Page 111 of Doctor I Do

I stride to the door and open it.

Mike stands in my entry. I shouldn’t be surprised. I ignored his call earlier.

I clench my jaw.

He knows.

“Mike,” I answer, keeping my voice emotionless.

“Alex.” He steps inside, and I walk to my kitchen to make some food. I need to eat.

I know why he’s here, and I know I’m being a man child, but I don’t want to talk about it. Because it’ll mean I have to be vulnerable and that’s not me. I’m the easy-going guy, not the talk-my-feelings-out guy.

Seeing Tahlia today has me feeling more restless.

I move to the kitchen and grab an apple. Mike stares at me. If he wants to talk to me standing up, then go for it. I don’t have the energy.

“What happened? he asks.

I lower the apple with a sigh. “She told me she was pregnant.”

He rubs his jaw in thought. “And what’s so bad about that?”

“I’m not ready for a kid, Mike. Fuck.”

He snorts. “No one is.”

Staring at him, I ask, “How did you know you were ready for a kid?”

“I didn’t,” he says with a shrug, pulling out a stool and sitting down. “It wasn’t planned either.”

“So, you just accepted it happily?” I ask.

“It was either accept it, or lose her and the baby,” he deadpans.

I nod. Understanding his difficult decision. I don’t want to lose Tahlia, but a baby is a lot to take on. Listening to the doctor talk today cemented that.

“Do you want to cancel the wedding?” he asks, pulling me right out of my thoughts.

Cancel the wedding?

Looking down at my hand, where soon I’m supposed to be wearing a gold wedding ring, my answer is immediate. “No.”

His firm grip grabs my shoulder, and he meets my eyes head on. “Do you want to lose her, dumbass?”

“Fuck no. I love her. I’m shit scared now that the things I imagined in a fantasy with her are coming true. Like having a kid and teaching him or her how to swim or playing with Ethan. I pictured it all, but now it’s happening. I’m freaking out.”

“I thought so. So, pull your head out of your ass, stop being scared, and go get her. Figure it all out together.”

Mike leaves me sitting there without another word.

I love Tahlia. I need her. She’s everything to me. I run my hand through my hair, pondering how to fix this.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and bring up her name to call her. But as I stare at the screen, I can’t pull the trigger, as something inside me stops me. Even if it destroys me, I can’t call her. I have to see her. I rush to grab my keys and run for the door to drive to her old house.

During the drive, my heart is pounding as I worry that I’ve fucked up the greatest thing in my life. Her.

Chapter 39

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