Love laughed, and typed a few notes into her tablet. “Are you concerned about being able to carry to term again?”
It was a common fear for women who’d had difficult pregnancies.
Syd bit her lip. “It’s crossed my mind. I don’t want to spend my entire pregnancy worried. Then, too, my business is booming. We just expanded our current building, and we’re scouting spots in Canton. It might not be the best time to have a baby. Brynn is a handful already.”
Love nodded. Syd owned the Ice Box, a restaurant in the neighboring town of Ypsilanti. The city was named in honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti, a Greek revolutionary leader, and was the home of Eastern Michigan University. Love spent a lot of time in Ypsilanti, whether she was eating at one of the many restaurants in Depot Town or hanging out at Sydney’s bar with Drake.
“I understand,” Love assured her. “But let’s start with a pregnancy test. There’s no point in worrying yet. You don’t know if you’re going to have a bad pregnancy, so we can’t make assumptions.”
Syd sighed. “Right. Let’s do it.”
Love pulled up Syd’s medical records and skimmed them. “I want you to head down and get your blood drawn right after your appointment. I won’t do an ultrasound or anything until we get a positive test.”
“Thanks, Love.”
Love prepared a lab requisition and wrote a script for prenatal vitamins. “Anything else going on?”
“Nothing much. How are things going with you? Last time I saw you at the bar, you were drowning your sorrows with your best friend.”
Love snorted. “That was a while ago.”
“It was. He’s a hottie, by the way.”
Grinning, Love tugged at her ear. “We got married a few weeks ago.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. It wasn’t planned. It just kind of happened.”
“That’s awesome, Love. Are you thinking of starting a family soon? Because I’m going to selfishly ask you to hold off until I have my baby.”
Love barked out a laugh. “Girl, you don’t have to worry about that.”
“You never know. I mean, kids were the last thing on my mind when I started seeing Morgan. And then it just happened.”
Love clicked on the calendar of her tablet. Her period wasn’t due for another week or so, but Syd was right. Essentially, they’d done nothing to prevent a pregnancy. The few times she and Drake had had sex, they hadn’t used a condom. Love was on birth control, yes, but she’d seen that fail time and time again.
Her hands trembled as she finished with her notes. The thought of being pregnant herself was enough to make her rethink everything. Making love to Drake was becoming one of her favorite things to do. So much so that she’d been counting down the hours until she could see him again. But they had to take better precautions, because neither of them was ready for a baby.
“Love?” Syd called.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she offered her a small smile. “Sorry. A lot going on right now.” Not wanting to get into the details of her marriage, she explained about her mother instead. “My mom is in town dealing with some health issues.”
Her mother’s appointment with the surgeon had gone well. He’d determined that amputation should be a last resort. In the meantime, he set up Gloria on a new treatment he was hyped on. Gloria had sobbed openly at the news.
Love still wanted her mother to consider moving to Michigan, or at least staying for an extended visit. But Gloria was stubborn, and hadn’t budged.
“We should really catch up over drinks soon,” Love told Sydney. “Well, I can drink and you can have apple juice and pretend it’s cognac.”
They both laughed then.
Syd stood up and took the form from Love’s outstretched hand. “Thanks. I’m going to head to the lab and then go to work. Please let me know as soon as you get the results.”
“I certainly will.”
The two said goodbye and Love started toward the office. Along the way she pulled out her phone and typed a text to Drake: What if I’m pregnant?
* * *
Drake stumbled and almost took an L in the middle of the floor. His wife had sent him a text asking what would happen if she were pregnant. Hell, the thought was enough to send him straight to the bar. But he was scheduled to scrub in on a surgery in a few hours and wanted to study a bit beforehand. Dr. Leon had sent him a curt email reminding him of his obligation to the hospital, informing him that his recent change in marital status would not grant him any favors, and letting him know that he’d be assisting him with a heart transplant.
Drake had hoped to talk to Dr. Leon again, but it was obvious the older man didn’t want much to do with him outside of work. He suspected the recent change of heart had more to do with his father’s demands than anything else, which pissed Drake off. But at least he knew where he stood with his mentor now.