Page 53 of Doctor Billionaire's Surprise Baby

He reached for my hand and I gladly took it as he led me out of the building and called a taxi. The city lights sped past us in the setting sun as we chatted about the day.

“By the way, you all were meeting with that medical team from The Netherlands this morning, didn't you?” I asked later as we sat at the counter eating pizza. “How did it go?”

"Pretty damn well, actually," he boasted, a proud smile on his face. "They seemed impressed with our vision, and I think they even want to franchise our idea that we created with our clinic. It sounds all a little surreal. The clinic created by four of us punksfresh out of school is something other people in other countries want to emulate. The whole business side of medicine will be a whole new world for me. It's going to be exciting."

"Congratulations!" I exclaimed, my eyes lighting up with excitement for him. "Wow, that's amazing news."

"Thanks, Simone," he replied, his hand finding mine as we walked to the bar. "I couldn't have done it without you, actually. The help you gave on the presentation deck last week really helped explain our clinic to them. They were looking a little bored until they got to your slides with patient stories. You were right, showing real-life impact made all the difference."

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Dr. Barone. I’m just glad I could help.”

Hugo topped off my glass of wine, and I couldn’t miss the sparkle in his deep brown eyes.

“How is your class going?”

“It’s gonna be tough. But I think I found a solid study group. They’re all smart and seem like they’ll hold up their own end of the bargain when it comes to work. So I’m scared, but also optimistic.”

“Good. You can do anything, Simone. I wish you had more confidence in yourself sometimes. If you saw yourself the way I see you, you would know that you could conquer the world.”

My heart skipped a beat at the unexpected compliment. If only I could conquer his heart.

“Thanks, Hugo,” I murmured into my glass.

"Here's to us taking on the world," Hugo toasted, raising his glass. Our glasses clinked together, and I took a long sip of wine, Hugo’s eyes never leaving mine.

“Shit, I’m so exhausted,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes and resting my head on the counter. “I’ve literally never been so tired in my life.”

“Have you been sleeping okay?”

“No, not really, Hugo.”

Hugo winced at my sharp tone.

“Maybe we should talk about you dropping to part-time at the clinic.”

My eyes were impossibly heavy, and my body ached from head to toe. It must have been the stress catching up with me suddenly.

“I’ll be okay until I start school full-time in the fall.”

“At least make sure you get some rest.”

“Okay, sure.” Seems like he didn't realize that he was the reason I couldn't sleep. I could handle all of this better if I just had some shut-eye.

“Look, I know we have to talk,” Hugo said with a sigh. “I just haven’t been sure how to have this conversation.”

Uh-oh. This was where he wanted to leave me.

“I meant every word I said in Italy. My feelings for you are very, very real, Simone. I just… well, there's a million things. The first being that I'm not used to opening up to anyone. All these," he swept his hand over his entire chest, "emotions… well, they're new to me. I've never felt some of these feelings before. You've seen the emotional training I've gotten while growing up. I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm just saying that all of this is scary for me." He paused. "Secondly, there have been some developments in my immigration case and, basically, I have a little extra time. So we can wait a little longer before we get married. That’s all. I’m not changing my mind about you or about anything. I just don’t want to rush if we don’t have to, because I don't want to push you into anything. If that’s what you’ve been worried about.”

Despite my brain’s warnings, my heart perked up a bit.

“So why have you been so distant lately?”

Hugo let out another deep sigh.

“I don’t know, honestly. Part of it has been work. This is a critical time for the clinic. Part of it has been family. My dad has been calling me relentlessly. I let them all go to voicemail, but I know I’m gonna have to deal with it all eventually and it’s been stressing me out. It’s no excuse to treat you badly, though, and I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel that way. It's back to my first point. I suck at dealing with my emotions.” Hugo gave me a weak, apologetic smile.

I nodded, emotion threatening to spill out of me if I even opened my mouth.

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