Page 25 of Baby Bombshell for the Boss

Ivy was glad she’d thought to bring in a book. “That’s fine,” she said.

The blood test was quick. The nurse filled a few vials, fixed a bandage on Ivy’s arm, and gave her one more reassuring smile. “Can I bring you a glass of water or a magazine?”

Ivy held up her water bottle. “I brought something to read too,” she said.

“I’m glad you came prepared!” the nurse said. “Not everyone does. Just relax, then, and the doctor will be in when we have test results for you.”

Ivy nodded and did her best to relax. The exam room wasn’t very conducive to that, and she found herself thinking about the comfortable couch she and Elliot had chosen, and the discussion they’d had about making people comfortable in anxiety situations. She smiled wryly to herself, wishing she had thought to give him this situation as an example. That might have helped.

She found herself unable to focus on her book. She played with her phone for a while, scrolling through her social media feeds and logging into a few games to try to take her mind off the situation. She finished her bottle of water and wished she’d thought to ask for another one — her stomach was beginning to churn, and she couldn’t be sure whether it was her anxiety or whether the nausea was making a return. She didn’t want to throw up here in the exam room. That wouldn’t be as embarrassing as what had happened with Elliot, of course, but it wouldn’t be fun either.

She was relieved when the door opened and the doctor came in. The doctor turned out to be a woman in her mid-forties, and she smiled at Ivy as she took a seat. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I’ve been better,” Ivy said.

“Well, the good news is that I don’t think your symptoms will be bothering you for very long. I have the results of your blood work here,” the doctor said, holding up a folder. “Were you aware that you’re pregnant?”

“I’m not pregnant,” Ivy said automatically. Of course she wasn’t.

Then she paused.

The timing did make sense. Several weeks had passed since she’d slept with Elliot. She hadn’t gotten a period since then, but she’d always been a little irregular, so she hadn’t noticed. But now she found herself counting the days. Was she late?

The doctor was looking at her with something like sympathy, and Ivy thought — this is why they gave me a blood test. They were trying to rule out pregnancy.

Of course. These were classic symptoms of pregnancy — nausea, tiredness. Of course they would test for that. And the test had come back positive. That was what they were telling her. She could hardly argue about it. It was confirmed.

“I’m guessing this is unexpected,” the doctor said gently.

Ivy nodded, feeling shell-shocked.

“Okay,” the doctor said. “I’ve got some literature I can give you. I’d like to start you on prenatal vitamins to be on the safe side, and I’m going to give you a recommendation for an obstetrician — unless you’ve got one?”

“I don’t,” Ivy said faintly.

The doctor nodded. “I’ll get it for you. As far as the nausea, that should fade soon, but if you have any trouble, try eating ginger and bland foods and that should help. The obstetrician will probably have more detailed advice to offer.”

Ivy nodded. She felt dizzy. How could this be happening? She felt as if she should have seen it coming. Now that she knew, it seemed foolish that she hadn’t anticipated this outcome. And yet, at the same time, she still struggled to believe that it could be true at all.

“Do you want me to call someone for you?” the doctor asked.

Ivy shook her head. She had no idea who she would even ask the doctor to call. Elliot?

Could she even tell him about this? How in the world was he going to react?

* * *

“Whoa,” Janelle breathed.

Ivy had just finished recounting her news to her sister over the phone, and now she lay back on her bed, trying to maintain some sense of reality. Talking to Janelle always steadied her — at least, it always had before — but today it wasn’t having the usual effect. If anything, she felt more unbalanced than ever, allowing this shocking news to find footing in her everyday life like this.

“Are you sure?” Janelle asked. “I mean, they definitely didn’t make a mistake with the test or get a false positive or anything?”

“I bought a box of pregnancy tests on my way home,” Ivy said. “I took all three of them. Four false positives seems pretty unlikely.”

“Yeah, it does.” Janelle was quiet for a moment. “You’ve always wanted to have a family. You’ve said that as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah, I have,” Ivy said. “I just never thought it would look like this. I mean, this isn’t exactly an ideal set of circumstances. The father is a guy I slept with one time. We have no relationship.”

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