The Truest Thing (Hart's Boardwalk 4)

Jack

With a very deliberate hand on Emery’s lower back, Jack walked at her side as they moved through the corridors of the medical building next to Hartwell County General in Essex. He’d picked her up thirty minutes ago for their first prenatal appointment at the OB/GYN offices there. Em and Jess had decided it would be better that Em saw the same doctor throughout her entire pregnancy, and Jess wasn’t available to be that doctor because she’d be on maternity leave soon.

Every day it all got a little more real that Jack was going to be a father, and he was scared, excited, and a whole load of emotions in between. But it was also surreal. Like it hadn’t sunk in as reality yet.

Emery was a little stiff beneath his touch at first. He thought about letting her go but then she seemed to relax. Jack was glad. He was afraid if he didn’t try to create familiarity between them, Em wouldn’t ever take down that wall she’d erected to keep him out.

“Here.” She gestured to the reception desk. The older woman behind the desk was on the phone. She held up a finger for them to wait.

Emery sucked in a shaky breath and Jack increased the pressure of his touch on her lower back as he leaned in to ask softly, “You okay?”

He inhaled that singular scent of hers—like a wave of flowers in the ocean—as she turned to look at him with her spectacular eyes. “I’m fine.”

“No nausea?”

“It seems to have abated pretty quickly for me.” She lifted her crossed fingers and gave him a stiff smile. “We’ll see.”

The stiff smile bothered him. He knew she was trying. But it was shit that what was once so easy between them seemed a little forced now.

“Can I help you?” the nurse asked as she hung up the phone.

“We have an appointment,” Emery said, and Jack took encouragement from the “we” part. “Emery Saunders.”

The nurse checked her computer. “Okay, just take a seat. Dr. Britt will see you soon.”

As they seated themselves in the waiting area, Jack had to let go of Em.

She turned to speak to him and Jack bent his head toward her. Her lashes fluttered rapidly at their proximity and he took heart from it. “Did you schedule plenty of time off work? Jess said the first prenatal visit is usually the longest.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Nodding, Em looked away. Jack studied her as she nibbled on her lower lip. At the same time her fingers twisted together on her lap. Today she wore a long, pale-pink dress with full sleeves and a loose silhouette. Despite its looseness, when the breeze blew it back against her waist as they’d walked across the parking lot outside, it revealed that her stomach was still flat.

Jack was looking forward to the bump.

“Hey,” he said softly as he reached for her hands. He peeled them apart by curling his fingers through one of them. He squeezed her hand tight. “Are you nervous?”

She stared at their clasped hands for a second and he waited, his heart picking up speed while she decided whether to pull away. He held his breath as she proceeded without letting him go. He sighed inwardly in relief. Her gaze met his. “A little.”

“No need.” He flashed her a grin and took encouragement from the way her cheeks flushed. She liked his smile. That was obvious. He intended to use it against her. “Any woman who can stand up to Dana Kellerman can handle her first prenatal visit.”

Emery blushed even harder, but she returned his smile.

“You know how proud I am, right?”

“You said as much.”

He had. Word had reached him at the hotel about Emery’s salon standoff with Dana. He’d called her to get her version of events and had grinned so hard through her retelling, his cheeks hurt.

The best thing was people had started coming back in for their coffee at Em’s now that she’d set the record straight. Shit, Jack would’ve loved to have seen Dana’s face when Em threatened her with a slander lawsuit.

“Emery Saunders.”

They both looked up to find a woman around Em’s age in a white doctor’s coat, waiting patiently for them.

“I’m Doctor Madeline Britt. I’ll be your obstetrician throughout your pregnancy.”

Jack felt a pull on his hand as Emery tried to drop his. He tightened his grip and gently pulled her to her feet. He let go so they could shake