Page 53 of Risk

He immediately removes his hand, and the wounded look in his eyes makes me feel like shit.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“No. You’re right. I shouldn’t have touched your leg without your permission.”

“Kaden, no, it’s not—”

I’m interrupted by the opening of the door, and a gorgeous Black woman with short hair, wearing a white doctor’s coat, enters.

“Good morning.” She smiles brightly. “Artemis Kincaid, I’m Dr. Adams.” She takes the seat opposite the desk from us. “It’s so nice to meet you.” She moves the mouse on her desk, presumably to bring her computer to life, and then taps a few keys and says, “So, you’re pregnant. First, congratulations.” She beams at me. “And would I be right in assuming this is Dad sitting next to you?”

Both Kaden and I say, “Yes,” at the same time.

“Kaden Scott,” he tells her.

“Fabulous. Now, do you have any idea when your last period was, Artemis?”

“Everyone calls me Missy,” I tell her with a smile.

“Missy it is.” She nods. “And that last period was?”

I tell her the date, and she taps the keys on her keyboard again.

“So, that would make you about…seven weeks pregnant? Well, seven weeks and two days, to be exact. Giving you a due date of…” She trails off, assumedly working out my due date, and I’m literally on the edge of my seat with anticipation. “July 25,” she finally says.

“My birthday is July 26,” Kaden says, and my gaze whips to his.

“Is it?” I didn’t know this. I mean, I knew it was in July sometime.

His lip lifts at the corner. “Yeah, it is.”

“I mean, I knew it was July…” I stop talking, suddenly very aware of Dr. Adams’s gaze on me.

I can feel my cheeks flaming hot because I can only imagine what she’s thinking of the fact that I didn’t know the birthday of my baby daddy.

I give her a tight smile. “We, um, we’re not together.” I move a finger between Kaden and me. “I mean, we’re going to raise the baby together. I mean, together apart. Single parents, both fully involved in the life of our child. But he’s my older brother’s friend, and we got drunk at my other brother’s wedding—not blind drunk, just tipsy,throw your inhibitions out the windowkind of drunk, and we hooked up, obviously, and here we are.”

I can feel Kaden’s stare on the side of my face, and Dr. Adams is just staring at me with wide eyes. I pray for a miracle, like a meteor to hit the earth and wipe me and this moment from existence forever.

Sadly, it doesn’t happen.

What does happen is, Dr. Adams laughs lightly and says, “Not together, just co-parenting. Got it.”

I press my hands to my face and groan. “God, I’m so sorry. I get really bad verbal diarrhea when I’m nervous.”

“There is nothing to be nervous about.” She gets up from her chair and walks across the room. “You’re having a baby. The most natural thing on this planet. Well, except giving birth—”

At my startled expression, she laughs again, louder this time.

“I’m kidding. You don’t need to worry about the birth. Your body has got you. It will totally know what to do when the time comes, and I’ll be here to help you through it. So, I’m just going to need to do your blood work.”

I watch as she gets out what she needs to take my blood.

“Best arm?” she asks me.

“Uh…”

“To take blood from. Do you know? No worry if you don’t. Just push your sleeves up and let me have a look.”

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