Page 53 of Craving Dahlia

It feels horribly awkward as we climb into the car together. I press my lips together, looking out of the window as the car starts to drive away from the mansion, unsure of what to say or do. I’d thought I would have Evelyn with me today. I’dcountedon having Evelyn with me. And now, on a day when I already feel uncertain and nervous, I have Alek instead.

Evelyn was right that he’s the one whoshouldbe here, but right now, he’s not the one I want.

He doesn’t say a word. If he realizes how out of sorts I am, he ignores it, or maybe he just doesn’t know what to say. There’s a stiff silence as the driver takes us from the estate to the city, all the way until we reach the building that my obstetrician is located in.

“This is your doctor?” Alek looks around as we walk inside, heading for the elevator. He looks surprised, and I don’t blame him—the office is located inside an incredibly fancy skyscraper, something that looks more like it houses hedge fund offices or apartments than an OB/GYN.

“This is who Evelyn sees.” I shrug. “The doctor who oversees Dimitri and his guys referred her.”

“Hm.” Alek leans against the wall as we step into the elevator. “If Dimitri is trusting Evelyn with them, then they should be fine.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, looking at him from across the elevator.Is that concern I hear, somewhere in there?He’d never admit it, I’m sure, but it definitely sounds like he’s worried about how good of a doctor I’m seeing, and if they live up to the flashy exterior of their office.

He goes to sit down while I get checked in, and when I turn around to look for him, I can see at least half of the women waiting for their own appointments are outright staring at him. I can’t even blame them, either—he looks like some kind of insouciant god, sprawled back in one of the chairs, tattooed hands resting on his thighs, the longer front of his dark blond hair falling forward until he notices and pushes it back.

I feel a strange, combined flicker of jealousy and satisfaction. He’s not really mine, not in any way that counts, so I don’t actually have any right to feel jealous. But heishere with me, and there’s something satisfying in a primal, possessive kind of way to know that everyone in this room will think he’s mine.

If he notices all of the women staring at him, he doesn’t show it. His gaze is fixed on me and only me, following me all the way until I come to sit down next to him, and that, too, sends a flush of warmth through me.

Alek doesn’t say a word as we sit there. I try to thumb through a magazine, but I’m too nervous, wishing that Evelyn was here, wishing he’d say something, wishing that this appointment was over already. When they call my name, I all but jump out of my chair, and I hear the sound of Alek getting up too as he follows me.

The nurse openly stares at him as we walk up. “This is your—” she starts to say, and Alek speaks for the first time since we got off the elevator.

“I’m her husband,” he says gruffly, his Russian accent a bit thicker than normal, and I see the nurse flush slightly.

“Of course. Follow me.”

She gets my vitals and asks me a handful of questions about how I’ve been feeling. I notice that Alek seems to be paying attention as I answer, his gaze flicking back and forth between me and the nurse, a small line forming on his brow.Is he actually worried about me?I can’t imagine he’d ever admit iteven if that were true, but it makes something feel soft in my chest at the thought.

Or maybe I’m giving him too much credit, and he’s just waiting for me to slip up somehow, to say something that will prove his theory that I’ve been lying about the pregnancy all along.

“The doctor will be in to see you shortly,” the nurse says, as I finish answering the questions. “Shouldn’t be too long.”’

Alek sits stiffly in his chair, his mouth set in a line, and I see his gaze flicking around the room. For a minute, I can’t help but think he seems nervous. But that can’t be true.

A few minutes later, we hear a knock, and the doctor walks in. She’s a pretty woman, maybe ten years older than me, with long, straight brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and a calm, relaxing demeanor….though Alek seems to tense even more as she walks into the room. She glances at him and then back at me.

“This is your?—”

“Husband,” I supply. “Alek.”

She nods. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Doctor Fenwick. I’m just going to give you a regular check-up, and we’ll do an ultrasound. Nothing too invasive, I promise. I just want to see how things are going so far.”

I nod, my face heating as she starts the exam. I hadn’t thought about having Alek here for something so intimate, but he’s watching everything she does, his gaze sharp and narrow like he’s waiting for her to hurt me in some way.

It’s strange, but oddly touching. For the first time since that night, all of his attention is on me, and not in a combative way. It feels like he cares, and as strange as it is—I like it.

Dr. Fenwick gets out the things for the ultrasound, and I feel my heart flip in my chest. I have the sudden urge to reach out and grab Alek’s hand, and even though I resist it, I can’t help looking at him. He’s still watching the doctor like a hawk, and Iwant to tell him to relax, but I don’t. That would mean saying out loud that he’s tense and on guard, and I know he’d deny it.

I lay back at the doctor’s urging, getting as comfortable as I can on the table. I wince as the cold gel hits my stomach, and Alek sits forward a little, his gaze flicking to me.

“I’m fine,” I tell him, and I see his face instantly shutter, as if I’ve caught him doing something he shouldn’t. As if concern for his wife is something he needs to keep hidden.

I don’t understand him. I wish he would open up to me, so I could. But I don’t have time to think about it, because the doctor leans forward, touching the wand to my stomach as she starts the ultrasound.

For a moment, it’s just static on the screen. And then she smiles, pointing to a faint shape.

“It’s very hard to see,” she says. “But that’s your baby.”

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