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“Then we won’t.”
Sumner unlocks the truck and starts loading everything into the back.
I shove my phone into my purse and help him. The stuff we actually came for goes in with everything we somehow acquired along the way, and Sumner lifts the box of wipes in last.
My stomach twists when I look at it.
Once the cart is empty, he hands me his keys. “Go start the truck. I’ll take this back.”
I don’t argue. I climb into the passenger seat, start the engine, and crank the air while Sumner jogs the cart over to the return.
By the time he gets back, I have my phone in my hand again.
He shuts the driver’s door and looks at me. “Ready?”
“No.” I unlock the screen anyway. “But sitting here longer probably isn’t going to help.”
“Probably not.”
I turn my head. “You could at least lie to me.”
“What’s the point? You’d know I was lying.”
Unfortunately, he’s right.
I pull up the email. Before I tap the link, Sumner holds out his hand across the console, and I take it.
His fingers close around mine. He looks calm until I notice how hard his jaw is clenched.
We sit there holding hands for I don’t know how long while I stare at the link. Finally, I mutter “fuck it” and tap it, only for the lab portal to dump me onto the login screen. “Oh, come on.”
Sumner leans closer. “What?”
“They send me an email telling me my results are ready, then make me log in again to see them?”
“That’s probably a good thing security-wise.”
“Maybe when I’m not two seconds from having a nervous breakdown.”
I type my password too fast, and an error message pops up.
“Fuck.”
His thumb moves over the side of my hand. “Take your time.”
“Stop being reasonable. It’s irritating.”
His mouth twitches, which is probably the closest either of us is getting to a laugh right now.
I type the password again, slower this time, and the portal finally opens. The new result is sitting at the top, and my heart starts pounding harder when I tap it.
A PDF opens with our names and a bunch of sample information, followed by several lines of lab terminology I couldn’t give less of a shit about. I start scrolling.
“Why can’t they just put the answer at the top?” I mutter. “Just a simple you are the father, Maury-style.”
Sumner chuckles as he leans closer, his shoulder pressing against mine while we both stare at the screen.
Then I see his name and my thumb stops.