Page 13 of Mending Hearts

I watched her for a minute, torn between respecting her wishes and trying to help her navigate all those feelings I was struggling to grasp, too. Not that I’d admit any of that to her. I’d asked for her to take this path, and it was up to me to carry all three of us if I had to. “I can stay.”

“That’s not going to help. I kinda never want to see you again.” She ran a frustrated hand through her hair, piling it over one shoulder. “Instead, I’ve agreed to be tied to you forever. One stupid decision after another.”

On my way to the door, I took a lollipop out of my pocket and slid it onto the dresser. “I’ll just leave this here in case you need a reminder.”

“A reminder of what?”

“That I’m here. That I give a shit. That you’re not in this alone.”

Her features softened, and she flipped her hair around again. “What flavor?”

“Lemon ginger, which my degree assures me is good for morning sickness. Stumbled across a doctor’s degree on the internet while I was researching. Surprisingly easy to get that MD certificate. I don’t know why it takes other people so long.”

She laughed and crossed her arms. “I’ll let you know tomorrow if your degree is legit.”

“Has to be. The internet doesn’t lie.” We grinned at each other for a beat before Mia broke eye contact.

“Text me when you know what’s happening with Doctor David. The guy who didn’t get his degree off the internet.”

“I will.” I opened the door and glanced over my shoulder. She looked so tiny standing in the middle of the oversized room. A surge of protectiveness rushed through me. She and the baby growing inside of her were my priorities now. I would do everything I could to keep them safe. “Get some sleep.”

Chapter Five

Mia

Isat in the car at the back entrance to the hospital. At just after six in the morning, I rubbed my eyes and wished I’d slept worth a shit last night. At one point, I considered fleeing Little Falls and heading to New York City to make my appointment. Keeping this baby wasn’t the right choice, and I knew that, had known it from the minute I found out I was pregnant. But the idea of doing what needed to be done to no longer be pregnant caused a surge of panic. I couldn’t do that either.

Pasha glanced my way but said nothing, his hands flexing on the steering wheel.

“I know,” I said. “I need to go in.”

“I go too.” Pasha unlocked the doors and popped his open.

“I’m putting a lot of trust in you.” I slid my gaze to him, not in any rush to get out of the car.

He nodded, his hand on the door handle. “And him.”

“And him,” I whispered, and I slid the tip of my fingernail between my teeth. “Am I being dumb?”

Pasha scrunched up his face and shook his head. A string of Russian words left his mouth in a blur that meant nothing.

“Just a sec,” I said, searching my phone for a translation app. Once it was downloaded, I turned on the record function and made a reeling motion to Pasha. “Say it again.”

The briefest smile touched his square-jawed face. A stream of Russian came again, and I recognized a few of the words from the last time he spoke. When I hit the button on the app to have it translated, my stomach dropped to my feet.

“How do you know I’m pregnant?” I stared at my phone and then looked at him.

He made a puking gesture and then pointed to the hospital entrance. Oh, Lord. He added those two things together, and he came up with the right answer. Who else would get there? I had to be careful for the next three months.

“From now on, you only speak to me in Russian, okay?” I stared at him, trying to convey how serious this was. “And you never, ever again say the word baby around me. Okay? Deliveries or packages or something, but the B word doesn’t exist.”

“I tell no one. Big secret. I understand.”

“Thebiggestsecret. There’s no way you can understand. No one understands. If this gets out, my life is over. My mother will murder me.”

“No murder. No baby.” He nodded and focused on his hands in his lap.

I threw open my door, his words echoing in my head. His exact meaning wasn’t clear, but I didn’t want to get into it. I’d made my choice. My skin prickled at the number of people who already knew I was pregnant. A disaster waiting to happen.

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