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“Anything I can do to help?” she offered, genuine concern etched across her face.
“Nope. I left my house at four this morning so I could be here for the code inspector, and that mother fucker still isn’t here. Excuse my language.”
Lizzy took a step back. “Those guys always seem to run late. I can stick around for him if you want. I’ve never seen you pissed off like this.”
“Thanks, but no. I have to be here for this one. And I’m pissed because it was scheduled for first thing this morning and I need to be in New York in three hours. I missed the ultrasound, but swore I’d be there for all the other appointments.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. With her history, they weren’t going to tell people she was pregnant until she was further along.
Lizzy had a stricken expression. “Oh? Samantha’s pregnant?”
Bryce ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily before he responded. “Can you forget I said that? We weren’t planning on telling anyone since it’s early. But yeah. I missed the ultrasound because I was stuck down here, and I don’t want to miss any of the appointments. Now I have to tell her that I’m a deadbeat and won’t be at this appointment either.”
“You aren’t a deadbeat. She’ll know you tried your best to get there. If you were a deadbeat, you wouldn’t give a shit.”
“Are you okay?” Bryce asked after a long moment.
It was obvious something had upset her, but he had no idea what it could be. Her demeanor had changed as soon as she realized Samantha was pregnant. Assuming she had gone through her own fertility issues, he excused himself to step outside to call Samantha.
Releasing another sigh, he took out his phone and scrolled to Samantha’s name. She answered on the second ring, before he had a chance to figure out what he was going to say.
“Sam.” He sighed.
“What’s wrong?” she asked before he had a chance to continue.
He wished there was a way around what he had to tell her, but at that point, there wasn’t. “I’m so sorry.”
“Bryce? What is it? Is everything okay?”
The worry in her voice made him feel even worse than he already did. “I’m not going to make it into the city in time. I’m so sorry. I was supposed to be meeting an inspector first thing this morning and he’s still not here. I tried to reschedule, but he was dick about it—”
“Hey,” she interrupted. “It’s okay. There will be plenty more appointments.”
“I know, but this isn’t how I want it to happen. I want to be there. It’s bad enough that we don’t live in the same state, and I’m still pissed that I had to miss the ultrasound.”
“I know, and it’s okay. I’ll be fine. I can get Meka or Rayelle to go with me. It’s not a big deal.”
Her determination to make him feel better about the situation only made him feel worse. So willing to put her feelings aside to make him feel better. “It is a big deal. But I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
“Bryce. It’s fine. I’ll update all my information while I’m there. It would feel weird explaining my new emergency contact information and everything with you there anyway. Trust me. I’m not upset.”
He didn’t trust that she wasn’t upset. He did, however, believe that she had become a pro at minimizing her own feelings. At making herself small. She’d wanted a baby for years, and now that she was finally getting it, she was going to appointments alone. That’s not the experience he wanted to give her, and he knew it wasn’t the experience she wanted to have. As much as he hated everything about her house, he decided to surprise her there after her appointment. He wouldn’t have much time to spend with her before she had to get ready for work, but she was worth it.
Chapter 26
Samantha walked into the doctor’s office alone. Meka was the only one scheduled at the bookstore, so she had to be there, and she didn’t quite feel comfortable asking Rayelle. After all the years married to Brandon, she was used to doing things solo. A routine OB appointment wasn’t any different.
“Good morning,” she said walking up to the intake desk.
The woman behind the desk was a bit older and greeted her with a warm smile. She checked her in, looked over the information on the computer, then told her to have a seat. Same as last time, she’d barely sat down when a nurse was calling her back.
“Mrs. Tate, please step on the scale so we can get your weight,” the young nurse requested.
The name grated on her, because she knew they assumed she was still married to Brandon. As she looked at the reading of the scale, she reminded herself to stop at the desk and make sure they had all of her information updated. It was almost a relief that Bryce hadn’t come with her. She would have been mortified to correct all of the emergency contact information with him standing there. How did one explain her situation, anyway?
“Thank you,” the nurse said before leading her to the exam room. “Here’s a cup. We need a urine sample. We’ll need one for every appointment. If you could just collect a sample and then leave it in the restroom, I’ll get it. The doctor will be with you shortly.”
Samantha followed the nurse’s instructions and left a urine sample before returning to the exam room to wait for the doctor. Although she was telling the truth when she told Bryce it wasn’t a big deal that he couldn’t make the appointment, she wasn’t thrilled to be there alone. Walking past other couples waiting for the doctor reinforced what she was missing. It would have been nice to have Bryce’s hand to hold while she waited.
“Hello, Mrs. Tate,” the doctor greeted after what felt like forever. “Your urine looks great. If you want to lay back on the table, I’ll do a quick exam.”
