He bends his neck back and audibly sighs. “Thank, Christ. So you’ve had your period since that night?”
I’m not going to lie to him. He didn’t have to tell me that the condom might have broke, yet he did. He deserves the truth from me too. “I haven’t had a period since then.”
He looks right at me. “That was weeks ago. You should have had your period unless you use something other than the pill for birth control.”
“I don’t use birth control.”
His eyes widen. “We need to go get a test done. If you come with me I can have someone draw your blood and we’ll have the results within the hour.”
He’s on his feet before the words leave my mouth. “No one needs to draw blood. I’m not pregnant, Evan.”
“You don’t know that.” He holds out his hand to me. “I know you’re scared but once we have the test results we’ll know whether this is an issue or not.”
“It’s not an issue.” I don’t touch his hand. “Trust me when I say that there is no chance that I’m pregnant.”
“How can you know for sure?”
“I’m infertile,” I say under my breath so the entire café doesn’t know my secret. “You have as much chance of getting pregnant as I do.”
Chapter 21
Evan
“Are you sure?”
The look on her face tells me that it was a fucked up question. She doesn’t answer immediately because why the hell would she.
She looks like I took her
heart and ran over it with a bus. Why the hell didn’t I approach this conversation with the same tact I use when talking to my patients?
“My ex-husband and I tried to have a baby for years.” She takes a deep breath. “We tried everything and the doctors finally got us both to accept that I’ll never conceive.”
It’s not my area of expertise but I know that some of the best fertility specialists in the country call Manhattan home. I’m tempted to ask for the name of her physician, but it would do me little good.
I’m a fucking doctor who is well aware of the ethics of patient confidentiality.
The fact that she was married catches me by surprise. She has to be a few years younger than me and marriage isn’t even a mirage in my distant future yet.
“You have nothing to worry about.” She pushes back from the table and stands. I see the unease in her hands when she reaches to pick up the cup of tea. “I’m not pregnant.”
I’m relieved. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I’m also curious about her history.
I walked into this café worried shitless that I was about to become a dad. Now, I want to know why she was so desperate to become a mom and who the fool was that let her slip away.
“I need to get to work now.” She puts the tea back down. “I’m not thirsty anymore.”
“Chloe,” I say her name before I realize I don’t know how to handle what just happened between us.
“I can’t be late.” She turns to her side. “Thank you for being honest about the condom. I’m sure there are a lot of guys who would have just disappeared.”
Maybe. If there are men like that, they deserve a punch in the groin.
“You had a right to know. “ I stand too, unsure if my legs are going to hold my weight. I feel anxious and confused. I don’t know why I want to hold her, but my hands are aching to reach for her to pull her close.
She nods. “I’ll see you around.”
I don’t respond. She’s damn right that she’ll see me around. I want to erase all the pain I see in her eyes. Something tells me that there are more secrets buried below the surface that she’s aching to share.