Page 29 of Ours

“Yeah, that’s true. Fourteen weeks, plenty of time,” Lexi replied, fighting back tears.

Heading back to her monitor, the nurse went to work entering the baby’s information. Focusing on her task, she was completely oblivious to the confused stare Kade was giving Lexi.

“What’s wrong?” he mouthed. “Is it the baby?”

Frowning at him, Lexi quickly wiped away the tears rolling down her face. She could never let him know how much she hated herself for allowing Nikki to kill Leo. Part of her wished she just would have allowed Valentina to shoot her.

Pressing his lips together, he struggled with the uncomfortable weight of not knowing what was going on with her. Was she emotional from all of the hormones swirling around in her body? Was the gravity of the day’s events finally catching up with her? Was she thinking about her limp dicked husband?Fuck.He hoped not.

Finishing the last sentence of her report, Emma looked up from her monitor at Lexi. Her blue eyes widened as she noticed the distress in her patient’s face. “Oh, please don’t worry! Everything is ok! You’re doing well and so is your baby boy. Why don’t you drink that juice while I go and get a wheelchair. When I come back, I’ll take the IV out and we’ll head to Ultrasound. Is that alright with you?”

Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, Lexi focused her blurry vision on the nurse’s kind face. Unable to speak, she nodded an answer. She didn’t deserve even an ounce of the compassion she was giving her.

“Great! Ok, I’ll be back in just a second. I’m sure you two can’t wait to see your sweet baby, that’s always the fun part!” the nurse said with a wink, relieved to see her patient’s face suddenly light up.

...

Wiggling the back of her head against the medical pillow, Lexi tried to ignore the mixture of excitement and trepidation that had settled into the pit of her stomach. While she was ecstatic to see her son again, Kade’s hushed comments during her examination had her on edge. She prayed that the ultrasound wouldn’t reveal any abnormalities.

Adjusting Lexi’s medical gown to expose her belly, the technician reached to her side for a bottle of lubricant. “I always try to warm the gel, but this is a new bottle so it might not becompletelywarm. I apologize in advance if it’s a little chilly,” said the redhead, offering her a kind grin.

Shaking herself from her racing thoughts, Lexi met the tech’s warm brown eyes. She hadn’t heard a word that the woman had said, but didn’t have the energy to ask her to repeat herself.

“Ok,” she muttered, ignoring Kade as he took her hand.

Opening the plastic bottle, the ultrasound tech smacked it on her knee before turning it over and squirting the sticky substance onto her bump.

Shocked by the icy cold gel, Lexi yelped as it touched her skin. Was this a medical procedure, or a torture session?

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the tech. “I did warn you, though!”

Swallowing a curse, Lexi nodded her head. Trying to get used to the sensation, she found comfort in a series of sharp kicks just above her bladder. It seemed as if her boy was just as startled, the thought that he was just as miffed as she made her snort.

Staring fondly at his love, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. It was a shame that she had no idea how adorable she was. He could listen to her snorting all day.

Frowning at him, Lexi clawed her nails into the skin of his hand as hard as she could. How dare the jackass laugh at her plight.

Wincing in pain, he yanked his hand away. Her hot and cold attitude made his head spin. He didn’t think he would ever get used to her damn hormones. “Hey, don’t be mad at me, this is all Susan’s fault,” he said, motioning to the ultrasound tech.

Shaking her head, Susan laughed under her breath and pressed the flat of the ultrasound wand against Lexi’s stomach. Just because the chiseled man was incredibly handsome didn’t mean he could blame her for this little spat.

“Hey, I warned her!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with humor.

Breathing out a sigh, Lexi reached for his hand once again. He was annoying the hell out of her, but she did need his support. Shewantedhis support. “I’m sorry,” she said aloud, hoping that both Kade and Susan would accept the shared apology.

“Think nothing of it,” Susan replied, flipping on the speaker to hear the baby’s heartbeat.

Bringing her hand to his lips, Kade pressed a kiss against her knuckles. Little did she know there wasn’t much she would ever have to apologize for. “You can scratch meanytimeyou want to, Sweetheart,” he said with a wink.

Giving him a genuine smile, Lexi turned her attention to the monitor attached to the wall beside her. Within a handful of seconds, the black and white skeletal image of her son appeared on the screen, causing her to gasp in awe.

Leaning in, Kade blinked his dark eyes as his brain registered what he was looking at. Within a split second, his entire world changed once again. This was really happening, there was an actual baby in her womb. He was going to be a father. Of course these were things he already knew, but seeing his son cemented everything. There was no turning back, now.

“Oh my God,” he said in amazement.

Pressing the wand against Lexi’s stomach, Susan allowed the parents a second to gawk at their child. The first look was always magical.

“What a cutie,” she cooed.

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