”

Four months along? I do the math in my head and instantly know when it happened—our last night together back in June.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Not kidding.” Dr. Marlow shakes her head on a laugh. “Do you hear that?” she questions, and mere seconds later, the whooshing sounds of a heartbeat fill the room. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”

“Holy shit, Ava,” Desi says through a quiet laugh. “You’re literally one of those people. The ones that don’t realize they’re pregnant until the baby’s head is popping out of their vaginas.”

“Desi!” Claire retorts and reaches out to slap Desi on the arm.

Normally, their bickering commentary would be entertaining, but right now, I’m a little too shocked to think about anything besides one thing—I’m pregnant.

Luke is in freaking outer space, won’t be back for another two months, and I just found out we’re going to have a baby.

Holy hell.

Well, at least you know why you’ve been so freaking emotional lately…




Happily Ever After December

Ava



I feel like I’ve been waiting an eternity for this day to come.

I stand in a small crowd of family members. Every single person here is waiting for one of the five astronauts who went on this mission to officially arrive home.

My heart races in anticipation, and I rub my hand over my small, rounded belly hiding beneath my jacket.

Any minute, baby, I think to myself. Any minute, your daddy will be here.

Two months ago, I found out I was pregnant.

And for the last two months, I’ve wavered on telling Luke and not telling Luke, and well, needless to say, he doesn’t know yet.

But now that I’m standing here, definitely pregnant, and waiting for him to arrive, I’m seriously starting to second-guess that decision.

Maybe I should’ve told him. But all I know is that every time I almost did, it didn’t feel right not to deliver this news in person. To tell him before he was safely back home.

It’s almost like I took a page out of his book when it took him so long to tell me about his NASA acceptance all those years ago.

Well, let’s hope his reaction isn’t as insane as yours was back then.

Internally, I cringe at that thought.

But my focus quickly changes when I look toward the hangar and see the doors starting to slide open.