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“Thank you.”
The office had three guest chairs. Not surprisingly, the men had left the one between them open for me. I took the seat, anxious as hell for this appointment to be over. Dr. Talbot explained the DNA testing to the three of us. She was thorough, going over the accuracy and minimal risk we’d already discussed. When she was done, she looked at me.
“So we’ll draw your blood down the hall on your way out. Would you like us to swab one cheek as a process of elimination or both? The lab charges per DNA profile, so doing two would be extra.”
Robert raised his hand. “You can just swab mine.”
Owen frowned. “I live locally, so it makes more sense to do mine—just in case there’s an issue. Plus…” He reached over and took my hand. “I’ll be with Devyn when she gets the results, not halfway around the world.”
Robert shook his head. “It makes more sense to use mine.”
“Why?” Owen said.
Dr. Talbot held up her hands. “Okay, sotwo mouth swabsit is.”
Ten minutes later, we walked out of the building, all three of us having left our DNA behind.
“The limo should be here any minute,” Robert said. “I texted the driver before we left the office, and he was around the corner waiting. That went quicker than I thought, so we can drop you before I head to the airport. Aiden probably needs to get back to work anyway.”
The man on my other side piped in. “No,Owendoesn’t need to get back to work. I’ll take Devyn home. Wouldn’t want you to miss your flight and be stuck here any longer than necessary.”
“I’ll drop her,” Robert said.
“I’ll do it,” Owen countered.
I put my hands out, keeping the two of them separated. “Stop it! No one is dropping me. I’m taking a cab. Alone.”
“But…”
I looked to my right. “Goodbye, Robert. Have a safe flight back to Rome.” I looked to my left. “Go to work, Owen. Have a good day.”
Neither man looked very happy, but I didn’t care. I started walking and never turned back. It was definitely going to be avery longthree to five days.
CHAPTER 26
Devyn
The following day, I paced as I spoke to Mia over the phone. “Now that it’s done, I’m freaking out. As much as I need to know, I’mnotready.”
“I get it. This isn’t the kind of thing you’ll ever be ready for.”
“I feel like I can’t breathe until the results come in.”
“I can only imagine.” She paused. “How’s Owen handling things?”
I peeked out the window, noticing the raindrops gathering on the glass. “He’s busy with a bunch of showings today. But I feel bad for the way I handled things. He and Robert kept trying to show each other up. When I left them both standing there after the appointment yesterday, I’d had enough. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on Owen. It wasn’t his fault. Robert had egged him on.”
“Give yourself grace. You’ve been so stressed. I don’t know how anyone could’ve handled Robert showing up like that. I can’t blame you or Owen for behaving badly. The situation is tough on everyone.”
“When the results come in, I need to let my family know. It’s been hard keeping this from them. Although, I’m truly dreading it—not so much telling Vera, but when my brother and sister find out I’m pregnant, they’re gonna freak.”
“You’re pregnant?” came a voice behind me.
I turned suddenly.
Hannah.
My heart dropped when I saw her standing there. She was supposed to have gone to the store with Vera and Heath.
