Page 48 of Angel's Smoke

She draped her arms over his and snuggled closer to him. “I want you there,” she said softly.

He smiled, turning the lights off with his power. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

It was the only promise he’d made to her that he knew he could keep.

Chapter23

Anna walked back into the doctor’s office waiting room from the bathroom and rejoined Iron in the seat next to him. “Mandatory urine sample before the appointment. Think of it like the coming attractions to a movie. They’ll call me in soon.”

“Callusin.”

Iron snatched her hand up and settled it on top of his thigh. It was a possessive gesture that thrilled Anna to no end, especially when the three other men in the waiting room sitting with their partners had all developed unexplained ants in their pants.

And Iron wasn’t even wearing the bloody bandage on his neck anymore.

While Anna had been checking in, Iron had stood behind her, so they were back to back, with him facing the rest of the room. She didn’t know what happened and could only offer up half an ear lest she pull out the wrong credit card to cover her copay, but when she accepted the urine sample cup from the receptionist and looked back, it was quite a different scene than she was used to.

The three female patients waiting for their appointments all had annoyed looks on their faces, which Anna enjoyed immensely since none of those glares were directed at her for a change. No, they were all aimed at significant others showing the damn near dingiest true colors Anna had ever seen. One man kept trying to desperately hush his partner while she was going on about why Anna was told she’d be seen first, despite the woman arriving before her. Another guy, who was probably only a few inches taller than Anna but was decked out in all sorts of designer finery that made him act two feet taller, immediately vacated his chair and abandoned his wife to examine something suddenly fascinating inside the hallway elevator. And the last man had picked up a magazine off an end table and buried his nose between the pages instead of sweeping another judgmental pass over Anna’s lounge attire.

She didn’t have the heart to tell the guy he was reading aHighlightsmagazine. Wouldn’t want to insult the little kids who came there with their mothers and have them think their favorite doctor’s office time-killing material was favored by manboys as well.

A medical assistant opened the door to the waiting room. “Anna Malone?”

“That’s me.”

“Oh, is this your partner?”

“He’s my . . . uh . . .”

“Yes.” Iron’s declaration slammed down like an asteroid in the small waiting room, casting out ripples strong enough to bring every woman in the vicinity to their knees.

Except the medical assistant, who seemed pleased as punch at the opportunity to escort Iron behind the curtain, so to speak. “Wonderful! Follow me.”

As Anna followed behind the woman, with Iron bringing up the rear, she overheard a sharp slap echo from the waiting room along with the words “Why don’t you ever pipe up like that for me?”

“Here we are. The doctor will be in shortly. Anna, you know the drill.”

“Sure do.”

Once the door closed, Iron asked, “What’s the drill?”

Anna kicked off her shoes and hopped back onto the examination table. “Weight and blood pressure, to start. Lots of poking and prodding around my belly. Some abdominal measurements, and I believe they’ll do an ultrasound this time around. It won’t take long, but hopefully, I’ll get sent home with some pictures.”

She said that last part with a smile, but Iron’s far-off look had her second-guessing the whole outing. His cheeks had taken on a slightly redder complexion, and his gaze bounced around the modest exam room as he took in the cherubic artwork of mothers and their newborns right alongside an anatomy chart that made her embarrassed on his behalf.

Was it too much? Had it been a mistake to drag him to this? There was decidedly very little that was sexy about pregnancy, especially considering what was brought up during these appointments. The topics du jour tended toward fluids. Lots and lots of fluids. Fluids they took out of her body, fluids that left her body (some without her say so), fluids above the belt, and fluids below the belt . . . just a whole lot of talk about liquid matter in general. It was as unsexy as a wet diaper, which, yeah, oddly enough, had also been brought up at one point.

For the first time since Anna had been coming there, she finally understood why all the guys in the waiting room always seemed more interested in the post-appointment lunch reservation than the appointment itself.

Why in all that was holy had she thought Iron, who had already acknowledged the temporary nature of whatever the hell their attraction was garnering, would want to come with her to her OB-frickin’-GYN appointment? Would he see her differently if he knew what was in store for her over the next several months?

“You know, it’s not too late to bail if this is making you uncomfortable. You can wait outside, if you prefer. It’s honestly not that interesting. The doctor just?—”

The door to her exam room was halfway open before Dr. Li started knocking on it to announce her arrival. Anna bristled and bit back a curse.Why the hell did they always do that?

“Hi, Anna.”

“Hi, Dr. Li.”

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