Tryst (Take It Off #8)(38)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I thought for a moment, really trying to concentrate on that part of my body. “No.”

“That’s good.”

“Did the seatbelt do some damage to my waist?” I asked, lifting my hand to my belly.

“No,” he said and paused.

“What is it!” I demanded.

“When you came in, we did a full workup of your blood, alcohol levels, etc.”

I nodded, not understanding where he was going with this.

“Ms… Talie,” he said. “You have low levels of HCG in your blood.”

“HCG?”

He nodded. “We ran it again, just to be sure.”

“What!” I said, beginning to panic.

“You’re pregnant.”

All the breath whooshed out of my lungs as disbelief took over. “Pregnant,” I whispered after long moments.

“Because of the low levels of the hormone in your bloodstream, I would suspect you aren’t very far along. I doubt a home pregnancy test would even give you a positive result.”

I sat there in shock, barely hearing anything he said.

“Based on your surprise, I would guess that you weren’t trying to get pregnant?”

“What?” I said, glancing up. “Uh, no. I wasn’t trying.”

“You asked about pain medicine. It’s the reason you’re feeling the majority of your injuries. I didn’t give you anything for the pain yet.”

“A baby…” I said, still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I was pregnant.

“Now, we have certain medications that are safe for women in your condition, but I wanted—”

I gasped, cutting off whatever he was about to say. “Is the baby… is it okay?” Oh my God, the accident could have killed my baby.

Tears welled in my eyes.

“There is no reason at all to believe that there was any harm done to the fetus. Right now, it’s very small and your body is designed to protect it.”

Without thought, I placed my hand over my belly protectively. My baby.

“Now about the pain meds…” Stitch began.

“I don’t want any,” I said firmly. I wasn’t about to do anything that might cause this little peanut any harm.

“We have some that are considered safe.”

“No,” I said. I would rather feel every ounce of pain than pump some drug into my system while my little one was trying to form.

“Okay. If you change your mind, just have the nurses page me.”

“I won’t, but thank you.”

He got a tender look on his face. “I would say this was a welcome surprise?”

“Oh, yes.”

He stepped away from the bed. “You’re going to need to stay at least one more night. Then we’ll talk about springing you.”

“Okay,” I said, still distracted by the news. It was so utterly surreal.

He stopped almost to the door. “He’s the father, isn’t he?”

I glanced up. He couldn’t hide his entire grimace. He wasn’t supposed to be asking me personal questions like that. But I understood immediately why. Gavin and Stitch were friends.

Gavin was the father of this baby.

I didn’t think it was possible to love it so much so fast, but it was all-consuming.

A moment of panic pricked my chest. “Did you tell him?”

“No. Doctor-patient confidentiality. But I do hope that you tell him.” He gave me a look suggesting he didn’t want me to hurt Gavin.

“Of course I will,” I responded.

Stitch’s face softened. “I really think you’re exactly what he needs.”

Before I could ask why, he left the room.

I sat there in the quiet with the white walls surrounding me, rubbing a hand over my stomach. Where mine and Gavin’s baby grew.

Stitch was wrong. This baby and I weren’t what Gavin needed. I wasn’t what he wanted. He made that perfectly clear.

25

Talie

Claire entered the room almost as soon as Stitch left. I probably should have asked him what the people here in the hospital called him because I doubted it was Stitch.

“Everything okay?” she asked, coming to sit beside the bed in a stiff-looking chair.

“Yeah,” I replied, still half a million miles away. For a fleeting moment, I wondered how I was supposed to do this. How I was supposed to act like everything was normal, like nothing extraordinary just happened.

I was pregnant.

With Gavin’s child.

Was it totally stalker-ish and creepy to be thrilled I was going to have a little piece of him forever?

I’d only known about this baby for minutes. This baby was barely two weeks old. Yet I loved it with every fiber of my being.

In that moment, I was glad this baby wasn’t Blake’s. I didn’t want him to taint something so perfect and wonderful.

“Earth to Talie,” Claire said from beside me.

I glanced at her guilty. “Sorry.”

“Should I call the doctor back in here?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?”

I grinned. “You just want an excuse to see him again.”

She widened her eyes. “Did you see his butt?” She mouthed the words OH MY, and I laughed.

“Can’t say that I looked.”

“You were too busy making eyes at Gavin.”

“I was totally not.”

“All right. Spill,” she said, sitting up. “Clearly there has been a whole lot going on here on this island beyond you and the cat in a fight of wills.”

“Salty and I called a truce.”

She lifted her eyebrow. “Was that before or after you got involved with Gavin?”

I pressed my lips together.

“Please…” She scoffed. “Don’t act like it isn’t true. The sparks between you two are off the charts.”

“You noticed?” I said, surprised. I thought he and I were the only ones who could feel that.

“Uh, yeah. I think everyone in this hospital noticed.”

I lifted my eyebrows in silent inquiry.

“By the time I got here, you were already admitted and stable. Gavin was at Aunt Ruth’s place, ripping apart your room for your clothes. He was very upset that you seemed to pack everything up and take it with you.”

“I don’t know why he would be surprised,” I muttered. “He told me to go home.”

“When we got back to the hospital, all the nurses made it a point to get out of his way. When I asked for your room, they asked me if I was family. I told them I was your sister.” She grinned.