Reckless With Their Hearts by Terri Anne Browning, Anna Howard Page B

could affect the test results of a PAP. So she would have to make sure that she abstained before the next appointment. But the doctor could do the majority of the exam and give her a due date. Eve clenched her fingers together, her palms sweating. She was nervous, scared, and excited about seeing the doctor. But the emotional cocktail was making her stomach queasy.
    Her mind was still racing after seeing that last picture in the magazine. Question after question slammed through her head, making it ache. Her heart, however , felt like it had stopped and she wondered how the nurse had even felt a pulse when she had checked her vitals moments before.
    There was a small tap on the door just before the door opened and in walked Dr. Madison with an iPad in her hands. The doctor was in her forties with short gray-streaked dark hair and big hazel eyes. She was slim and tall, and perhaps the loveliest woman Eve had ever seen in her life. Dr. Madison gave her a smile. “Hello, Eve. How are you feeling today?”
    Eve grimaced at the question. “I think I need a shrink.” She muttered. “I can’t get hold of my emotions lately.”
    “Get used to it, my dear.” The doctor grinned. “That’s part of being pregnant. And just think , you have a good thirty plus weeks of this, which will only get worse.”
    She swallowed hard. “You aren’t helping.” She muttered.
    “How is the morning sickness?”
    “I haven’t had any.” Eve informed her. “Not even a little. Which worries me. All my friends have told me that it is horrible. They lost weight and could barely function for the majority of their first trimester.”
    “Every pregnancy is not like another. And it affects the mother differently. You might not experience any sickness throughout this pregnancy, while your next one will make you beg for it all to be over.” Dr. Madison’s smile was kind. “But we can run a few tests to make sure that everything is moving along as it should. Blood tests.” She wrote on her iPad. “And I would like to do a trans-vaginal ultrasound to see exactly how far along you are. I’m estimating you at nine weeks, so we should be able to see a heartbeat.”
    Eve’s heart clenched. “You mean I can see my baby?” She whispered.
    “Yes, and I’ll give you a few copies to keep for your baby book.” There was a knock on the door followed by a nurse entering with a little cart filled with needles and tubes. “Margo is going to get your blood work out of the way while I get the ultrasound ready.”
    Nothing will ever compare to seeing her child, a little blob on a screen. Tears leaked from her eyes as she watched in amazement while Dr. Madison pointed out a few things to her. “Heart rate is perfect. Measuring in at nine weeks, two days. Due date is going to be August seventeenth. You, my dear are going to hate summer before that baby gets here.” She teased.

Chapter 14
    Once she was finished with the doctor Eve left the office with an appointment for her next checkup in four weeks along with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and three pictures of her little blob. She had the pictures tucked safely inside of her purse with her appointment card, but she stopped by the pharmacy on the second floor to fill her prescription.
    As she waited for the pharmacist to fill it she went straight to the magazine rack in the back and pulled the one she wanted off the shelf. Fingers trembling she flipped to the page she needed and read the caption in the bottom left hand corner of the picture. “Aria Bentley, 25, with ex-boyfriend Sebastian Savage, 32. Club Z over the weekend.” The article on the opposite page went on to tell about Aria’s new movie coming out next month and what was next for Hollywood’s new ‘It Girl’.
    Eve bit her trembling bottom lip. She remembered Aria. Sebastian had dated her for a few weeks, but Aria was more selfish than anything else and Eve had been glad to see the end of the relationship. Even then she had loved