Page 29 of Tangled Up With You

I wasn’t sure how the hell I expected her to react, but it sure as hell wasn’t to burst into hysterical laughter that lasted several seconds before she proceeded to pass the fuck out again.

Ivy

At least Iwas already sitting down the second time I fainted.

I was currently in the middle of the most epic freak-out I’d ever experienced in all my twenty-seven years, so I was looking for a silver lining wherever the fuck I could find one.

Pregnant.

I waspregnant.

I knew what the word meant, but the more I kept thinking it, the less it made sense. It was like when you repeated a word a bunch of times and it started to sound ridiculous; like fork or spelunking, or taint—the body part, not the verb.

Pregnant.

Nope. Still didn’t make a damn bit of sense.

When I came to after my second fainting spell, I was stretched out in the bed with an IV hooked up to the back of my hand, pumping a clear liquid into my body. The doctor was still there, along with a nurse who was in the middle of checking my pulse, but my friends and Connor were gone.

“You’re going to be fine, sweetie,” the nurse told me with a reassuring smile. “Just a bit of a panic attack. That’s all. It’s totally normal.”

“Really?” I asked dryly. “You have a lot of women come in here thinking they have the stomach flu, find out their pregnant, then pass out on a regular basis?”

She patted my shoulder affectionately. “Happens more often than you’d think.”

Well, at least I was in good company.

“I sent your friends out so we could get you hooked up and start getting fluids into you,” the doctor explained as he leaned over me and flicked an annoying pen light back and forth between my eyes. “I’ve administered some anti-nausea meds through your IV and once that bag is empty, you should be able to go home.”

I closed my eyes and pulled in a steadying breath, the reality of my situation finally sinking in. “And the baby?” I asked quietly, bringing my hand up to rest on my stomach. “Do you think the baby is okay?”

He smiled and patted my hand. “Your baby is just fine. However, given how intense your morning sickness has been, I’d suggest scheduling an appointment with your obstetrician as soon as possible, but you have nothing to worry about. Once you’re eating and drinking normally, you’ll be shocked at how quickly you’ll return to normal.”

I dropped my head back on the paper-thin pillow and looked up at the ceiling tiles. After today, I wasn’t sure what normal looked like. All I knew was that my life had irrevocably changed forever.

Chapter Sixteen

Connor

Anxiety made it impossible for me to sit still. The waiting room of the emergency room was only half full and surprisingly silent, making the click of my boot heel on the cold, hard floor that much louder as my knee jiggled uncontrollably.

I let out a huff as I recalled Ivy going down for the second time, falling backward onto the bed after her laughing fit, and being kicked out of the room by the doctor. I’d tried refusing at first, but he said I could either leave on my own and sit in the waiting room or be escorted out by security. The old man might have looked like Santa’s less jolly brother, but when he hit me with a cold, steely look that said he wasn’t fucking around, he reminded me more of Clint Eastwood holding a rifle on the kids who dared to step on his lawn.

I let Lennix and Rae guide me from the curtained space without issue, knowing it was the only way to stay close to Ivy... and my child she was carrying.

Christ! She was pregnant withmychild. And I didn’t have the first fucking clue how to feel about it.

Leaning forward, I braced my elbows on my knees and clasped my hands together in front of my mouth as I tried to wrap my head around everything. One moment I was pissed off that she hadn’t been taking care of herself and worried that it was something worse than a stomach virus, and the next I was finding out I was going to be a father.

A father!

I wasn’t against having kids or anything. In fact, there had been a point in my life where I believed I’d have at least one. But I thought that ship had sailed. After Amber and I split and I told myself I was never going down that road again, I just figured that meant kids weren’t in the cards.

My knee picked up the pace as Rae and Lennix’s eyes bored into the side of my face, and one quick glance told me they were both aware I was losing my shit and felt bad for me.

“Jesus,” I grunted, pushing to my feet and scrubbing my clammy palms against my jeans as I began to pace. “How long is this doctor gonna take?”

“Connor, I’m sure she’s fine,” Rae offered in a soothing voice.

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