acidic voice. Dr. Britton instructed Bailey to lie back and place her feet in the stirrups as if she were going on a leisurely trail ride rather than waiting for news of a possible miscarriage. No feeling. No compassion. Just the doctor’s shitty, unfeeling tone, which was pissing him off.
Nervously, Bailey rattled off all of her symptoms.
“You’re a bit older than most girls we see for a pregnancy test,” the doctor said, sounding like a callous ass. “Are you married, Ms. Hobbs?”
Bailey told him no and closed her eyes, her cheeks reddening more and more by the second. Damn it. The fucker is embarrassing her. Nash’s need to know if she was pregnant outweighed his ability to whisk her out the door, but he’d be damned if he let anyone make her feel bad about what had transpired between them.
“Can we get on with it, Doc?” Nash said rudely.
Cold silence filled the room, but Bailey’s eyes lifted and met Nash’s gaze head on. Her lips turned up in a little appreciative smile.
The doc sat on a small stool and wheeled it over between Bailey’s legs. The thin, yellow sheet covering her waist suddenly seemed too small. Nash never dreamed he would be watching another man touch Bailey intimately. It felt perverse. Not only that, it grated on his last fucking nerve. And she didn’t seem to like the awkwardness of it any more than he did.
The nurse hovered in the background, forced to remain in the room while the doctor performed a pelvic exam on a female patient. She would probably hold that against them as well.
When the doctor finished his exam, he allowed Bailey to sit up. “Everything looks fine,” he said nonchalantly. “Just to be safe, though, I’m going to run a full panel of bloodwork, along with the pregnancy test.”
As the doctor wrote in Bailey’s chart, the nurse used her as a pin cushion, poking her with something the size of a knitting needle. Bailey bit her lip so hard that Nash would’ve sworn she punctured it. He almost wished she would have since the nurse could have just collected the blood from there and saved herself the trouble of finding the elusive vein. After bandaging the hole she’d drilled into Bailey’s arm, the nurse left the room, carrying two vials of blood with her.
Dr. Britton started out the door behind her, but stopped long enough to say, “Shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back just as soon as I get the results.”
Bailey sat there with a tense posture, staring at the floor with a heavy-lidded, tearful gaze that took his breath away. She was obviously distraught and overcome with emotion. And hell, he couldn’t blame her.
Nash moved to her side and rested his hip against the table. “You okay?”
She closed her eyes and only nodded, which he imagined was to keep herself from falling completely apart. Everything was cold. The room. The vinyl table. The medical staff. So he offered her the one thing he thought she needed most right now. He slid his arm around her, nestled her into his chest, then linked the fingers of his free hand with hers.
Bailey opened her eyes before she allowed her body to relax against his supportive frame. Then she sighed contentedly. The sound pleased him.
“My buddy’s wife is having a baby,” Nash told her, making conversation to pass the time. “She’d pee on one of those stick tests, and he’d get all tied up in knots while they waited for their results, every single time. Now I guess I know how he felt.”
“Every time?”
“Yeah, they were trying to get pregnant. Took a few months before it happened, but they finally did it.”
Bailey considered what he said for a moment and then looked confused. “You mean they did this to themselves… on purpose? ”
He grinned. “Well, some people actually want children.”
Her face turned three shades whiter, and she looked like she was about to pass out. Visibly shaken, she leaned further against him and clutched at her stomach, as if a sudden wave of nausea rolled
Nervously, Bailey rattled off all of her symptoms.
“You’re a bit older than most girls we see for a pregnancy test,” the doctor said, sounding like a callous ass. “Are you married, Ms. Hobbs?”
Bailey told him no and closed her eyes, her cheeks reddening more and more by the second. Damn it. The fucker is embarrassing her. Nash’s need to know if she was pregnant outweighed his ability to whisk her out the door, but he’d be damned if he let anyone make her feel bad about what had transpired between them.
“Can we get on with it, Doc?” Nash said rudely.
Cold silence filled the room, but Bailey’s eyes lifted and met Nash’s gaze head on. Her lips turned up in a little appreciative smile.
The doc sat on a small stool and wheeled it over between Bailey’s legs. The thin, yellow sheet covering her waist suddenly seemed too small. Nash never dreamed he would be watching another man touch Bailey intimately. It felt perverse. Not only that, it grated on his last fucking nerve. And she didn’t seem to like the awkwardness of it any more than he did.
The nurse hovered in the background, forced to remain in the room while the doctor performed a pelvic exam on a female patient. She would probably hold that against them as well.
When the doctor finished his exam, he allowed Bailey to sit up. “Everything looks fine,” he said nonchalantly. “Just to be safe, though, I’m going to run a full panel of bloodwork, along with the pregnancy test.”
As the doctor wrote in Bailey’s chart, the nurse used her as a pin cushion, poking her with something the size of a knitting needle. Bailey bit her lip so hard that Nash would’ve sworn she punctured it. He almost wished she would have since the nurse could have just collected the blood from there and saved herself the trouble of finding the elusive vein. After bandaging the hole she’d drilled into Bailey’s arm, the nurse left the room, carrying two vials of blood with her.
Dr. Britton started out the door behind her, but stopped long enough to say, “Shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back just as soon as I get the results.”
Bailey sat there with a tense posture, staring at the floor with a heavy-lidded, tearful gaze that took his breath away. She was obviously distraught and overcome with emotion. And hell, he couldn’t blame her.
Nash moved to her side and rested his hip against the table. “You okay?”
She closed her eyes and only nodded, which he imagined was to keep herself from falling completely apart. Everything was cold. The room. The vinyl table. The medical staff. So he offered her the one thing he thought she needed most right now. He slid his arm around her, nestled her into his chest, then linked the fingers of his free hand with hers.
Bailey opened her eyes before she allowed her body to relax against his supportive frame. Then she sighed contentedly. The sound pleased him.
“My buddy’s wife is having a baby,” Nash told her, making conversation to pass the time. “She’d pee on one of those stick tests, and he’d get all tied up in knots while they waited for their results, every single time. Now I guess I know how he felt.”
“Every time?”
“Yeah, they were trying to get pregnant. Took a few months before it happened, but they finally did it.”
Bailey considered what he said for a moment and then looked confused. “You mean they did this to themselves… on purpose? ”
He grinned. “Well, some people actually want children.”
Her face turned three shades whiter, and she looked like she was about to pass out. Visibly shaken, she leaned further against him and clutched at her stomach, as if a sudden wave of nausea rolled
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