Page 19 of Daddy's Reckoning
“It’s probably nothing this early, or something minor. Some women just have more trouble regulating their blood pressure during pregnancy, but it’s usually low blood pressure rather than high, which is why I want to keep a close eye on this.”
“Understood. Are we good to go, or is there anything else I should know?”
His eyes skimmed the chart again. “No, I think that’s everything.”
I helped Erin down, and this time I didn’t have to carry her. I was quite certain she couldn’t wait to get out of here. She didn’t say another word until we were back in the car.
“Theo, you really don’t have to do this. I’m going to be fine. The doctor is just being overly cautious. You heard him. It’s more than likely nothing.”
“So it’s nothing and you get a week of well-deserved rest? Sounds like a win-win to me.”
“I know you’re mad at me. You don’t have to do this. I can take care of myself.”
I’d been about to pull out, and I stopped the car abruptly in the middle of the parking lot. “What are you talking about? Why would you think I’m mad at you?”
ERIN
I blinked at Theo’s question. He was one of the smartest men I knew, and didn't normally ask such stupid things. But today he was acting positively clueless, not putting two and two together and being generally obtuse. They’d given me an ultrasound in the hospital, for god’s sake. The word pregnancy had been thrown around endlessly. There couldn’t be a question in his mind now, and yet it still seemed like he was waiting for me to spell it out for him. Well, I wasn’t going to.
“I don’t need you,” I repeated stubbornly. “I'm not asking you for anything.”
Theo cocked his head, gave me a long stare, then pulled back into the parking spot we’d previously occupied and put the car in park. “What are you going on about?”
“You wanted me to get an abortion. And I didn’t. You have every right to be mad. I understand. But I’m just telling you, it has nothing to do with you. I just couldn’t do it.”
The way he was staring at me was unnerving. “You think I wanted you to get an abortion?” he repeated dumbly. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I popped off. “Probably when you pressed a bunch of cash into my hand and told me to get one?”
I watched as he drew a long breath, sucking in air, then exhaling. His whole body seemed to deflate. I waited for him to say something, but he just put the car in gear and drove home.
It wasn’t until we were in front of my condo that he finally spoke. “You’re in medical school. You kept saying ‘I can’t do this.’ You said it over and over. I thought it was what you wanted, and as I’d been irresponsible enough to get you pregnant, knowing you had too much on your plate to have a baby, I figured my opinion didn’t matter.”
I sucked in a breath, searching his face as I hung on every word. Could it be true? Afraid to speak, I waited for him to continue.
“I would never want someone I’d been with to have an abortion. It would never be my choice, but that’s also why I’m normally so careful. I don’t want to have to make that choice.”
“I’m sorry I put you in that position,” I whispered thickly.
He rolled his eyes, shifting his gaze between me and the front door. “Let’s have this conversation inside while you gather whatever stuff you need. We need to get you back to my place and settled before too long.”
“Fine,” I huffed.
I waited for him to come around the car and open the door for me because he’d made it clear on day one that was what he expected, and I liked being treated like a princess in all the small chivalrous ways.
Once inside, I headed to the hall closet to grab a suitcase, but Theo was having none of that.
He pointed to the couch. “Sit.”
I hated myself for how quickly I obeyed without thinking about it, with nothing to do but sit on my hands while Theo bustled around my space, chucking things into my pink suitcase. Occasionally he’d pause to ask me a question, and I had to admit, he was nothing if not thorough. He’d packed all my favorite lounge clothes and jammies, plenty of toiletries and self-care items, remembered my laptop, tablet, and chargers, and even perused my bookshelf, picking a half dozen books to make sure I’d have something to do no matter what mood I was in.
“We could just stay here,” I said again, hopefully. “Or I could.”
He didn’t even dignify my last-ditch attempt with a response. When it was time to go, he picked up both me and my suitcase and carted us out to the car.
The drive across town to his penthouse apartment was a short one. He used the valet so I wouldn’t have to walk through the parking garage, though I knew he normally didn't because he said a valet was a luxury he didn't need, and he preferred the exercise.
But today he used it, and we took the elevator to the top floor, walked down the same hall I knew his friends lived in, and finally closed the door behind us.