Page 40 of I Loved You First

“That’s good.”

She nodded. “Leo and I officially have a big event in the books. The governor’s daughter is getting married late this summer. Weddings aren’t typically my thing. That’s Leo’s specialty. But we’ve been talking, and he wants me on his team for this one.”

It wasn’t hard to see that Fi had made a hell of a career for herself. “The governor’s daughter’s wedding. That sounds like a big deal.”

She nodded. “It’ll be great for Leo’s portfolio. And mine, even though I’m playing backup.”

“And life outside of work? Are you still digging the urban vibe?”

“I am. But being back here has been much nicer than I expected. I forgot how beautiful the mountains are. How peaceful the quiet can be.”

“Hopefully, we’ll see you around more often.”

“Yeah,” she said, staring out at the water as a boat drove by in the distance.

He took several more bites, sensing that something had changed as she exhaled quietly. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded.

He forked up another piece of watermelon, not entirely sure what to say because something was clearly up.

“I can’t have children,” she blurted out.

His gaze whipped to meet hers as she shocked the hell out of him. “What?”

Tears pooled in her eyes as she nodded. “Or it’ll be incredibly difficult, I should amend.”

His heart broke for her. She’d always wanted children. She was so good with Brady. Once upon a time, they’d regularly spoken of the family they would eventually create together. “Fi, I’m so sorry.”

She wiped at the tear trailing down her cheek. “You’re the first person I’ve told. Leo and my mom know, but I still haven’t said anything to Melody. I guess I’m still coming to terms with the idea that it might never happen.”

He set down his bowl. “Is the doctor sure?”

She nodded as another tear fell. “Two doctors. And neither left me feeling particularly hopeful.”

“Damn, that’s tough.” Hooking his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her against him. “We can talk about it, or we can just sit here.”

Sniffling, she sagged against him. “I’ve known for about six months now. Mostly, I’ve tried to ignore the whole thing. It makes it real when I think about it. When I say it out loud.”

He sighed as he held her tighter. “I’m sorry, Fi.”

“All of it came out of nowhere. Everything just started going wrong.” She exhaled a shaky breath. “About a year ago, I started having these really weird periods. I would miss a cycle—sometimes two—and then I would have a ton of bleeding and some pain.”

Cam frowned as he listened.

“My job can be pretty stressful. It definitely was at that time, so I chalked it up to that, but after four or five months of on-and-off periods, I finally went to the gynecologist. She ordered an ultrasound and then an MRI when she determined that I had several submucosal fibroids in my uterus.”

“Is that dangerous?”

She shook her head. “Luckily, no. But they can cause a lot of bleeding and pain—like I had—so I ended up having surgery. All in all, it was a fairly minor procedure. Leo and Felix took good care of me while I recovered over a long weekend, and my mom came out for a couple of days.”

“I’m glad they were there for you.”

She nodded. “Me too.”

“How were things after the surgery?”

“Ultimately, it was a success. My periods went back to normal almost immediately, which was a huge relief, but when I went in for my follow-up, Dr. Miller mentioned that she wanted to refer me to a fertility specialist. Obviously, I’m not currently trying to get pregnant, but she noticed that I have significant distortion in both of my fallopian tubes, which will cause problems when I am ready for a family.”