Page 9 of Zac

“We need to get your weight and blood pressure,” Rosy Cheeks says, looking over my shoulder at Zac once again.

“You heard her big guy.” I wave my hand toward the chair. “She needs to weigh you and check your heart rate.”

The nurse looks mortified, Zac only arches his brow and smirks. Instantly I realize I am wearing my jealousy on my sleeve. And I do not have a right to feel jealous. So instead I move to the area, allowing her to weigh me and slip the cuff over my arm. When she says my weight, I ignore the ping of irritation I feel. It took me so long to get back to my goal weight after having Grayson. I hate that I will be starting all over again.

When we are tucked away in a room, and the nurse has excused herself to get the doctor, I avoid eye contact with Zac. I can practically feel his eyes burning holes in the side of my head.

“I’m not really into blondes,” Zac says out of nowhere and I look at him out of the corner of my eyes. He is thumbing through a magazine not even looking in my direction. “I prefer brunettes, even black hair. A little feisty,” he adds, still flipping through the pages. “Huge bonus if they have green eyes, gets me every single time.”

A trace of a smile graces his lips and I try not to smile in return. He knew what he was doing, describing me, like I’m his type. Seriously I know what it was with us, sex, nothing more. There wasn’t this deep hidden attraction he felt for me, I was a warm body. After all I am the one that initiated it.

However I definitely noticed him from day one, parts of my body that had been asleep woke instantly.

“Sit over there and be quiet,” I tell him, making his smile widen. I couldn’t hold back any longer, just as the doctor steps inside.

“Presley Higgins?” he asks, looking up from his iPad and it’s my turn to drool a little. This cannot be my doctor. “I’m Dr. Jess.” He steps forward holding out his hand and I say nothing. He offers my hand a gentle squeeze before turning to Zac to introduce himself.

Suddenly I feel hot, like my ears and cheeks are burning up, and damn it my nipples are hard. I am mortified, I should not be getting all hot and bothered by a guy that is about to be all up in my lady bits and not in a pleasurable kind of way.

The appointment feels like it goes by in a blur. When Dr. Jess slips the wand into me I swallow hard and look over at Zac who looks just as uncomfortable as I feel. I am sure for two different reasons but this experience is somewhat horrifying. I want to laugh it is all so ridiculous.

But when the sound of a heartbeat overtakes the quietness of the room, I forget all about Dr. Yummy and look toward the screen. Zac moves forward and we are both immediately enthralled by what we see.

“Strong heartbeat,” the doctor says with a smile. “You are measuring perfectly with the dates that you gave. I’d say we are looking at a June twenty-second due date.”

I notice the way that Zac’s body tenses and then his eyes flood with tears. Quickly he does all he can to regain his composure as his nostrils flare and he breathes slowly out. I want to ask if he is okay but decide to wait until we are alone.

The rest of the appointment goes by in a hurry, we step out, stopping at the window to make my next appointment before stepping outside into the cool air.

“So that was intense,” he says with a smile, leading me toward my car. I wait until we are at my door and I turn to face him.

“June twenty-second.” His eyes widen a small fraction but enough for me to confirm it was the date that caused his reaction. “Is that a day that means something?”

I was expecting him to say an ex’s birthday or something, but instead he turns, leaning back against the car and looks up at the sky. “That was my mother’s birthday.”

Suddenly my emotions go a little crazy, like they have been doing every single day for the last few weeks. I may not know a lot about Zac, but what I do know is that his parents were killed when he was ten.

“Maybe that’s a sign she’s with you.”

“Hmm.” He makes a little grunt that sounds a little like a laugh too. “Maybe.” He shrugs.

“What was your mother’s name?”

He is quiet for a minute and I wonder if maybe I’ve stepped over a line. Then he takes a deep breath, smiling like he’s picturing her. “Corinne.”

“That’s beautiful.” I wasn’t just saying that. Leaning back at his side, I nudge his shoulder with my own. “So what would you think if this little bean is a girl and we name her Corinne?” I notice his nostrils flare and I know it’s not out of anger. “We could call her Cori for short.”

“I’d like—” He clears his throat. “Like that.”

I want to ask what his father’s name was, just in case it’s a boy. But I think we’ve had our daily limit of emotional topics for today. I can tell already that he is hanging on by a thread.

ChapterSeven

Zac

I walk into Deranged Ink to find some kind of debate taking place in the lobby. Oliver and Luna on one side, Aurora, Jace, Daxton, and even Bree who is holding Piper in her arms on the opposite side. No one looks happy, well no one but Oliver. He is gleaming, standing with his legs wide, his arms over his chest and a grin on his face.

“It’s what we wanted,” he declares.

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