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“I can arrange for us to be seen at a clinic,” I say next, surprising myself.
Leah looks at the ground, her colour rising again. “I was wondering if we can try here...at least at first. A clinic sounds so impersonal. If I have problems conceiving, then maybe.”
“Not a problem. It may be better, as my brother and I share the same face. It could set tongues wagging if I’m seen at a fertility clinic,” I say almost too quickly. The thought of having to perform while Leah waits anxiously in the other room. Maybe I should have thought this through a bit more.
Leah hops down from the stool and turns to face me. “Are you sure?” she asks, the uncertainty in her voice makes my heart clench.
“When have you ever known me to suggest anything I’m not one hundred per cent behind?”
Leah lets out a shuddering breath. “Okay,” she whispers.
“Okay, what?” I ask, needing clarification.
“If we can come to a legal agreement on how this is going to work.” Her gaze locks with mine. “I don’t want either of us to go into this unprepared. Once that’s done, I’ll come off the pill and order the kits.”
The shy smile she gives me stops my heart, and I swallow past the tightness in my throat.
Leah holds out her hand, and I envelop it in mine. “But we are both within our rights to back out if something changes. Promise me,” she says, her voice pleading, but it appears more for me. She’s trying to give me a get-out-of-jail-free card. Warmth spreads where our skin touches.
“I’ll speak to my solicitor tomorrow and get the ball rolling.”
Leah says nothing. She silently nods, her eyes focused on our hands. I let go but find myself immediately missing the connection.
Leah looks up at me. “Thank you, Gabriel,” she says.
“Thank you? This is mutual, Leah. Let me know what you need.”
She nods in affirmation. “I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going to bed.”
When she turns and walks away, I miss her presence. Leah, in the three weeks we’ve been living together, has turned my ordered life upside down, and now I’m about to add to that with a child.
CHAPTER 20
LEAH
As promised, Gabriel appears at my desk with an envelope in hand. He spent the morning out of the office with his solicitor.
“Leah?” he says, standing in the doorway.
“Gabriel, do you need something?” I ask, beckoning him in and offering him the seat opposite my desk.
He looks around and enters, shutting the door behind him. He’s carrying a large brown envelope.
I wait for him to get himself comfortable.
“I have the initial draft of our contract for you to look over,” he states, leaning forward and placing the envelope on the desk. “My solicitor has said if you have any questions, he is happy to go over anything with you. If not, you can take it to your own solicitor.”
His face is the mask of professionalism. It’s hard to imagine the contract he is talking about is the one where we bring another human being into the world.
A custody agreement without the hostility of a divorce.
I place a hand on the envelope. “Thank you. My friend Nat, is training to be a solicitor. One of the partners in her firm has agreed to look over it for me. They have apparently been involved in a number of co-parenting agreements.”
Gabriel doesn’t say anything, he just stands and makes his way to the door. He pauses, his hand rests on the handle, as he turns back to face me.
“Let me know if there are any issues. I’m happy to discuss anything you feel uncomfortable with. I’m serious when I say I want this to work.”
The look reflecting out of his eyes tells me all I need to know. “Thank you, and I will.” I hold his gaze. “I also want this to work.”
