Find Me (The Found Duet #2)(73)
Author: Laurelin Paige

I looked at JC, but he didn’t meet my gaze.

“I’ll send the nurse in with the lab request. Do you have any other questions for me before I step out?” She addressed it to me, but I’d checked out.

Once again, JC was the responsible party. “Are there any restrictions on activity?”

“Not many. No skiing, saunas, hot tubs, or contact sports. Otherwise Gwen should be able to continue her daily routine.”

“What about sex?”

At another time, I would have been embarrassed and secretly grateful that he’d asked. Now, I felt nothing.

Dr. Wright smiled knowingly. “No restrictions there either.”

“That’s all I got. Gwen?”

I shook my head numbly.

“Great. Both baby and mother look healthy. I’ll want to see you in four weeks for another exam and ultrasound. The nurse will bring you paperwork for the paternity test when she comes in to take your blood.”

The minute she left, JC stood and put both hands on mine. “The baby’s healthy, Gwen. You’re healthy. And whatever else doesn’t matter. I’m going to love it just like I love you. Because it’s half you. How could I not love that?”

They were the words I’d said to him the night before. I recognized that they should touch me. I was just too numb for them to move me like they should.

“You’re both healthy,” he said again. “It’s all that matters.”

I nodded, but I didn’t believe him. Our health wasn’t all that mattered. I wanted this baby if it belonged to JC and me. I wanted to love it and muster through taking care of it and raise it with the man that meant the world to me.

And if it was Chandler’s…

Well, then that changed everything.

Chapter Seventeen

Without speaking, we headed straight to the lab downstairs. Despite his words of assurance, JC seemed as eager to discover the paternity as I was, and I guessed that was probably a truer version of his feelings than what he’d said to me in the doctor’s office. He loved me, sure, and maybe that was enough to expect that he’d love my baby too. But how could he not want it to be his own?

It had to be his. I couldn’t stand to think there was any other possibility.

Which was why I had to tell Chandler.

“Who are you texting?” We were in the waiting room of the lab, and this was the first time JC had spoken to me since we’d arrived.

“Chandler.” I was still composing the message, unsure exactly what to say. It was probably a conversation that should happen in person, though, so I ended up just asking if he had time to meet me.

Before I could hit Send, JC put his hand over mine, stopping me. “We don’t need to tell him yet.”

There it was—the honesty.

“We do. Because I need to rule him out conclusively. For you. I know he’s not the father, JC. In my heart of hearts, I know this baby is yours. And I need to prove that without a doubt.”

With reluctance, he removed his hand. “Do you want me to be there when you tell him?”

Yes. Maybe it wasn’t fair to put him in that situation. It probably wasn’t fair to Chandler either, but JC was the man I was trying to build a life with, and his happiness mattered a hell of a lot more than Chandler’s, no matter what I might owe him. “Do you want to be there?”

JC met my eyes, startling me since he hadn’t really looked at me in what felt like days. “I want whatever you need to make this pregnancy okay, whether or not I’m the father.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the only way I’d be okay with the pregnancy was if he was the father, and I settled on what would make me okay for the moment. “Then I want you with me.” I didn’t wait for him to agree before sending the text.

Chandler answered immediately. Got class all day. Can skip tho. What’s up?

I didn’t consult with JC before replying. Need to see you. Can you meet me uptown? There may have been a twinge of guilt for asking him to put me before school, but I ignored it. This was important. This was urgent.

I was still waiting for Chandler’s reply when the lab assistant called me back. “I have an appointment too. Justin Bruzzo. Can we go together?” JC asked. Whether he knew I needed him or whether he needed me, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I was grateful that he asked.

The tech paused while he looked at his clipboard, probably trying to see what we both were there for. “Yeah. That will work.”

We stood and my phone buzzed.

I can be there in 30.

I hurriedly texted him the address of the coffee shop next door, and with JC’s hand in mine, followed the assistant to the back for our blood draw.