Page 28 of Stolen Love

“Bro?” I glance at my twin, whose feet seem to be stuck, as I put the call on mute.I know not much is, but this is private.

“Yeah.” He walks away.

Phone to my shoulder, I take Ivy’s arm and usher her into our bedroom. “You’re freaking out.”

“What if I’m pregnant?” She covers her mouth with her hand and talks through her fingers. “What if she’s about to tell us there’s a baby?”

My heart is thudding hard against my ribcage. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m freaking the fuck out too.”

She whimpers against her palm. “You don’t want it.”

“I’m not scared because there could be a baby. That’s not my fear.” I grip her elbow and tug her to me. Cupping her neck with my hand, I brush a thumb along her jaw. “I could never regret starting a family with you.”

“But the timing couldn’t be worse,” she whispers.

“No.” I let out a heavy breath. “It couldn’t. And that is what worries me. How am I going to protect you and our child? How do I keep you safe when I might be ripped away from you?”

“I hate this.” She squeezes her eyes shut and a tear drips from the corner of her lashes.

“Me too.” But I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe. I rest my forehead against hers. “I promise you, no matter what, I’ll protect you both.”

She swallows wetly. “I better talk to the doctor.”

“I’ll put it on speaker phone,” I tell her as I press the button to take it off mute and hand over the device.

“Hi, doctor.” Ivy rubs her lips together. “We’re ready.”

“There’s been a slight hiccup.” There’s irritation in her tone. “We had an issue with processing the test results.”

“What do you mean there was an issue?” I growl.

“I just got off the phone with the lab. There was a quality control issue,” the doc says. “Most of your tests weren’t affected, Ivy. But, unfortunately, the test to tell us if you are pregnant was.”

“So we don’t know?” Ivy glances up at me. The lines above her nose deepen as she tucks the edge of her thumbnail between her teeth and then thinks better of it.

There’s a weird sense of urgency in my chest. “Do we need to do another blood test or…”

“I’ll pee on a stick,” Ivy says.

“A home test will be fine,” the doctor agrees. “You can pick one up at a pharmacy. DoorDash delivers them. Any type will do.”

“And if I’m not pregnant?” Ivy asks, moving away from me to stand in front of the windows.

“From what tests we were able to run, nothing else showed up,” the doctor says. “Are you feeling better today?”

“So much better, physically,” Ivy says. “The fever broke and I got a good night’s sleep.”

“And there’ve been no more fainting spells?” the doc asks.

“No, nothing like that,” Ivy says.

“As long as you’re feeling better there’s probably no reason to run more tests,” the doctor says. “And no matter what the result of the pregnancy test is I suggest you keep resting and hydrating.”

“I can do that.” Ivy hangs up as I walk over to her.

She sinks against my chest. “That was…”

“At least nothing worrying showed up.” I pocket my phone when Ivy hands it to me over her shoulder. Her gaze stays locked on the view outside and an awkward silence follows.

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