Page 40 of Uxpectedly Ever After

I shrug, feeling a bit dumb for exposing my late-night Wikipedia and Google binges. “I, uh, wanted to be prepared. I may have gotten a little carried away with the research.”

Clover eyes me. “Alittle?”

“Okay, so I might have ordered every pregnancy book Amazon sells, joined some online dad forums, subscribed to a few medical journals…” I rake a hand through my hair, pulling the ends the way I always do when I’ve got anxious energy to burn. “I just wanted to know what we might be facing.”

Dr. Walker actually looks impressed. “That level of involvement is great. But there’s no sign Clover’s at increased risk for any complications. She’s healthy, everything isperfectso far.”

That word again. Perfect. My chest settles for the first time in weeks.

While Dr. Walker starts talking next steps, setting up appointments, I half-zone out. My hand’s on Clover’s belly, where our baby—our actual fucking baby—is growing at this exact moment.

Holy shit, we’re really having a baby.

At some point, I’ve gotta tell Kasen I knocked up his sister. My best friend’s going to kill me, and I honestly can’t blame him. If some dude knocked up my sister? I’d be plotting the most painful way to end them right about now.

But for once, none of that matters. Because we just heard our baby’s heartbeat. And it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

"—and I've sent the prescription for prenatal vitamins to your pharmacy," Dr. Walker is saying as I tune back in. "Do either of you have any questions?"

I bark out a laugh. “Uh, yeah—about a million. But I’ll try to narrow it down so I don’t waste your entire day.”

He chuckles, and for the first time, he seems more like a normal dude than just a doctor. “In that case, here’s my card.” He offers it to me with a friendly nod. “It has my cell number. Most dads have random questions between appointments, so shoot me a text if anything comes up.”

I glance down at the card, caught off guard. “That’s—wow. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”

He just smiles like it’s no big deal. “It’s what I’m here for.” Then he hands Clover a folder stuffed with papers. “Here are your ultrasound prints and some first-trimester info.”

As we leave the office, I can't stop staring at the grainy black-and-white picture of our little peanut. I've pulled people from the worst car accidents imaginable. I've restarted hearts with my bare hands. But nothing—absolutely fucking nothing—has ever felt like this. Like seeing my kid's heart beating for the first time.

And somewhere between all that wonder, it slams into me that I have to tell Kasen about this before he hears it from somebody else. My best friend is going to lose his mind.

Clover’s voice snaps me back as we walk to my truck. “You okay there? You haven’t said a single word since we left the office.”

I peel my gaze off the ultrasound to find her studying me with this mix of concern and amusement. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just…” I hold up the photo, shaking my head in disbelief. “It’s real, you know? There’s a tiny person in there. Our tiny person.”

"Trust me, puking my guts out all day already made it pretty real for me," she says, but she's smiling a little. When I wrap my arm around her waist, she actually leans into me instead of pulling away. That's new.

Definitely not complaining.

I press a quick kiss to her hair, breathing in the citrus scent of her shampoo. “I, uh, have something I want to show you when we get home.”

She cranes her neck to look up at me. “Should I be nervous?”

I smirk, unable to help it. “Absolutely.”

"What… is this?"

Clover's staring at the three-inch-thick binder I've just handed her like it might bite. The cover reads "Baby Priestly" in bold black letters.

"Research," I say, trying not to look as nervous as I feel while she flips it open and sees the color-coded tabs. "I wanted to be prepared."

"You made a binder." It's not a question. She looks from the organized pages to my face and back again like she can't decideif I'm joking. "A color-coded binder with...” She squints at the page, “is that a table of contents?"

"And an index," I add, which is definitely not helping based on how high her eyebrows just shot up. "Look, I know it seems like I went overboard—"

"You think?" She flips through more pages, eyes getting wider.

"—but I wanted to make sure we had all the information we'd need." I reach over and flip to the green section, our shoulders touching. "This part's all nutrition—what you should eat, what to avoid, supplements for brain development. Blue is exercise during pregnancy—what's safe, what'll hurt the baby. Yellow's broken down by trimester so we know what to expect. Red is all the warning signs, when to call Dr. Walker. Purple is different birthing options—"

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