But he still figured he should cancel lunch.
Mallory would be in Marie Cove.
He could text her to meet him for a quick bite by the clinic. She’d need to get back; she never liked to take time off during the day, though, as the boss, she was free to do so. Regardless, she’d need a meal.
And he needed to tell her about Anna. He could be there and back before his next appointment.
Picking up his phone, he sent the text.
* * *
Sitting alone on the table in a paper gown, with a blanket wrapped around her to ward off the chills she’d suddenly developed, Mallory waited for her doctor. Phone in hand, she tried to distract herself with one of her favorite puzzle games.
She’d been weighed, had her blood pressure checked, peed in the cup, and all that was left was the few minutes it would take for the injection of Braden’s sperm into her uterus.
It was all procedure. She’d been through it before. And she didn’t have a single doubt that she was doing the right thing.
What bothered her far more was the fact that she’d failed to distance herself from Bray in the daycare venture. Because she’d been attracted to him?
It had come and gone so quickly she’d closed her mind to the possibility instantly. But she’d worried about it ever since.
She’d been turned on by her ex-husband.
Looking back, she thought maybe she was imagining the whole thing. Maybe she’d just reacted so strongly because she’d been shocked that he’d been turned on. Shocked to see that look in his eye. Or maybe she was hormonal, her body raging with the need to be a mother again.
Maybe it was because she was using his sperm.
Her phone vibrated with a text. The message flashed up on her screen.
Meet me for a quick bite?
The timing was no mistake. She was certain of that.
Yes.
She was going to tell him she was out of the L.A. deal.
* * *
“Mallory? You can get dressed,” Dr. Sharon Miller said as she came into the exam room and closed the door.
Last time a nurse had come in before the doctor with a tray filled with procedural materials. She’d been expecting the nurse first.
“Get dressed? I don’t understand.”
Surely she didn’t have the wrong time. They’d checked her in like they were expecting her. Put her through the pre-insemination rigmarole.
Dr. Miller’s smile threw her off a bit. And then she heard, “You’re pregnant!”
Everything inside her stopped and then restarted in double speed. Her heart pounded. Her breathing quickened. Her stomach jumped. It was like she could feel everything individually. In slow motion.
“I...”
She didn’t know what to say. Was afraid to believe it.
“Your urine test came back positive. That’s why, once we’ve started the monthly injections, we always check.”
“But I had a period.” A light one. Really light. But that wasn’t all that unusual for her when she was stressed.