Page 51 of Summer Nights

I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. "There's no rush to make a decision about the delivery. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. You should have whomever you want there."

Ivy looked away from me. "It's not like my mother would be supportive. I suppose I could ask a friend."

"Whatever you want," I said.

She frowned. "But I'd never stop you from seeing the baby.”

"I didn't think you would." I was more concerned about whether she'd let me support her. Be there emotionally and financially. So far, she'd rebuffed any financial offers.

I pulled my hand away, and Ivy asked, "Have you talked to a lawyer?" Then she shook her head. "Never mind. It's none of my business."

"I haven't. I don't have any plans to either." I couldn't imagine why I'd need to do anything at this point. I knew how the system worked, thanks to conversations with Dalton. But I wanted to work with Ivy as much as possible, and I held out hope that she'd be a lot more reasonable than Oakley had been.

"I can't imagine why Oakley would want all this drama around her when she's pregnant. I just want quiet so I can think about everything I need to do."

"Maybe she likes the drama. I can't figure her out. But it hasn't endeared any of us to her. If she thought it would draw Dalton in, it backfired."

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought. He's doing the right thing."

Whether Ivy would let me in to support her as a mother-to-be was the issue. "Thanks for letting me come to the doctor's appointment. It made everything more real."

Ivy nodded. "You're welcome to come anytime."

When the office staff had repeated the appointment time and date, I'd committed it to memory. I wanted to know that Ivy and the baby were okay. "We're going to get through this. I don't have all the details worked out yet. But I trust that we can figure this out together."

Chapter Thirteen

Ivy

For the next few weeks, I worked harder and longer hours in anticipation of the baby coming. I wanted to have more money saved, knowing I'd need to take time off when the baby came.

At the next doctor's appointment, I'd be twelve weeks pregnant. Cooper was looking forward to sharing the news with his family and our friends. I knew they'd be supportive, but I wasn't so sure about how my mother would react.

It might not be the circumstances I'd anticipated, but I still wanted this baby. We had an active sex life, but I kept boundaries in place. I kept our physical interactions to houses we were inspecting or my couch. I never invited him into my bedroom or asked him to stay. That was a line I didn't want to cross.

I was nervous about this next appointment. I had a feeling Cooper was going to insist that we tell everyone about the pregnancy, and I wasn’t prepared for everyone to know.

In the exam room, Dr. Edison asked, "Are you having any worrying symptoms?"

Ivy frowned. "I'm more tired. Peeing more often."

Dr. Edison chuckled. "That's normal. You're going into the second trimester, and your energy should return. It's a good time to get things ready for when the baby comes. Start working on your nursery and your registry."

I was itching to get started on my spreadsheet. I'd forwarded it to Cooper, and he hadn't mentioned anything about how long it was.

When the doctor left the room, Cooper asked, "Do you want to grab lunch and do some shopping? Get a head start on that list of yours?"

"That's a good idea because I'm not going to have a shower."

"Why not?" Cooper asked as he opened the exam room door for me to exit ahead of him.

I shrugged. "Who would throw me one? Mom doesn't have the money or desire to do anything."

His brow furrowed. "Did you tell her about the baby yet?"

I frowned. "We said we'd wait."

"Why don't you wait and see what she says about the pregnancy? She might want to do something for you."

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