Page 74 of Doctor Billionaire's Surprise Baby

“Nothing substantial, really. But if it's the end of his political career, he can focus on the vineyard and winery. But he'll probably need some time to get over the embarrassment. He's a proud, proud man.”

“Have you heard from him since he left?”

I shook my head.

“I actually didn't even know he left. I didn't know Mom was still here. I was pretty clear that the conversation about mejoining the family business was done. So he has nothing else to say to me, I guess.”

“What do you think we should do about your mom?”

“I don’t know,” I said, closing my eyes again. “She seemed sincere, but who really knows with her? All it will take is her getting a little bored and then she’ll be gone. It seems risky to let her develop a relationship with our baby.”

“Well, baby won’t be here for months, so it could give you some time to feel out the situation with her.”

“You’re right, I’ll give it a try. Anyway, we should probably get going.”

“Oh my God,” Simone breathed as we looked at the image on the screen.

“That’s our baby?”

“That’s our baby.”

My heart tightened, and my pulse raced with anticipation. Seeing the ultrasound made everything so real. A tidal wave of emotion crashed through me. A tidal wave of love.

Love for Simone.

And love for our baby.

I couldn’t believe what we were seeing.

“The doctor will go over everything with you all when she comes in,” the tech said with a smile. “But congratulations, you two.”

She printed a few of the images and we sat next to each other in hard plastic chairs, just staring at our baby.

“Well, everything looks great,” the doctor said as she walked in. “You’re right on track for eight weeks, along with a due date in mid-March. Do you have any questions?”

Simone and I both sighed in relief that everything was moving along as expected. We both had about a million questions and launched into them with the doctor.

A little while later, we walked out into the sunshine and the warm early July heat.

“Simone, I love you,” I said, stopping her and pulling her in for a kiss in the middle of the parking lot. She threw her arms around my neck with a giggle, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was that she gave me a second chance to have this experience with her.

It felt like all the puzzle pieces of my life fell into place with that one tiny black-and-white picture.

We went to Seth's condo to grab all of Simone's things. Thankfully, she didn't have much. But it felt good packing up what she did have. We were officially going to live together. It felt like a step in the right direction. A huge step.

“Hugo,” Seth said, appearing in the living room and giving Simone a hug.

Simone glanced at me with unease, but she knew Seth and I had to talk. “I’m going to go pack up my things and give you two some time to catch up.” She left to her bedroom.

"So, lots has happened since we last spoke. And it looks like everything has turned out the way it should." Seth summed up the past little while quite well, I thought.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Seth. What we talked about was really a wake up call for me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate our friendship."

"Well, it was either come to an understanding or get into a fistfight. We werethatclose to either outcome." Seth heldhis thumb and forefinger close together, peering out of the miniscule separation between them, chuckling.

"You're right. But we all know I would have taken you down."

"Yeah, right, you and an army of ten yous." We both laughed. He's such a bro.

---