Page 12 of The MC's Surprise
“Yeah, there were some big stressors at work, so I figured I was comfort eating and that was why I was putting on weight.I only went to the doctor when the heartburn got bad enough to start making me feel sick. That’s when I found out I was pregnant.” Chewing on my lip, I forced myself to admit, “If I would’ve realized sooner, I’m not sure I would’ve kept it… I never really thought about being a mom. I’m not sure I’ll be any good at it.”
Tears burned my eyes admitting it, but it was the truth. I wasn’t cut out for this.
A large tattoed hand covered mine and squeezed gently. “Hey.”
When I looked up at him, he gave me a soft smile. “I get it. Believe it or not, we’re not the first in my crew to be surprised with a baby. My buddy thought he wouldn’t be any good at it either. But he had the crew to support him and he figured things out. We’ll do the same. Just focus on you right now. Pregnancy is no joke, and stress isn’t good for the baby.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Who’d have thought the biker/casino owner would be the expert here?”
The tension finally broke and he laughed whole heartedly, those dimples making a full appearance. He was just like I remembered him, easy going and happy, with an edge of biker badassness to balance him out. This was the reason I fell into bed with him in the first place. A man like that was hard to resist. And now I’d have to do just that while figuring out how to co-parent with him.
Joy.
7
Vegas
When Sierra offered me to come with her to her scan, I had to think about it. On the one hand, if this wasn’t my kid, then my being there was a little weird. But if it was, I didn't want to miss it. Butch told me how hard it was knowing he missed out on all of Ellie’s scans and watching her grow. When Skylar got pregnant with Ryder, he refused to miss a single appointment.
I decided to go along because even if it wasn’t my kid, Sierra was sort of a friend and I didn't want her to have to do it alone. And from the look on her face, she didn't want to go alone with her mom. The woman seemed nice enough when Sierra introduced me, but I wasn’t about to argue with her. I wasn’t an idiot.
Since I rode my bike, we drove separately to the hospital and I parked alongside her once she found a spot. She smirked at me when I offered her a hand to help her down from the truck, her familiar sass back in place.
“Such a gentleman,” she teased. “I thought bikers were supposed to be the opposite of a gentleman.”
I shrugged, grinning at her. “I guess I’m just special that way.”
She laughed and I felt that same gut flipping sensation I got the first time we met. She had a great laugh. Not quiet or cut off like some women tried to do. When Sierra laughed, she did it with her whole soul.
We took the elevator up to the third floor, and I followed her to the waiting room on the right. I sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs, looking around while she checked in. There were pictures of babies on the walls, all new and tiny, and I felt my heart clench at the reminder that this could be my kid. I was grateful that Sierra volunteered for the paternity test on her own. I thought that conversation would be awkward at minimum, or an all out battle at worst. Instead, she said she understood and was willing to take one to put my mind at ease. That alone made me believe she wasn’t lying, but just in case, I figured it wouldn’t hurt.
She barely sat down next to me when her name was called out. She sighed from the depths of her soul and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Let me help,” I offered, standing and holding out my hands. She rolled her eyes but accepted, letting me pull her to her feet.
“It’s not even like I’m that huge yet. I’m just tired. Yet another symptom I attributed to stress that should’ve clued me in.”
She mentioned more than once that she was under a lot of stress, which was why she hadn’t noticed she was pregnant. I figured she had to be under a hell of a lot of stress to miss being pregnant, but when I thought about asking, I stopped myself. Whenever she mentioned it, I saw her wince subtly, like she didn't like bringing it up. I didn’t want to add to her stress by bringing up something hard to swallow. Being pregnant was hard enough. If she wanted to talk about it, I’d listen, but Iwasn’t in a place to pester her into talking to me. We were friends. Sort of. What else would you call a month long fling that showed up seven months later pregnant with your kid?
“So once you change into the gown, I’ll come back into the room and we’ll get started,” the tech said cheerily.
My brows snapped together. “Can’t she just lift up her shirt or whatever?”
The tech snickered, which made me feel dumb for asking until I noticed Sierra looked just as confused as I felt. “Nope. To get all the information we need, we’ll need to do both and internal and external scan. It doesn’t hurt, I promise.”
Sierra blanched a little, giving me an awkward look as the tech skipped out of the room. To ease the tension a little, I waved my hand at the door.
“Do you think they had sugar for breakfast?”
“That, or cocaine,” she offered with a smirk.
Sometimes her replies blew my mind and I barked out a laugh in response. When she wiggled her finger in a circle, I obligingly turned around to give her privacy to change into the gown.
“So, uh… the woman from the casino,” she began, the sound accompanied by rustling as she changed.
“Who? Charlotte?”
“Is that her name? She didn’t introduce herself.”
