Page 40 of Oops, My Professor Got Me Pregnant!

“I’m looking forward to our future, whatever that might be, but you have to admit that right now is pretty great too. Louis is old enough to spend time with his grandmother and at school, so we get to enjoy dates and we have time to get to know each other slowly. We should enjoy this freedom while we have it, because someday it might be all diapers and spit-up and squalling babies in the middle of the night. And that doesn’t sound like fun, does it?”

“No.” Lauren still looked a little upset, but at least they’d talked about it, Nico thought to himself. He would keep showing her how much he valued her and their future together. It would all work out.

They made sandwiches side by side. After a little chatting, it was clear that Lauren was lost in thought, so Nico put on a playlist of his favorite classical music. A little later, Louis came into the kitchen to wash his hands and joined them for a small dance party. Although Lauren remained a little quiet throughout lunch, things seemed better.

Just as they were cleaning up the lunch, though, Nico’s phone began to ring. With an apologetic glance at Louis and Lauren, he answered it and stepped into the next room. He was a little surprised to hear his mother on the other end of the line.

“Nico?”

“Maman? What’s going on?”

“I had a bit of a tumble.” Rose’s voice was shaky. “I was up on a ladder changing out a lightbulb, and I lost my footing. I seem to have twisted my ankle.”

“Maman! I told you not to do home improvement by yourself. I would have been happy to help you.” Worry flooded Nico. Although his mother was young and fit, she was getting older, and he didn’t want to think of what he’d do if something more than a twisted ankle happened to her.

“I need your help.” She sounded annoyed and flustered. “Can you please take me to the hospital?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Stay right where you are, okay? Don’t try to move around.”

“Okay. Please… hurry.”

They hung up and Nico hurried back into the kitchen, where Louis was helping Lauren load the dishwasher. They both looked up at him with worried expressions.

“Is everything all right?” Lauren asked.

“Yes. But my mother twisted her ankle at home, and I need to take her to the hospital. Could you?—”

“Of course I’ll stay with Louis. Anything you need.”

“Thank you.” Nico gave Lauren a quick kiss then bent down to Louis’s level. “Lauren’s going to stay here with you, all right?”

“Yeah. Is Mémé okay?” Louis’s eyes were large with worry.

“She’ll be okay. It’s like when you tripped playing soccer and hurt your foot. You were better quickly, right?”

“Right.” Louis still looked worried, and Nico’s heart went out to his son. He couldn’t stay to comfort him, though. He gave Louis a quick, tight hug and hurried to the door. Louis and Lauren came with him.

“Keep us updated, okay?”

“Of course.” Nico flashed Lauren a reassuring smile. “I’m glad you could be here. I’ll text you as soon as we’re at the hospital and let you know how things are looking.”

As he hurried to his car, Nico mused over just how glad he was that Lauren was here. Without her, he would have had to drag Louis to the hospital and possibly delay the speed with which he could get to his mother’s house. It was very reassuring to have another trustworthy adult who could be here at times like this. And it was even better that it was Lauren. She was great with Louis and would surely be able to calm him down.

Even as Nico drove through the rainy streets of Paris, intent on reaching his mother as soon as possible, thoughts of Lauren and Louis were never far from his mind. They were starting to feel like a real family, one built on trust and respect and, yes, love.

Nico needed to tell Lauren how he felt. She was too important to him to waste another minute without telling her that he loved her. After all, today’s accident had shown Nico that the people he loved were fragile. He was going to make sure his mother was all right and tell her that he loved her. And then he was going to go home to Lauren and Louis and make sure they knew he loved them, too.

CHAPTER 16

LAUREN

“Is Mémé going to be okay?”

Louis and Lauren stood by the front window and watched Nico drive away down the residential street. The taillights of the car cast long streaks of color on the rain-soaked pavement.

Lauren put her arm around the little boy and he leaned into her. She wanted to reassure him without overstepping and promising that everything would be rosy.

“People fall and get hurt sometimes. But they almost always get better, and your grandmother is strong and young.”

---