Page 47 of Midnight Danger

“First baby?” the receptionist asked.

He nodded, panic still lurking in his eyes. I hiccupped, then started to laugh. This was the man who didn’t think twice about shooting someone, the man who’d killed Malcolm because he dared to touch me. The same man who couldn’t handle me crying over my favourite shoes.

“What the fuck?” he muttered darkly.

“Shush,” I said, covering my tummy with my hands. “No swearing in front of the baby.”

Xavier turned to the receptionist for help. She smiled benignly. “Doctor will call you when she’s ready.”

“She’d better be ready soon,” Xavier grated out, taking my arm to lead me to a chair in the waiting room.

I fell quiet, sitting watching him. He stared back at me.

“Finished?” he asked in a strained voice.

“I think so.” I glanced away to stare at the wall. “It’s still your fault.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You have to be nice to me since I’m the one getting too fat for my shoes and your baby is giving me funny hormones.”

His mouth gaped open in disbelief.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew?” A woman around my age stood looking at us expectantly. I was going to correct her about my title, but Xavier looked ready to strangle me already.

It was only when I was lying on the examination table with cold gel on my tummy that a wave of nostalgia hit me. I’d tried to avoid wanting my mum for years. Megan and I had each other at graduation and other significant events, but suddenly I needed my mum.

Xavier’s hand tightened on mine when a tear rolled down my cheek. “You doing okay?”

“Is it silly to want my mum when she’s been dead most of my life?”

“Nope. I feel the same every day about mine. She was the one woman who owned my heart. I like to think she found you to take over shouting and bossing me around.” He was trying to tell me I owned his heart now without saying the words in front of the doctor.

“Baby has a good, strong heartbeat.”

Our eyes moved to the screen and the tiniest little person in our life. A little flutter on the screen indicated the heart of our baby. Unconditional love blossomed in my chest for the tiny peanut-shaped person.

Xavier leaned closer to see the screen, his face filled with wonder. “Look at you, baby Bubble.”

If I didn’t already love the idiot, his expression would make me fall in love with him.

“Let me just check all your measurements and we’ll get your delivery date sorted and your chart started.”

Holy shit I was going to be a mum! The image on the screen made everything real. “We’re going to be parents,” I whispered.

“I can hardly wait,” Xavier said, pressing a kiss on my hand.

He made me feel safe and confident that we could do this. Suddenly the light at the end of the tunnel brightened and I could see a horizon with blue skies. It was no longer the lights of a train ready to hit me.

***

Chapter Seventeen

Xavier

If my jaw tightened any more, my back molars would shatter. My gaze moved rapidly over the screens in front of me, my fingers typing.

“You need to sleep,” Ash said from beside me.

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