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“No. Not unless you want to.” She might be confused but she knew she didn’t want to lose Zack.
“I don’t.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
They glared at each other, then they both began to smile. “We just had our first fight,” Zack said.
“I guess we did.”
“Now that we’ve established we’re not breaking up, why don’t we table any talk of marriage. At least for now.”
“Okay. I wouldn’t have brought it up, but I thought you deserved to know what I’ve been thinking.”
“C’mere,” he said, opening his arms.
Laurel walked into them, wrapping her arms around his back and laying her head against his chest. It felt so good to hold him and have him hold her. Zack put his hand beneath her chin and tilted up her head to look at him. “Stop worrying so much. We’ll work this out.” He bent his head down to kiss her.
When he raised his head she said, “The kids are asleep.”
His eyes darkened and his mouth kicked up in a sexy smile. “Are you suggesting we take advantage of that?”
“I am.”
“I like the way you think.”
Laurel smiled, took his hand and led him to her bedroom.
*
Zack looked aroundthe OB’s exam room at all the accouterments proclaiming this as a very female domain. A plastic rendition of what he could only assume was a uterus sat on the counter. Gleaming chrome instruments were laid out on a blue cloth beside it. A chart with pictures of the sizes of a baby at each stage of pregnancy hung on the wall. Other things were all over the room—things he had no idea of the purpose they served and would be just as glad not to find out.
Laurel thought she was eight weeks pregnant. She said the doctor would perform an ultrasound and they would probably be able to hear the heartbeat. And the doctor would also tell them for certain how far along she was.
Damn, he felt out of place. He wondered if he’d feel differently if he and Laurel were married.
Probably not.
“Zack,” Laurel said. “Stop pacing. You’re making me nervous.” She sat on the exam table, watching him.
“Sorry,” he said, but continued pacing.
Laurel reached for his hand when he passed by, bringing him to a halt. “There’s really nothing to worry about. This is just the first checkup to confirm the pregnancy and figure out the due date. It will be over before you know it.”
“I’m not worried,” he told her. Worried, no. Nervous, hell, yes.
When the doctor entered, she said, “Hello, Laurel.” Offering Zack her hand, she said, “I’m Dr. Guilford.”
“Zack Bannister.”
The doctor went to the sink to wash up. “Have a seat, Zack, and we’ll get started in just a moment. Laurel, why don’t you lie down and get ready?”
Zack took the chair beside the exam table as Laurel lay down and arranged her clothing to expose her stomach. The doctor finished washing up, then came to the table and moved the computer screen so they could all see it. Laurel had pointed out the parts of the ultrasound machine when they first came in and told him basically what would happen, so he wasn’t totally lost. Dr. Guilford squirted gel on Laurel’s stomach. Laurel slipped her hand into his. Undoubtedly more for his sake than hers. After all, she’d done this before.
“Laurel tells me this is your first child.”
“That’s right.” A fact that still blew his mind.
