Incredible Beauty (So Many Reasons 2)

We walked silently toward the entrance, I could see Simon standing there waiting for us, his hands shoved into his pockets and his purple tie loosened against the charcoal backdrop that was his shirt. His expression broke into a smile as he caught sight of us.

Fuck, he was gorgeous. Seeing Simon standing there, leaning against the wall in his work clothes made me imagine the sexy body that hid underneath. I flicked my lip as I thought about him, naked and in front of me. Like last night, when my hands had roamed every inch of that hard body. I smiled dreamily at the memory. No loss of libido here.

"How are you?" he asked, wrapping his arms around me, smiling.

"I'm okay,” I answered. "How's work?" I asked, tilting my face upwards for a kiss. He cradled my face with his hand, his thumb stroking under my eye as his lips met mine. His touch sent tingles down my spine.

"Busy, I can't wait to transfer actually." He looked tired which was not surprising, considering he was averaging about three hours of sleep a night. That was another thing I worried about him driving so far on such little sleep. God forbid if he forgot to text me when he got to work. That had happened once, three weeks ago I called a cab to drive past his work and check his car was in the parking lot.

"I can't wait to have you home more either, if you know what I mean," I grinned, meeting his lips for a kiss. Cass snorted next to me. I blushed, forgetting for a moment that she was there.

"Alright if I go?" she asked dryly. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back through the parking lot. “Text me later!” she shouted.

"How've you been today? How's bean?" He brushed his hand past my stomach. "You're getting bigger every time I see you," he joked.

"Careful," I laughed. "That's not a smart thing to say to a girl."

"You know what I mean," he said, shaking his head. "I love how round your stomach is starting to get and you know how turned on I get when I see you naked," he whispered softly. That was true. Simon had become extra frisky since I'd become pregnant, if that were even possible. There were many times I forgot our significant age difference, but there were also times that it seemed to hit me in the face, like last night.

Simon had a lot of baggage from his previous relationship and while I know I had my own issues, sometimes I felt like a young inexperienced girl who, when it came down to it, knew nothing about real life. How much could I have really learned being holed up in my own environment for ten years? Sure, I had my own experiences, but when it came to our relationship I didn’t feel like they mattered.

“You ready to go in? If we stay out here any longer I might end up getting arrested for public indecency,” he joked, his hand creeping up the inside of my shirt. Smiling, I gripped his hand and pulled it down to a more appropriate area for daylight groping, my thigh.

“Behave,” I laughed, kissing him.

We sat down in the waiting room, Simon choosing a seat second from the end. As I sat down next to him, I smiled at how well he knew me. Sitting on the end with Simon next to me was like a little mini protector against the rest of the world. I didn't have to worry about anyone sitting next to me, or focusing any of my attention on anyone other than me and him. Things like that he always thought of. Anyway he could make things easier for me, he would.

"Emma Mancelli?"

I looked up and saw Teresa Lewis waiting by the desk, smiling warmly. She had that kind of personality that when she smiled you couldn't help but smile back. We both stood up, Simon's hand resting on the crest of my back in a silent show of support. We followed her into her examination room and sat down on the chairs that faced the large oak desk.

"How have you been Emma?" she asked as she made her way around the desk. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a bun today, different from the way she usually wore it cascading down her back. She was a petite woman, who at a guess I’d place in her early thirties.

"Good. I feel fine, apart from the tiredness and a few cramps," I replied, my heart pounding. I hated doctors and hospitals. Anything clinical I found it difficult to cope with. I waited nervously as she tapped a few notes into her laptop. Simon nudged me, giving me a look that said ‘if you don’t tell her, I will’ I sighed.

“Simon called the ambulance last night because I was having some pretty bad cramps again,” I finally admitted. Teresa raised an eyebrow at me.

“You weren’t going to mention that to me?” she chastised.

“They said I was fine,” I protested.

“She’s alone for most of the day and I worry about her,” Simon cut in. Great

, now he was making a huge deal of all this. “What?” he asked, noting my expression, “you would prefer me not to care?” he shot back.

“I’m capable of knowing when I feel unwell, Simon,” I groaned. I couldn’t believe we were having this discussion again. “Do you think I’m stupid enough not to call an ambulance or Cass if something happened?” Simon didn’t answer. Instead, he stared at the floor like a sulking child.

“Okay, kids!” she held up her hand. “Emma, let me check things out.” She stood up, motioning for me to join her over at the examination table. Knowing the procedure well, I lay down on top of the thin layer of tissue paper and peeled up my top, exposing my belly.

"Well, you're definitely growing," she smiled. I touched my stomach instinctively and smiled back. "You still don't want to know the sex?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

I looked at Simon, my eyes wide, wishing he’d agree to finding out the gender. I was itching to know what we were having. The priority was a healthy baby and regardless of the sex I’d be one ecstatic mom. Still, deep down inside of me I so desperately wanted a little girl.

I sighed and stuck my tongue out at Simon. If he didn’t want to know then I couldn’t find out because it sucked all the fun out of it for me.

"No," I grumbled, sighing. "Let it be a surprise."

Both she and Simon chuckled at my attitude. I gasped as she squirted some ice cold gel onto my stomach. Why did she never warn me before she did that? It was like she got her kicks, doing that to unsuspecting mothers to be.