Page 46 of A Baby to Make Her His Bride

“Nothing.” She rearranged her features, obviously not realizing he’d seen her disappointment in the mirror. “I have my first scan today. I thought you wanted to come.”

“That’s tomorrow.” How had he got that wrong? He reached for his phone and there it was in their shared calendar. His attendance was marked “optional,” so he had accepted his own day being blocked for the other commitment, not reading this one closely enough.

He swore. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine.” She was doing that thing where she acted unbothered, sitting taller and manufacturing a pleasant smile. “I’ll text you after.”

“You’re sure?” What if—No. He refused to borrow trouble.

“It will be fine,” she insisted. “But I have a video chat with one of my clients before I leave for the clinic. I should get in the shower.” She rose and slipped into the bathroom.

Vienna was petrified.

She had no reason to be. She knew she was being illogical, but she had this unrelenting fear that something would go wrong with her pregnancy. If it did, she told herself as she entered the clinic with clammy hands and an upset stomach, it was better that Jasper wasn’t here to watch her fall apart.

It would mean, however, that she and Jasper had lost their linchpin. Without this baby holding them together, what else would they have? That was what she was really afraid of.

They had grown a little closer over the last weeks as they began to intertwine their lives more fully. Dare she say, they were becoming friends? They flirted and made bad jokes and, if they happened to disagree on something, managed to work through it without tearing the other down.

It wasn’t strong enough to withstand a loss, though.

“Vienna?Hola,Mami.” The technician was very warm and chatty as she confirmed Vienna’s information and asked her how many weeks along she was.

“Twelve yesterday.” If she counted the two weeks before she and Jasper had even met, which the doctors seemed to think was important.

“You’re nervous?” the woman asked with a shrewd look at Vienna’s apprehensive face. “It can be uncomfortable, but it won’t hurt.”

“I’ve been waiting to tell people until I know this scan shows everything is well,” she admitted, watching closely as the woman smeared cold jelly on her abdomen. She searched the woman’s cheerful expression for clues, as if the technician had X-ray vision and could tell anything just from looking at her.

The instrument was about to touch her skin when there was a knock on the door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” A woman cracked the door, poking her head in. “Mr. Lindor is here. May he join you?”

“What?” Vienna lifted her head. “Yes,” she hurried to say.

“Is that Papi?” the technician asked. “Come, come. You can stand over there.”

Jasper looked every bit as powerfully handsome as he had this morning when he’d shrugged on that light gray suit jacket and kissed her goodbye. The pale glow from the ultrasound screen made his expression difficult to read, but the kiss on her brow was tender enough to leaving a lingering tingle.

“I thought you were busy?” She was floored that he had made this a priority.

“I told them to fly to site without me. If I can’t trust my team, why did I hire them?” He picked up her hand and squeezed gently. “Is everything okay?”

“We’re just starting.” The technician pressed a dull, hard instrument against Vienna’s abdomen.

Vienna gritted her teeth against the discomfort of her full bladder, waiting for—

“Here’s your baby’s heart.” The woman pointed to a fluttering glow on the screen.

“Oh,” Vienna sighed with relief. Tears came into her eyes.

Jasper wove his fingers with hers. In a very visceral way, she felt each of those flutters traveling through both of them, fusing them together.

“And already posing for selfies,” the technician teased, clicking when the baby’s profile came into focus. “You can use that for your announcement,” she told Vienna.

“We can tell people?” Jasper asked, voice not quite steady. He looked to Vienna. “No more worries?”

Logically, she knew the twelve-week mark was not a clear line that guaranteed anything. It only meant it was less likely that loss could happen, but emotionally it was a tremendous milestone for her. It was one that choked her up with joy at the miracle she was finally letting herself believe could come true.

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