Page 127 of Captive Heart

I glance between him and Magda. Hades is glaring at her. She is decidedly staring away from him, scrolling through something on her desktop computer screen.

What is going on between them?

Magda speaks to me, but her eyes remain fixed on the screen. “If ye don’t mind, I could do a quick obstetrical exam in here. I would just need to get my kit from my car.”

For some reason, her lilting Scottish accent just now hits me over the head. My mouth opens.

“Your accent…” I say.

Her cheeks color. She cuts her eyes, making me realize that they are the same piercing shade as Hades’ eyes.

“You’re his mom!” I blurt out.

They both jump at the excited loudness of my tone.

“Penny…” Hades grits out.

His mother pushes out her cheek with her tongue, darting a glance at me. But she doesn’t say a word.

“Oh.” I feel a wave of nausea coming on. “I see where he gets that expression from.”

She gives me a hard glance, her lips thinning. “I’m going to go get my obstetrical kit.”

As soon as she is gone, Hades turns to me with a sigh. “I’ll trust ye not to make this harder for me than it needs to be. We came here because ye were out of yer mind with fever. I didn’t plan on ever laying eyes on the woman.”

Struggling onto my elbows, I take a deep breath, willing the sick feeling to pass. After half a minute, it does. I sit up, peeling away the thin cotton blanket plastered to my upper body.

“Hades.”

He looks over at me, rubbing my back.

“Ye are looking better, at least.”

“Don’t think for one second that you’re going to get away with acting like a child. I know that you must have a million thoughts about seeing her again. And I would hazard a guess that they are a complex mix of good and bad memories.”

I give my head a shake, freeing my hair from the hair elastic I put it up in.

Hades’ mouth sets in a firm line. “Jaysus, lass. I have ye here, feverish and spouting gibberish. I don’t know what’s happening with the babe in yer belly, whether it is all right or not. Isn’t that enough to worry about right at this precise moment?”

I sigh. “Sorry. Of course it is.” My hand comes up to rest on the top of my stomach. “I think she’s fine, though. She’s kicking like a swimmer trying to win the gold at the Olympics. Here, see?”

I take his hand, placing it on my stomach. Hades locks eyes with me, a long breath escaping him.

“She?”

“Oh!” My hand flies to my mouth. “Shoot, I wasn’t supposed to tell you. I’m so sorry.”

“No. No.” He shakes his head, glancing down at my belly. “A girl.”

He moves his hand in slow circles over my swollen stomach. What he’s thinking is anyone’s guess. But his hand passes over a spot where our daughter decides to kick doubly hard, and his eyes widen. He looks to me, his expression emotional.

“Was that her?”

I nod. My eyes mist up as I watch him, exploring my belly, using his touch to shape the growing baby just inside.

“That’s pretty incredible,” he murmurs. “Does it hurt when she kicks like that?”

I scrunch my face up. “Sometimes.”

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