Page 77 of Catnip, Claws, and Chaos

“There's no baby!” The words rip from my throat. I instantly regret the outburst as Sarah's face crumples.

“You know what I mean!” Her voice rises before she catches herself, inhaling deeply. “You're right. Forgive me, it's none of my business.” Unshed tears glisten in her eyes.

Guilt sucker-punches me in the chest. Sarah can't have kids because of some bullshit called primary ovarian insufficiency they diagnosed when she was nineteen. She never bitches about it, never gets all bitter, but I've seen how she flinches whenpeople talk about having babies, how she holds herself together by a thread when she's holding someone's newborn.

And here I am, probably knocked up without even trying, acting like it's the end of the world when she'd cut off her own arm to be in my shoes.

“No, I'm the one who's sorry.” I yank her into a hug, burying my face in her hair. “You're right, I'm being a total asshole about this.”

Just then someone knocks on the door, and I realize I haven’t put on the smock. “Come in,” I call anyway.

The handle moves, and the door slowly opens. The doctor wears a white lab coat with his name tag pinned to his chest. His head is lowered over what I imagine is my medical records.

“Emily Baker?” he asks without looking up.

“That’s me,” I say.

He raises his dark head. Yep, the universe definitely has it out for me.

“Stephen?” I ask, my voice trembling. “As in Stephen, Logan’s friend?”

He nods. “And you’re Emily, his admin. What can I do for you?”

“It’s not his,” I blather. “I mean, the baby’s not Logan’s. It’s... someone else’s.”

Stephen’s dark eyes scrutinize me with such intensity that I’m pretty sure they can see inside me. “Are you pregnant, Emily?” There’s no hostility in his voice, but even so, I can’t help feeling like I’m on trial.

What are the chances that, of all the doctors in New York, Sarah just happened to choose Logan’s best friend? Yep, the entire universe is laughing at me.

“I don’t know,” I murmur. “I tried to take a test, but let’s just say it didn’t end well.”

“I see,” he says simply without taking his eyes from my face. I don’t know much about Stephen except for the few things Logan’s told me. Apparently, they met in college and have been friends ever since. “I’m bound to secrecy, Emily. Whatever you tell me doesn’t leave this room.”

I take a deep breath. “I don’t know if I’m pregnant,” I whisper again, my eyes filling with tears. “Could we just find out once and for all?”

“Of course,” he says with a kind smile. “Do you feel comfortable allowing me to examine you?”

I shake my head vehemently.

“That’s what I imagined.”

Something about Stephen is very calming. I should feel embarrassed because of what happened between him and Kate, or maybe upset about the fact that he could call Logan and tell him everything. Instead, gazing into Dr. Hall’s eyes, I relax a little for the first time today.

“So,” he says, keeping his voice calm and friendly. Maybe it’s a trick they teach them in medical school to calm the patients down. Whatever it is, it works. “There are two things we can do. You can take another pregnancy test if you want an immediate answer or else you can wait for the results of your blood test, but that will take a few days.”

“I don’t want to wait,” I admit, defeated. “But I don’t seem to have any luck with pregnancy tests.”

Stephen smiles at me. “I can help you. I know it’s scary and that you’re very upset right now, but trust me.”

I nod. “Okay, what do I do?”

He turns and goes to one of the wall cabinets, then takes out three packages I immediately recognize as pregnancy tests. “You’ve already taken one, so I think you know how they work. Through that door”—he gestures with his head—“is a bathroom. Take all the time you need, okay?”

“Yes,” I whisper, taking the three packages from his hand and going into the bathroom. Sarah doesn’t follow me this time, and I suddenly feel panicky. What if I can’t pee on the sticks? “Sarah?” I call from behind the door. “Could you sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ for me?”

There’s silence on the other side of the door, and then I hear a muffled masculine laugh. Damn, I forgot Stephen was there.

“No, I can’t, Emily!” Sarah responds. Even though I can’t see her, I’m sure she’s blushing.

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