Page 77 of No Going Back
Janie lifted her brows. “I told you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dianna wiped at the line of sweat collecting on her upper lip as she tried to ignore the increasing urge to throw up again. “What plague have I been infected with?”
“The kind that can hang around for about nine months.” The nurse cringed a little. “You’re pregnant.”
Dianna blinked at her. “That’s not possible. I can’t get pregnant. I have PCOS.”
“PCOS can make it more difficult, but it definitely doesn’t make it impossible.” The nurse went back to messing with the IV. “And I can assure you, you are definitely pregnant.” She collected some items and lined them down the tray. “When was the date of your last period?”
“I don’t know. I’ve always been irregular.” Irregular enough that it had never really been worth tracking.
“That’s okay. The doctor’s already scheduled you for an ultrasound, but we need to get some fluids in you before then so you start feeling better.” The nurse went to work on her IV, but Dianna didn’t register any of it.
She was pregnant.
All those dreams she’d given up on after trying to have them for so long just fell right into her lap. Her uterus, actually.
“So.” Janie pursed her lips, lifting her brows as her eyes moved around the room. “Should I have the safe sex talk with you, or...”
“It might be a little late for that.” Dianna let her head fall back to the mattress as she struggled to wrap her mind around everything. “I can’t be pregnant. I tried for years when I was married before. Years.”
“I promise. You are pregnant.” The nurse taped her IV into place. “I also promise you should start feeling better really soon.”
Dianna shook her head as the nurse walked out, overwhelmed and still a little disbelieving. “This is insane.”
“Is it though?” Janie shrugged. “I mean, you tried to get pregnant with an asshole for years and it never worked. A few weeks with someone who maybe isn’t as big of an asshole as he used to be and, boom.” She exploded her hands, fingers flaring out. “Super pregnant.”
“Oh God.” Dianna covered her face. “Griffin.”
The shock was significant enough it hadn’t yet occurred to her that Griffin was a part of this.
“You’ve got to tell him.” Janie’s tone was gentle. “And you’ve got to tell him soon.” She tapped the bed with one finger. “Like, right now.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
GRIFFIN
THIS COULDN’T BE happening.
Griffin screeched into the parking lot of the same hospital he brought Amelie to less than a month ago, whipping his truck into the closest space he could find. He opened the door as he shut off the engine, not even paying attention to whether or not he locked the doors as he ran toward the emergency room entrance.
When Janie called he assumed it was to let him know how her visit with Dianna had gone. Not for a second did he expect to hear she’d ended up taking Dianna to the hospital, dehydrated and lethargic.
He rushed to the desk, hand tapping the counter as he waited for someone to come help him. Finally a woman in scrubs came to give him directions, offering up the bay number Dianna was in before unlocking the door so he could go back.
The only thing that kept him from running was the fear he would pass her by. He walked as fast as he could while reading off the numbers, boots squeaking against the linoleum, until he found the one he was looking for. A curtain closed off the front portion, and he stood there for a second, unsure what to do.
What he had the right to do.
“Di?” He couldn’t go straight in. Right now he was nothing to her. Not a boyfriend. Not a partner. Maybe not even a friend.
“Come in.” Dianna sounded surprisingly perky considering the picture Janie had painted him, and a little of the fear squeezing his chest relaxed. Griffin pulled back the curtain’s edge, peeking into the space.
Dianna sat upright, a tray positioned over her lap as she nibbled on the corner of a saltine cracker and took a sip from a can of ginger ale. Her skin was pale and there were circles under her eyes. Her dark hair was limp and tangled and her bright eyes were a little duller than normal.
And she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever fucking seen.
She gave him a little smile. “Hey.”
