Callous Heir (The Heirs 5)

Mrs. West gets everything she’ll need to draw blood and pauses as a smile spreads over her face. “Aww… our first grandbaby.”

Noah places his hand over mine. “Relax. I told you my parents would be okay.”

God help me.

My eyes almost roll back in my head as I widen them at Noah.

“Of course, it’s a shock with you both still at Trinity, but we have to make the best of the situation,” Mrs. West says as she pulls a chair closer to my left. She takes hold of my arm and wipes alcohol over the inside of my elbow.

“I’m taking my finals in a month,” Noah drops another bomb.

“Yeah, I guess with the pregnancy, that would be the best thing to do,” his mother agrees.

“Oh?” Mr. West’s eyebrows lift again. “So you’re going to start working in the new year?”

Noah nods.

I lean a little closer to Mrs. West and ask, “So you’re really not upset?”

She shakes her head, then gently sticks the needle into my arm. I watch as she draws two vials of blood. “You’re the ones who will be changing the diapers and getting up at ungodly hours.” When she’s done, she presses a piece of cotton ball to the site, and meeting my eyes, she continues, “There’s no sense in getting upset. We just have to move forward and take it one day at a time. Right?”

“Right,” I murmur.

“How far along do you think you are?” Mrs. West asks.

“Give or take, six weeks,” Noah answers.

Mrs. West labels the vials then says, “I’ll call the moment we have the results.”

Noah rises to his feet, so I do the same.

Mrs. West surprises me by coming to give me a hug. Then she murmurs, “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I reply as she pulls back. Wanting to gain some ground with Noah’s parents, I say, “Noah’s been great, though.”

She gives us both a warm smile and presses a kiss to Noah’s cheek. “I have surgery to prep for, but we should have dinner together soon.”

“Yes, definitely,” Mr. West confirms as he comes to give me a hug before shaking Noah’s hand. “Take good care of Carla.”

“Of course,” Noah answers. “Let me know when’s a good time for you, then we’ll come over for dinner.”

When we leave the office, I frown up at Noah. “That went well, right?”

He lets out a burst of laughter before pulling me into a hug. “Will you relax now? My parents are fine with the pregnancy.”

I tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “We survived.”

Noah presses a kiss to my mouth, then murmurs, “I never had any doubt that we would.”

NOAH

“I’m going to wet myself,” Carla grumbles under her breath as we sit in the waiting room to see Dr. Wells. “Why do they tell you to come with a full bladder if they’re going to make you wait forever?”

I give her hand a squeeze. “Can you hold for ten more minutes?”

She slants a glare at me. “That’s what you asked ten minutes ago. I swear you’ll clean up the mess if I pee myself.”

“Miss Reyes,” the receptionist finally calls. “Dr. Wells will see you now.”

“Finally,” she mutters while a smile spreads over her face.

When we enter the office, Dr. Wells smiles at us. “Miss Reyes, Mr. West, it’s good to meet you.”

She indicates that we take a seat, which has me saying, “She needs to use the bathroom. Can we get the urine test out of the way?”

Carla widens her eyes at me while Dr. Wells lets out a chuckle. “Sure.”

Once Carla has relieved herself, she comes to take a seat next to me.

Dr. Wells asks a bunch of questions, and once she has all Carla’s information on file, she says, “Come lie down for me so we can check if everything is okay with you and the baby.”

Carla positions herself on the bed, and Dr. Wells begins with the regular checks. When the doctor squirts a bit of gel onto Carla’s stomach, my excitement level shoots up. I move closer and take hold of Carla’s hand as Dr. Wells begins to move the Doppler around in the gel.

“It’s still early, but let's see if we get lucky today,” Dr. Wells murmurs as she keeps moving the Doppler over Carla’s skin.

A heartbeat sounds up, which has Dr. Wells explaining, “That’s mommy’s heartbeat. Baby’s will be a lot faster.”

My eyes zero in on the Doppler, and then all of a sudden, a fast heartbeat fills the air.

“Oh my gosh!” Carla exclaims, a wide smile spreading over her face.

A wave of emotion hits me right in the chest as I hear our child's heartbeat for the first time. Leaning down, I press a kiss to Carla’s forehead before I listen to the quick beat again.

“That’s our baby, Noah,” Carla whispers.

Smiling at her, I squeeze her hand tightly, my chest humming with happiness and pride.