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“Samantha, I know none of this was planned. When I showed up at the hospital, the last thing I expected was to meet someone like you. The last thing I expected was to feel an immediate connection to my late brother’s widow, but here we are.”
Samantha continued to watch him, her eyes as wide as saucers. Covering her hand with his, he continued what he was saying. “When we talked in the basement of the community center, there was no missing how much you wanted kids. Your whole face and energy changed when you were talking about it. You finally have everything you wanted. We are celebrating.”
She swallowed hard before giving him a slow nod. “I talked to them today.”
“And? How did it go?” He placed a healthy serving of pasta on their plates as he waited for her to continue.
“They are going to let me perform the role until I’m too big to comfortably move about the stage. And once I can’t pull off the role of Joanne, they’ll have the understudy take over and put me in the chorus. That way I won’t be out of practice.”
“That’s amazing,” Bryce said. “I knew it would work out. They chose you because you were the best for the role. That doesn’t change just because you’ll need to take some time off.”
Samantha’s smile was content as she picked up her fork and started eating. Bryce was beyond happy for her. One of his first thoughts after finding out she was pregnant wasn’t what it would mean for him, but what it would mean for her. She’d worked so hard to get where she was despite her circumstances, he would have never forgiven himself if he took part in her having to pause her dream, or start over.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said once she was nearly finished with her food.
“You might as well get used to me taking care of you. I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.” And he meant every word. He would take care of her as long as she let him. And probably even after that.
Chapter 22
Samantha stepped out of the subway station right as Meka was rounding the corner. She had tried to back out of having Meka go with her to the ultrasound, but Bryce was adamant. He threatened to send Rayelle to her house if she didn’t bring Meka. He probably hadn’t realized the reason Samantha didn’t want to bring Meka with her to the appointment was because she hadn’t told her about the baby yet.
“Sam!” Meka shouted as she practically sprinted toward her. “You look amazing. How do you feel?”
Samantha wrapped her arms around herself. She was still getting used to the idea of being pregnant, and talking about it felt like reality smacking her in the face. “I feel pretty good. How have you been?”
Meka pulled her into a hug before holding her at a distance while she looked her over. Her kind eyes searched her face before looking her up and down. When she had finished her examination, she linked arms with her as they made their way toward the doctor’s office.
“I can’t believe this is finally happening for you,” Meka said, completely ignoring the question. “Is Bryce freaking out?”
Bryce was not freaking out. Not the way he probably should have been. He’d been everything she should have assumed he would be and more. Unfortunately, she was still having a hard time accepting that he could be so good to her and found herself waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Byrce has been amazing, actually.”
“So, you have the man, the dream job, and now the baby.” Meka stopped them on the sidewalk so she could pull her into her arms for another hug. “I don’t think you understand how happy I am for you. You deserve this.”
Warmth spread through her body at her friend’s words. She deserved this? She was in a relationship with her brother-in-law and now she was pregnant after only a matter of weeks. It still felt like a strange situation to celebrate. Without speaking, she returned her hug and then continued the walk to the building that housed her doctor’s office.
“Mrs. Tate?” the receptionist greeted her.
Hearing her name made her feel like she was lying to the staff. As silly as that sounded…
“Yes,” Samantha answered.
“Okay, you’re checked in. They should be with you in a few. Is your bladder full?”
She was afraid to laugh for fear that her bladder would fail. “Yes. I drank the water before I came just like the instructions said. Will it be a long wait?”
“Nope. You’re the first appointment so she should be right out.”
Before Samantha’s butt hit the seat, her name was being called from the open automatic doors. “Samantha Tate?” the woman asked, making eye contact. Follow me back.
They walked down a different hallway from the last appointment and into a large dark room. There was a blank screen mounted on the wall, an examination table, and what appeared to be an ultrasound machine.
“Undress from the waist down, hop on the table and cover yourself with the blanket. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Samantha did as she was told, stepping out of her leggings and panties while Meka turned around to give her some privacy. Shaking from nerves, she climbed onto the table and covered herself with the blanket that had been provided.
“Are you excited?” Meka asked.
