Page 16 of Christmas Games
His heart was thudding inside his chest. Tears ran down the sides of Zoe’s face and he gently wiped them away, feeling them as his own.
‘So, if you look at the screen, you can see your baby there.’
‘I know,’ said Zoe. ‘I haven’t passed it yet.’
‘And there’s the heartbeat.’
Rory’s grip on her hand tightened. ‘What?’
‘Your baby’s heartbeat. They’re doing fine and dandy.’
Zoe sobbed, and he hugged her into his chest. ‘It’s okay, Zoe. Our baby’s okay.’
Our baby. Our baby. Our baby.The words bounced around inside his head. There was a future child inside her, and he’d nearly killed it.
The woman removed the probe and handed Zoe a wad of paper towels.
‘You can put your clothes back on now.’
Zoe was still crying so much that her body was clumsy, so Rory helped her dress, then sat her on his lap and curled his arms protectively around her.
‘Why did this happen?’ he asked the sonographer, needing to hear from them if it was his fault.
‘Well, did you know, Zoe, that you have a bicornuate uterus?’
‘A what?’ she asked.
‘It’s heart shaped. About four in a thousand women have them. Baby MacGinley is implanted on one side, but the other doesn’t have anything in it, so thinks you are due a period. This is what caused the bleeding. It’s likely it will keep going for a while, so don’t be too concerned.’
‘What does this mean for the pregnancy?’ she asked.
‘It’s still early days, so difficult to say. Some women do have issues such as preterm or breech babies, but others go through life never knowing they have this condition.’
Still early days. Issues. Preterm. Breech.
He’d done this to her, and he could do it again.
Zoe wantedto speak to her mum, so Rory gave her some privacy, leaving her in the hospital cafe with a pot of tea and a slice of cake.
He then stood outside under a grey sky, the crushing weight of responsibility pressing down on him. He was used to putting his big feet in situations, but now his big cock had almost lost them their child.
Taking out his phone, he rang Charlie. He didn’t care what time it was in LA. He needed his best mate.
Charlie picked up just as Rory was expecting it to go to voicemail.
‘This had better be good,’ he said, his voice gravelly. ‘I’ve got a photoshoot in the morning and need my beauty sleep.’
‘I need some advice.’
‘Huh? No attempt at a witty comeback? No slagging offCosmopolitan’sSexiest Man of the Year?’
‘Not this time.’
There was a pause.
‘Fuck, okay. Hang on.’
Rory heard a slapping sound.
