in so long.” Her eyes close softly, the machine beeping. “I’ve missed
you so much, baby. Have you missed me?”
Words catch in my throat,
stopped by a heavy dose of apprehension. Dr. Brentwood told me not to engage
her, not to feed her obsession. But if she is the mother of my child, if she’s
hours from giving birth to my daughter, I can’t be an asshole.
Another time. Another place.
Not here.
Eva winces, smiling though
she’s clearly in pain. “I’m going all natural. It’s better for the baby that way.
And I want to feel it all, Beckham. I want to remember it all. This moment.
Bringing our baby into the world.”
She’s crazy.
But I already knew that.
“Have you spoken to Dr.
Brentwood lately?” It might not be an ideal time to ask, but I have to know if
he’s aware of her current… condition .
“Can we not talk about him,
please?” She blows a slow, heavy breath. “Oh, these are picking up. Nikki, can
you go get someone please? I think I need to be checked again.”
Her friend rises slowly, her
dark gaze firing at me still, and treads out of the room. A moment later she
returns with a nurse, who takes a seat on the edge of Eva’s bed and places a
gloved hand under the sheet.
“You’re at a six, Eva. That’s
great. We’re making progress. I’ll check again in a bit. Hit the call button if
you need anything, okay?” The nurse pads away.
“I didn’t know you were
pregnant.” I take a seat in a chair and pull it up to her bedside.
“You stopped returning my
calls,” she sighs. “I tried sending letters. Those came back each time. You
blocked my emails. Julie would never patch me through. And then the restraining
order came.”
“Eva, you were stalking me. I
had to do something. You’re lucky I didn’t have you arrested.”
She ignores me. “I tried, baby. I tried
to tell you.”
Eva reaches for my hand. I
don’t want to take it. I don’t want to send her the wrong sign. But her face is
pinched, her eyes watering. She’s in physical pain. I hesitate before offering
my hand, and she clenches it tight.
“We can finally be together
again, mi amor . We can be a family. I
love you so much.”
An alarm chimes behind us,
sending Eva’s friend upright in her chair. I glance at the elaborate machine
set up behind me, squinting at a flashing number on the lower left side of a
computer monitor.
“What is it?” Eva’s expression
is washed in panic, tears forming in the corners of her dark eyes. “Baby,
what’s wrong? What does it say?”
Two nurses run in, shouting
orders for us to clear the space. They lower Eva’s bed, and one of them mumbles
something about the baby’s heart rate dropping too low with each contraction.
“Can’t you try giving her
oxygen?” Nikki’s hands fly to her hips, her demeanor unnervingly calm. “That’s
what we did with my fourth.”
Another nurse hurries in
carrying a set of blue scrubs. “Are you Daddy?”
Fuck. I don’t fucking know.
I take them from her, following
her to a changing area. She tells me I have exactly one-hundred twenty seconds
to change or I won’t be able to go into the operating room with Eva.
When I woke up this morning, my
biggest problem was the morning wood that wouldn’t go away unless I thought of
Odessa again. My second biggest problem was choosing which tie to wear to the
office.
Nothing about this moment feels
real, but here I am, rushing out of a changing room tying a scrub cap and
chasing after a nurse so that I might not miss the birth of a baby girl who may
or may not be mine.
They point me to a little stool
at the head of the operating table. Eva’s arms are strapped down.
“Hold my hand, mi amor ,” Eva smiles. Her dark hair is
covered and a blue sheet hides everything lower than her chest. I take the hand
of a woman whom I currently have a restraining order against, and swallow the
lump that forms in my throat the second I hear the cries of a newborn baby.
Chapter Sixteen
you so much, baby. Have you missed me?”
Words catch in my throat,
stopped by a heavy dose of apprehension. Dr. Brentwood told me not to engage
her, not to feed her obsession. But if she is the mother of my child, if she’s
hours from giving birth to my daughter, I can’t be an asshole.
Another time. Another place.
Not here.
Eva winces, smiling though
she’s clearly in pain. “I’m going all natural. It’s better for the baby that way.
And I want to feel it all, Beckham. I want to remember it all. This moment.
Bringing our baby into the world.”
She’s crazy.
But I already knew that.
“Have you spoken to Dr.
Brentwood lately?” It might not be an ideal time to ask, but I have to know if
he’s aware of her current… condition .
“Can we not talk about him,
please?” She blows a slow, heavy breath. “Oh, these are picking up. Nikki, can
you go get someone please? I think I need to be checked again.”
Her friend rises slowly, her
dark gaze firing at me still, and treads out of the room. A moment later she
returns with a nurse, who takes a seat on the edge of Eva’s bed and places a
gloved hand under the sheet.
“You’re at a six, Eva. That’s
great. We’re making progress. I’ll check again in a bit. Hit the call button if
you need anything, okay?” The nurse pads away.
“I didn’t know you were
pregnant.” I take a seat in a chair and pull it up to her bedside.
“You stopped returning my
calls,” she sighs. “I tried sending letters. Those came back each time. You
blocked my emails. Julie would never patch me through. And then the restraining
order came.”
“Eva, you were stalking me. I
had to do something. You’re lucky I didn’t have you arrested.”
She ignores me. “I tried, baby. I tried
to tell you.”
Eva reaches for my hand. I
don’t want to take it. I don’t want to send her the wrong sign. But her face is
pinched, her eyes watering. She’s in physical pain. I hesitate before offering
my hand, and she clenches it tight.
“We can finally be together
again, mi amor . We can be a family. I
love you so much.”
An alarm chimes behind us,
sending Eva’s friend upright in her chair. I glance at the elaborate machine
set up behind me, squinting at a flashing number on the lower left side of a
computer monitor.
“What is it?” Eva’s expression
is washed in panic, tears forming in the corners of her dark eyes. “Baby,
what’s wrong? What does it say?”
Two nurses run in, shouting
orders for us to clear the space. They lower Eva’s bed, and one of them mumbles
something about the baby’s heart rate dropping too low with each contraction.
“Can’t you try giving her
oxygen?” Nikki’s hands fly to her hips, her demeanor unnervingly calm. “That’s
what we did with my fourth.”
Another nurse hurries in
carrying a set of blue scrubs. “Are you Daddy?”
Fuck. I don’t fucking know.
I take them from her, following
her to a changing area. She tells me I have exactly one-hundred twenty seconds
to change or I won’t be able to go into the operating room with Eva.
When I woke up this morning, my
biggest problem was the morning wood that wouldn’t go away unless I thought of
Odessa again. My second biggest problem was choosing which tie to wear to the
office.
Nothing about this moment feels
real, but here I am, rushing out of a changing room tying a scrub cap and
chasing after a nurse so that I might not miss the birth of a baby girl who may
or may not be mine.
They point me to a little stool
at the head of the operating table. Eva’s arms are strapped down.
“Hold my hand, mi amor ,” Eva smiles. Her dark hair is
covered and a blue sheet hides everything lower than her chest. I take the hand
of a woman whom I currently have a restraining order against, and swallow the
lump that forms in my throat the second I hear the cries of a newborn baby.
Chapter Sixteen
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