Page 134 of The Man I Hate

Oh. My God.

Upon realizing who she was, my heart thrashed against my ribs. Incapable of processing what was happening, I gripped the edge of my desk to keep myself from falling.

The room began to spin. Everything went black, but only for a second.

“Are you okay?” she asked, rushing to my side.

“I—” I fanned my face with my hand. “I need some air.”

She removed her hat and fanned me with it. “How far along are you?”

“I’m scheduled to be induced next week.” I rubbed the sides of my massive stomach with my palms. “On Monday.”

She took a step back and looked me over. Her gaze fell to the floor between us. “Uhhm. Your water just broke.”

“Oh My God,” I gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

“What—” She swallowed heavily. “—What do you want me to do?”

“These two are my first,” I said. “I’m a little lost.”

“Two?” she asked.

“We’re having twins.” I waddled to the guest chair and grabbed my purse. I handed her my phone. “If you don’t mind, call ‘HUBBY.’ I’m sorry, I’m a little scatterbrained right now.”

She scrolled through my contacts and made the call. “Hi. No. She’s right here, though. No. It’s Stefani Germanotta. Remember, we met a few—yeah. Lady Gaga. No. Her water broke. Okay. I don’t know. UCLA Health, in Westwood? Sure. A dark gray G-Wagon. Okay. I don’t know. Ten minutes? We’ll see you there.”

She handed me the phone. “Here, he wants to talk to you.” She reached for my free hand. “C’mon, I’m driving you to the hospital.”

I gasped. “You’re what?!”

“He asked me if I’d drive you there.” She tugged against my hand. “By the time an ambulance gets here, it’ll be too late. We can be there in five minutes.”

I lifted the phone to my ear. “Hi,” I said. “My water broke, and I feel like I’m going to puke. I love you.”

“Keep your knees together,” he said. “I mean it. If I miss this, there’s going to be hell to pay.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it, Anna.”

“Knees together,” I said. “Got it.”

“I’ll see you there. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung up my phone and dropped it in my purse. I was ridiculously excited about giving birth, but at the moment, my only living idol was leading me to my car by the hand. It didn’t make sense. I needed a few answers.

“Can I ask why you’re here?”

“Chrissy Teigen sent me,” she replied, leading me through the lobby. “She told me you sold her and John a new AMG G-Wagon. I need a new one, so I thought I’d come by and see what you had.”

“You changed my life,” I said, waddling along at her side. “You inspired me to wait for the right man.”

“I don’t…I don’t know what to say,” she stammered. “Thank you.”

I didn’t know her, and I’d only been in her presence for a few minutes, but I could tell she was genuine. Knowing that about her was reassuring.