her life had actually worked.
What she hadnât expected was relief and disappointment in equal parts. Then she did the pregnancy test and shock pushed out every other emotion.
Sheâd just gotten off work and was waiting in the hall outside the NICU for Nathan to be finished with hospital rounds. This wasnât the best place to talk, but she didnât know what else to do. Thanks to her, no phone numbers had been exchanged. And it seemed like forever before he came out of the unit, but that was probably normal when your life was falling apart.
Nathan stopped short when he saw her leaning against the far wall. There was an expression on his face that she couldnât decipher. And it didnât matter anyway.
âWe need to talk.â Her fingers twisted together as she looked to her left and right, making sure that employees moving in the hall were too far away to hear.
âHello to you, too.â
âSorry. Iâm a little freaked out.â
âAh. So we should go somewhere private?â he asked.
âThat would probably be best.â
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. âHow about the Revello Lounge. Itâs at the M Resort. Do you know it?â
âIâll meet you there.â
The one-year-old hotel was on the corner of Mercy Medical Center Parkway and Las Vegas Blvd. Fifteen minutesafter leaving the hospital she turned left into the resort lot and found a parking place close to the lobby entrance. She walked inside and took the escalator up, stepping off onto the shiny marble floor. To her right was the gift shop, a café and a pastry place called Baby Cakes. Fate was having a laugh at her expense.
She found the lounge, which was all glass, amber lights and modern glitz. Nathan was waiting in a quiet corner and she took the leather barrel-backed chair across the chrome table from him. They each ordered club soda with lime. She would have preferred something stronger. There was no way to soften the news and she didnât try.
âIâm pregnant.â
He was all brooding silence before saying, âI figured.â
âIâm pretty sure when you promised me a good surprise at dinner you didnât mean a baby.â
âI never planned for anything to happen.â
She believed that, and yet he carried a condom. A faulty one.
Just then the cocktail waitress appeared with their drinks and set them down on napkins. âCan I get you anything else?â
Cindy figured she had about all she could stand and shook her head.
âWeâre good,â Nathan said and the woman drifted away.
âYou might be good, but Iâm pregnant.â Cindy picked up her drink and played with the straw. âThis is Las Vegas and odds are fickle at best. But I canât believe my luck is this bad.â
âYours?â He was still in his scrubs and checked the pager on his waistband. âWhat about mine? It appears the planets aligned just right and you were fertile.â
âRight back at you, buster,â she said.
âI was hoping you were on an alternative method of birth control.â
âSince Iâm not seeing anyone, there was no reason.â She glared at him. âAnd can we talk about the condom? That was yours so donât even try to make this my fault.â
âThatâs not what I meant. Look, Cindy, I take full responsibilityââ
âDonât.â She couldnât handle an apology right now.
Sheâd been a willing participant as soon as his lips touched hers. For Godâs sake, sheâd thought about him naked when heâd picked her up. All through dinner something had been sizzling between them. Theyâd had sex. Then nothing.
One minute heâd been pestering her for a phone number, the next he completely disappeared. Yet again sheâd been fooled. He really was just one of those guys who refused to give up until he got what he wanted. This time he got more
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