Christmas Baby for the Billionaire (South Shore Billionaires 1)

She sighed. “Since she’s already here, sure.” She pushed herself up to sitting. “Let me put myself together first.”

He handed her the elastic from the bedside table and watched as she deftly put her hair up again. Then he handed her a tissue. ?

??You might have drooled a little.”

“So attractive,” she grumbled. “Okay, send her in. I still can’t believe you got someone to make a house call.”

What was the sense of having money if he couldn’t use it to help the mother of his baby?

He waited outside while the doctor spoke to Tori; he’d made the decision to call but he did respect her privacy. He paced the hallway instead, wondering if there were dangers to the baby that Tori couldn’t feel, chastising himself once again for taking her skating in the first place, not thinking of the dangers. Instead he’d been arrogant, thinking he’d keep her from falling when he’d been the one to take the tumble.

If anything was wrong, it was his fault.

Ten minutes after she went in, the doctor came out again. “Mr. Fisher, would you like to come in?”

Oh, no.

Tori was sitting up on the bed, a smile on her face. “I told you,” she said triumphantly. “Nothing wrong.”

The doctor gave her an amused look. “You still have to watch for anything abnormal, okay? And call if you start cramping or spotting.”

“I will. Promise.”

“So you’re okay? The baby’s okay?”

“If you don’t trust me, will you trust her?” Tori nodded at the doctor, who was looking rather amused at the whole situation.

“She’s had no cramping, no bleeding, heartbeat’s steady, and she’s felt the baby move. Everything seems fine. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.” The doc smiled. “She said you broke her fall.”

“We wouldn’t have fallen if I hadn’t tripped,” he admitted. “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, heavens,” Tori said. “It’s not your fault. You can’t keep me in Bubble Wrap for the next four months.”

“Are you sure?”

She patted the bed. “Come sit here and listen.”

He sat on one side of the bed while Tori scooted down. She’d taken off her sweatpants before sliding under the covers for her nap, so she just had to pull her shirt up as the doctor reached for a handheld machine.

“It’s a portable Doppler,” Tori explained. “So you can actually hear the heartbeat this time.”

His own pulse took a jump. He’d calmed a bit when he’d been assured everything was okay, but now anticipation had his heartbeat accelerating. He still had the ultrasound picture tucked away in his wallet. And he’d seen the little heartbeat on the monitor before, but hearing it...

It took only seconds for the doctor to find the beat and turn up the volume, and a rapid thumping sound touched his ears.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it, Dad.” The doctor turned the unit around so he could see. The number was 137 and the sound coming from it was his baby’s tiny heart, beating inside its mother.

Tears stung his eyes and he blinked rapidly. He wouldn’t cry at this moment. But he wanted to, his relief was so great. “That’s the best sound in the world.”

“Yup.” After a few more seconds, the doctor removed the tiny wand and Tori used a cloth to wipe away the blob of gel.

The sound was gone, but he could still hear it in his head.

“Now, I’ve told Tori to take it easy for a day or so, just as a precaution, and the fact that it’ll make you happy.”

She was right it would. “Forget about my mom’s tomorrow. We don’t have to go.”