Page 80 of Bargain with the Irish Devil

“No, I know I should. But only once or twice after my yearly, then I forget again. Is there a reason why you’re doing it now?”

“Your body is going to go through a lot of changes with hormones, and you’ll pay more attention. So, a bump you might have had for years will catch your attention and have you worried. This is to take everything into account, and sadly, there are things women should have been paying attention to and haven’t until now. Your appointments are going to be monthly—unless there’s a concern you have. So if something comes up, by all means, call me, but this will hopefully keep you from being stressed between appointments.”

“That reminds me. I was looking through the coverage for ultrasounds, and insurance only covers two. With her concern, I don’t believe that’s sufficient. I’d like to have one each month. I have no problem covering out-of-pocket costs.”

Looking down at Miranda, she shakes her head. “You weren’t kidding about him being overprotective.”

Miranda shrugs. “Nope. But I don’t mind. It’s because he cares.”

“I’ll make a note of it.” The doctor nods. “Okay, can you scootch down a little more for me?”

“Sorry, I hate this part.” Miranda sighs. Her eyes meet mine, and I see the question in them. I’m up and by her side, taking her hand in mine. “Thank you.” The words are small.

I run a hand over her hair. “You’re welcome?—”

“Ouch.” She mutters and covers her eyes with her wrist.

“Sorry.” The doctor shakes her head. “Your doctor didn’t note you have a tilted cervix.”

“Is that a problem?” I wonder.

“No, not a problem, but I would have gone with a plastic speculum, not a metal one. I don’t hate plastic. However, the last few we had didn’t want to stay open, so I’ve reverted back to metal until we get a new shipment. Okay, all done.” She pulls off her gloves then opens Miranda’s file. After reading through it, she takes a pen from her bun and writes something in it.

“And now we’re going to get an image to confirm.” The screen doesn’t show much that I can see. She presses a button and prints out something that doesn’t look any bigger than a receipt.

Miranda and I look at it confused.

The doctor chuckles. “This right here. It’s giving the correct size as indicated by the HCG levels. Everything looks good. As I said, all your blood testing looks good. We’re sending off the smear as a preventative, not out of concern. There’s no reason I can see why you shouldn’t have a healthy pregnancy. That said, things happen we can’t always explain. Any bleeding, spotting, fever, or aches that are new, give me a call. If not, I’ll see you in a month. Okay?”

Miranda nods. “Thank you.”

“All right. Mr. Kelly, a word, please.”

Annoyed at leaving Miranda to dress alone. I follow the doctor. She’s standing in an exam room next to the one we were in. Once I’m inside, she closes the door.

One eyebrow is up as she studies me. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t go back in there and tell her that you fed her Clomid to get her pregnant.”

I chuckle. “You can if you want to. However, it will only leave her more concerned than ever that there will be issues in her pregnancy. My wifewantsthis pregnancy. She’s wanted to be a mother for years. And what my wife wants, she gets. I discovered it was likely her ex-husband who was the issue, not her. So I got ahold of the Clomid and gave it to her. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant in six months with the Clomid, I would have suggested we go down the fertility route and include doctors. It could have been the Clomid—it might not have been. It was one single round of Clomid. And multiple attempts on my part, with her eager enthusiasm.”

Her sigh is annoyed. It’s clear she doesn’t want to tell Miranda. If she did, she would have already.

“You saw how happy and hopeful she is. This isn’t a case of making the best of a bad situation. Would I rather she never know? Yes, but only because I want her to believe there was never anything wrong with her. Her ex blamed her for their lack of a child. It was bullshit then, and it would be now. But she’ll always worry in the back of her mind.”

I’m not looking forward to Miranda ever finding out. The damn medication was supposed to be out of her system within thirty days of the last time she took it. She’ll be pissed—I have no doubt about it. It will take her a hard minute to calm down. I would rather her not be upset until after she’s had the baby.

Shaking her head, another sigh. “Fine. God, you are annoying as hell.”

CHAPTER 25

Miranda

Our wedding day is better than I dreamed. Declan turned the backyard into a wonderland filled with so many flowers I don’t want to even think of what it costs.

The wedding is small, which I appreciate. I would never have been comfortable with a hundred guests. We only have a little more than fifty people in total.

Lydia is here with her husband and helped me get dressed. The dress was one she helped me pick out. It’s a frothy chiffon, beaded, and lace wedding dress that only needed minimal alterations to fit. Thankfully, Lydia knew someone who was willing to do them in the time I needed.

Brenna is also here with baby Kieran and a glowing Colm. I’ve talked with Brenna, and she apologized for her misunderstanding and the break it caused between me and Declan. But Declan refused to allow her to take the blame, telling her it was his own fault.

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