Robyn Donald - Finding Her Prince

“Are you leaving?” He didn’t think she could surprise him any more, but somehow she always did.

“We’re done here.”

“Not by a long shot. Sit down.”

“Why should I?”

He met her gaze and the fear there went a long way toward tamping down his irritation. “For one thing this habit you have of running out on me is really getting old.”

“And?” She folded her arms over her chest. “You said ‘for one thing,’ which means there’s another reason I should sit.”

“We’re not even close to being done here.”

“What else is there to say?” Her tone oozed suspicion and mistrust, but she sat.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “This is a shock.”

“Tell me about it. At least you told me when—you know.” She looked down, suddenly shy. Charmingly so.

Nathan knew she meant he’d warned her about the condom malfunction. He realized something else, too. She didn’t trust him to not run out on her like the last bozo who’d robbed her blind then dumped on her and disappeared. If nothing else, being on his own as a kid had taught him to be the soul of responsibility.

He leaned toward her and rested his elbows on his knees as their gazes locked. Her brown eyes were a mixture of gold and cinnamon with a healthy dose of innocence thrown in. The vulnerability there tugged at him, making him want to fold her in his arms, a feeling that came out of nowhere. The things he couldn’t explain made him acutely uncomfortable.

“Look, Cindy, you’re not in this alone.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“That we’re in this together.” How lame was that answer? he thought.

“Oh, so you’re going to carry this baby for nine months?”

He hadn’t realized doubts about her intentions to do just that were even in his mind until her sarcastic statement indicated otherwise. Relief coursed through him.

“The differences in our anatomy being what they are, I can’t really do that—”

“But you would if you could,” she finished wryly. “It’s easy to promise something when there’s no way you can possibly be held accountable for not following through.”

Again he felt like he was paying the price for another guy’s sin. “I’m not running out on you like the last son of a bitch.”

Her gaze jumped to his as anger and hurt gleamed in her eyes. “So you’ll be around.”

“Yes.”

“I see.” Primly she folded her hands in her lap. “We already established that you can’t take over getting big as a battleship or deal with enough water retention to float it. So what else is there?”

“We’ll work it out as we go along,” he offered.

“Maybe you could finish up my classes and the internship I need for my degree.” She snapped her fingers and shook her head. “Nope. Wrong again. Someone would notice and I’d be out on my backside because of cheating.”

“Look, Cindy—”

“Actually, I can probably finish all of that before the baby is born.” She tapped her lip thoughtfully, but there was panic around the edges. “Then all I have to do is give birth and find a better job because I have to afford good child care along with having an infant who’s depending on me. Piece of cake.”

“The martyr act is admirable, but you didn’t get like this on your own. I’ll help you.”

“So in between saving premature babies you’re going to watch ours so I can finally get my career on track?”

“Like I said, we’ll figure things out.”

“I’ve never experienced a ‘we.’ There’s always just been me. My body, my problem.”

“My baby, too,” he said quietly.

All the fight drained out of her and she leaned back in the club chair. “Just so you know, I know I’m being unreasonable. If it’s all right with you, I think I’ll blame it on pregnancy hormones.”

“That works for me.”

As a corner of her full mouth quirked up, he felt an absurd surge of desire. The subdued lighting here in the bar made a sexy shadow of the small dent in her chin and he desperately wanted to explore it with his tongue. Somehow during that brief, passionate encounter when they’d made a baby, he’d missed out on discovering every single inch of her and wanted another opportunity. Not likely now. A good thing because it wasn’t rational. And definitely not smart.

He excelled at rational and smart, but somehow Cindy changed the rules on him. She was pregnant with his child and this was uncharted territory. It was also a medical condition and that was someplace to start.

He took a sip of his club soda. “Other than hormones, how are you feeling?”

“A little queasy,” she admitted.

He wanted to say something clinically clever, tell her how to fix it, but this wasn’t his specialty. “Have you seen an obstetrician?”

Her expression turned wry. “I just barely peed on the stick.”

“So that would be a no,” he concluded.

“No,” she agreed.

“Okay.” He nodded thoughtfully. “I can give you a couple of names. But Rebecca Hamilton is at the top of the list. She’s very good and I think you’d be comfortable with her.”

“I’ll see if she’s a tier-one doctor on the Mercy Medical insurance plan.”

“I’m sure she is because she has medical privileges there. If not, I’ll take care of it.”

“It? What does that mean?” Tension made her straighten in the club chair.

“I’ll take care of the expenses.”

“Because?”

“It’s my responsibility.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Wow, that gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling.”

“Is that the hormones talking again?”

“Yeah. Me, my hormones and I.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she met his gaze again, the hurt was back. “I’m not your responsibility, Nathan. I can take care of myself and this baby.”

Apparently, responsibility was one of those words that triggered a hormonal response. He tucked the information away and searched for something to say that wouldn’t tap into that well of defensiveness she had going on. He was attempting to say and do the right thing without research and training to fall back on. It was like trying to move a canoe with one paddle.

He blew out a long breath. “Look, Cindy, I want you to have the best prenatal care.”

“Why?”

The word responsibility came to mind yet again but it hadn’t gone over well either time. There was no reason to believe that had changed. So he rephrased. “Just so we’re clear, I am going to be involved. Because this is my child, too.”

She stared at him a long time before saying, “I guess this is a bad time to realize the flaw of sleeping with you to get you out of my life.”

And then she really did leave. He sat there for a few minutes as the situation sank in. A baby. It hit him like a meteor dropping out of the sky.

His baby .

Right now his child was growing inside her.

Holy crap.

An hour ago Nathan had been talking to Cindy and now he stood in the NICU at Mercy Medical Center, staring at a baby small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.

An infinitesimal embryo formed from his DNA and Cindy’s was actually growing into a baby. He just couldn’t wrap his head around the concept and make it real. Especially with the beeps, whooshes and noises of the hightech sensitive equipment filling the room. This was where babies ended up when there was a problem pregnancy.

“Why are you still here?”

Nathan turned at the sound of the familiar female voice. “Hi, Annie.”

The petite, blue-eyed brunette was his medical partner in the neonatology practice. They’d met in school and become friends. She’d introduced him to his late wife and was one of the select few who didn’t blame him when the relationship unraveled just before Felicia died. He knew the failures were all his and would carry the burden of that for as long as he lived. This woman’s friendship meant a lot to him, especially because he didn’t deserve it.