Page 3 of Remember That Time

My college roommate chuckled. "I don't know how much you had to drink last night, but I had to pour your hairy ass into bed around four this morning after you stumbled through the door. That must have been some party."

I squinted, not just because I was trying to get my brain to process what Tony had said, but because I was trying to remember the party.

I drew a complete blank.

Tony started to laugh even harder. "You don't remember. That's epic, man."

I grimaced as I stumbled toward the bathroom. I vaguely remembered being invited to an afterhours party at the Regency Hotel hosted by one of the medical residents I worked with. We'd all just gotten off two weeks of hell and wanted to cut loose a little.

I remember coming home after rounds at the hospital and changing into some casual clothes. I remember going to the party and accepting a drink from someone. I don't remember much after that.

Tony was right. It must have been epic.

I really needed to stop doing that. Granted, I didn't party very often, hardly ever really, but maybe I needed to stop all together. I was not a party animal and never wanted to be.

The headaches sucked.

Good thing I had today off, even if I did need to study. I pretty much studied every spare second I had. If I wasn't at the hospital doing rounds, I had my nose stuck in a book. Becoming a doctor wasn't easy, but I had my heart set on it.

I didn't plan to become an emergency room doctor or even open my own practice. I wanted to get into research. Unfortunately, that meant I needed a medical degree and several additional classes.

It was my only choice if I wanted to find a way to save myself. See, I was born an omega. I could get pregnant and carry a child. It was a secret known only to my immediate family.

It was a crapshoot every time a child was born. No one knew exactly how it happened or why it manifested in some people and not others. Sure, they had isolated the gene that caused it, but I wanted to figure out what to do for people that were born with that gene and didn't want it.

I didn't want to stop my ability to father children. I just didn't want to do it myself. I also didn't want my choices taken away from me. I had heard horror stories of omega markets and wanted nothing to do with them.

"So, who was that handsome hunk you were hanging all over last night?" Tony asked with a sly grin. "And was he any good?"

Handsome hunk?

Why did I feel like I was missing something?

Chapter One

~ Gianni ~

"You're pregnant."

I spit the vile tasting liquid in my mouth into the toilet and then took the washcloth my brother-in-law Henry was holding out to me. I quickly wiped my mouth and then pushed myself to my feet, staggering a few steps until I righted myself by holding onto the wall.

"Don't be ridiculous." My eyes darted away as I formed the lie my brain was telling me to say. I couldn't admit the truth to the man when I refused to believe it myself. "I just ate something that didn't agree with me."

It had been disagreeing with me for weeks.

"Gianni—"

"I am not pregnant!"

I couldn't be pregnant. I just couldn't be. Being pregnant implied that I'd had sexual relations with someone and I very firmly do not remember even having a date in the last two years, let alone having sex with someone.

I was not Mother Mary and this was not Immaculate Conception or an alien abduction, which meant I was not pregnant, even if all the signs—including the ten different pregnancy tests I'd taken—said otherwise.

This wasn't happening to me. My whole life would be derailed. The whole basis of my research would be debunked. How was I supposed to prove that omegas had choices when I got myself knocked up?

And who in the hell had I slept with?

That might be the biggest nagging question. I literally did not remember having sex with anyone in the last two years. And if I had, I would hope that I would remember.

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