Page 113 of Ruining Vanessa

“It isn’t your fault,” I say quickly, because it’s true that she doesn’t have all the information. Maybe if I sat down and compared everything, I’d be able to find the problem, but I don’t have time for all that. Romano’s been posturing, Giulio’s business prospects in Benton are getting hassled by Corvi, and of course I’ve been helping Giulio run everything here in New Bristol too.

We need more people to delegate to, but Giulio’s been dragging his feet on that too. He doesn’t trust anyone.

“Mrs. Pavone?” the receptionist suddenly calls out. “Dr. Savage is ready to see you now.”

Vanessa flinches, just like she did the last time she attended a doctor’s appointment under the name Vanessa Pavone. But I offer her a hand, and she gets up, letting me lead her to the doorway.

A smiling nurse waits at the door to lead us into the back. She gets Vanessa to hop onto the scale first, then brings us into one of the rooms nearby.

“Here we are!” the nurse says, starting to type on the computer in front of her. “Let’s get your vitals. Any symptoms you’re worried about?”

Vanessa shakes her head, holding out her arm for the nurse to check her blood pressure. I can see the numbers on the device’s screen, and they look good. Everything seems to be going so well, and it’ll be even better today when we can see the baby for the first time.

Our baby.

Even Giulio’s irritation and impatience can’t take this moment away from me.

The nurse leaves us alone in the room. Vanessa very pointedly sits down on the chair in the corner, not the exam chair in the middle of the room.

I cover my amusement and go to stand next to her, kissing the top of her head. “You’ll have to remove your tights and your underwear,” I say as I rub her shoulders. “For the ultrasound.”

“It’s too soon for an ultrasound,” Vanessa tries to protest, but she gets up anyway. She takes off her shoes and pulls her tights and panties off, folding them neatly and setting them on the chair. She goes to sit on the exam table, pulling the sheet over her waist.

“It isn’t. You’re… seven or eight weeks pregnant?” I wish the tracking app could help me determine that. I know when her last period was, but there’s no telling when she actually became pregnant. It had probably been after Giulio had stopped her from using the contraceptive sponges, but those don’t have a one hundred percent success rate at preventing pregnancy anyway.

“I don’t know,” she says, her body a little tense as she looks past me instead of at me. “I guess we’ll find out today.” I wish she sounded as happy as I feel about the whole thing.

“We’ll get an ultrasound now, one in the second trimester, and again in the third.”

If it were up to me, I’d have her get one every month. Every week. I want to see our child developing. I want to document every step of this process.

I should be taking more photos of Vanessa, too, so we can look back at how much her belly grew. She’s not too keen on the idea, but she’s been dutifully posing for them anyway.

The door opens, and this time, the doctor steps inside.

“Dr. Savage,” I greet, extending my hand to him.

He eyes me before shaking my hand. “Rossi. It’s been a while.”

Dr. Hunter Savage is a family friend of the Pavones. The Savages have long ties with the Pavones—not overtly organized crime but taking bribes to help their political careers. Dr. Savage isn’t the only one in the family to have gone into medicine instead, but somehow, he and Giulio hit it off.

Possibly because Giulio was always happy to introduce Savage to women.

Giulio had once called Savage handsome, and I suppose he’s right. The man is a little taller than Vanessa—shorter than me—and has curly black hair, high cheekbones, a sharp nose, and just a hint of scruff on his face.

Shortly after Giulio had mentioned how attractive he found Savage, he had also lamented that Savage was “way too straight.” It did amuse me to know that there were some men even Giulio couldn’t talk into a threesome.

Savage looks at the digital chart. “Routine pregnancy check, is it? Giulio mentioned something about this.”

Vanessa fidgets, looking at the doctor for a moment. She recognized the name as Stef’s buyer, so she knows what kind of man she’s dealing with here—and it’s not someone who would help her if she tried to ask for it.

“Yes,” I tell him. “We had the initial exam done at the other office, but we still need the first ultrasound to figure out the conception date and potential delivery date.”

Vanessa flinches, not looking at me or the doctor. She plays with the seam of the sheet draped over her waist instead.

Savage nods and sets the tablet aside. He peers at Vanessa, then asks, “Do I need to call the nurse into the room?”

“No,” I answer, before Vanessa can say anything. “I’m here to watch over her.”

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