“I had a vasectomy years ago, when Darcy was alive.” I sit in my chair, suddenly feeling bone-tired. God, I’m exhausted. “It’s impossible that it’s mine.”
“Are you sure?” Quinn asks. “Did you go in for your follow-up appointment after the procedure to make sure the swimmers were gone?”
I frown at my brother-in-law. “Of course I did.” I blink, thinking back. “I mean, I think.”
“You think,” Finn says.
Sienna stomps to my desk, picks up the phone, and thrusts it under my nose.
“Call the clinic right now and ask them.”
“Jesus, you’re pushy.”
“You haven’t seen pushy yet, pal. Call the damn clinic.”
“I could fire you.”
“Go ahead.” She lifts her chin, and I find myself doing as she demands, dialing the number to my doctor’s office.
“Manhattan Wellness Clinic, this is Hilary, how can I help you?”
“Hilary, this is Carter Shaw. Is there any way you can tell me if I had an appointment about five years ago?”
“Sure, our records go back that far. I’ll have a record here of all appointments you’ve made. What kind of visit would it have been?”
“I had a vasectomy in the summer of 2015. Do you see if I ever had a follow-up appointment?”
“Let me check,” she murmurs, and then says, “I see it. Yep, you did have a follow-up six weeks after the procedure.”
I nod, victorious that everything with me is as it should be, and the baby most certainly is not mine.
“But you were a no-show,” she continues, and I stop cold.
“Excuse me?”
“I show here that you no-showed for the appointment, and you never rescheduled. In fact, we didn’t see you until two years later, when you came in for a yearly physical.”
“What was the date of the no-show?”
“July twenty-sixth.”
I sigh and rub my hand down my face.
“I see. Thank you, Hilary.”
“Sure thing. Have a good day.” She hangs up and I stare blankly at Finn, Quinn, and Sienna.
“Well, shit.”
“So, you did not, in fact, ever follow up to make sure the procedure was successful,” Sienna says, all business once again.
“It would seem I didn’t. Because that was the day Darcy died, and I was a little preoccupied.”
“Oh,” Sienna says and sends me a sympathetic glance. “I’m sorry, Carter. I really am.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“So, to summarize,” Finn says, rubbing his hands briskly up and down his thighs as he thinks the situation over. “Your swimmers are alive and well. Nora’s pregnant. You accused her of fucking around on you, and she left, upset.”
“Basically, you’re a dumbass,” Quinn adds with a nod.
I can’t even argue with him. I am a dumbass.
“Yeah.”
Sienna’s worrying her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger, lost in thought.
“You have to fix it.”
“Good luck,” Finn mutters.
“He can still fix it,” Sienna says to Finn, nodding slowly. “You’ll need to grovel. Apologize like your life depends on it.”
“Because it does,” I mutter. “I was cruel.”
“So much groveling,” Sienna repeats. “And you need to talk. Explain what was going through your head. I mean, I assume she knows you had the vasectomy.”
“I told her,” I confirm. “It was our only form of birth control.”
“Then if you talk to her and explain everything, you might have a chance of making it right. I mean, you love each other. People in love screw up, but then they make it right.”
I frown.
“You do love her, don’t you?”
“Of course.” I swallow hard. Jesus, I love her so much.
“Then my money’s on you.”
“Mine’s not,” Finn says cheerfully. “But you’re going to be a daddy again, and that’s something to celebrate.”
“A baby.” I shake my head in disbelief. “I’m starting all over again after forty. I’m going to be an old dad.”
“Not that old,” Quinn says. “You’ll be fine.”
“First things first,” Sienna says. “You need to get to Nora and make things right. Because coming from a woman’s point of view, you fucked up big-time, Carter, and this isn’t going to be easy.”
“I know. So what do I do?”
“Find her. Be honest with her.”
“Take flowers,” Quinn adds. “And probably chocolate.”
“Jewelry,” Finn says, shaking his head. “This is a job for precious gems. Gold. Hit up Tiffany’s around the corner on your way out.”
I already have that covered.
“I’m going,” I say. Before I can get to the door, a woman pops her head in.
“Mr. Shaw?”
“What.”
She blinks at my harsh tone. “Um, I’m Mary, from HR. With Nora quitting so abruptly, I’ve found someone to fill in for her until we can—”
“She quit?”
A smile spreads on Mary’s face, and now I see it. The reason why Nora doesn’t trust her.
“Piece of work,” Sienna mutters behind me.
“Don’t worry about Nora,” I say to Mary. “I have it covered. And you can clean out your desk and go home. You’re fired.”
“What?” She pales. “You can’t fire me. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want because I own this company.”
“I’ll sue for wrongful termination.”