Page 69 of Baby for My Silver Fox CEO

Joel frowns at her. “Natalie…”

“Okay, I’m going.”

Natalie winks at me before leaving, closing the door softly behind her. Joel moves closer to me and leans over, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head.

“How are you doing now? Are the painkillers kicking in?” he asks.

“I don’t know. I feel like they’re barely scratching the surface.” I flex my bad hand and feel the stitches stretch. “Gosh, that isn't a nice sensation.”

“Don’t think about it,” he says, smiling softly. “It’s just going to make it worse.”

“Too late.” Then I notice that there’s something odd about Joel. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, though. “Are you okay? You don’t look right.”

“I’ve just had to witness my girlfriend get knocked into a table and end up in a hospital bed. What do you think?”

“That’s not what I mean.” I try not to smile at the fact he’s just called me his girlfriend. “Did you hear something when you were calling people? Was it about Anna and Eric?”

“I’ve not answered any calls from Anna or Caitlin. I don’t wish to speak to either of them right now, but apparently, they’re furious and planning to get someone to pay.”

Which probably means that they’re going to get me to foot the bill for something. I’m not looking forward to hearing about that.

“Then what…?”

“I just spoke to the doctor outside. He told me something that I said I wanted to tell you myself.” Joel eases himself onto the edge of the bed, his hand absently stroking my elbow. “You remember that you had some blood tests, just to make sure everything was okay?”

“Yes, I remember…”

“Well, they saw something a little odd with your blood, so they checked it again for HCG levels. And they were high.”

I feel like I’m missing something. I’ve heard of the term HCG levels, but I can’t recall where from. From the look on Joel’s face, though, he knows exactly what it is.

“I’m a little lost. What…?”

“The doctor said you’re pregnant, Megan. It’s not far along, but he wants to do an ultrasound, just to be sure.” Joel swallows. “You’re… We are… going to have a baby.”

***

Joel

I stand in the doorway and watch Megan sleep. While the couch isn’t uncomfortable, it’s not the best place for me to sleep. Especially after the mayhem that happened yesterday. Megan did say that I could sleep with her, but she was in pain, and I didn’t want to hurt her. Besides, I didn’t want to upset her brother by encroaching on her space after her accident.

We’re going to be parents. I’m going to be a dad again. I thought I was at an age where becoming a father was long in my past. Megan and I hadn’t even talked about kids. She said that she was on the pill, but that evidently wasn’t as effective as we thought. I don’t even know what she thinks about becoming a mother.

Was she going to want this pregnancy? What if she didn’t? I will support whatever she wants to do, but I am silently hoping that she will keep the baby. I do like being a father, and I loved my daughters when they were small. While I was expecting to go through all that again when I become a grandfather, I’m happy to do it now as a father.

I just have to follow Megan’s lead. She’s had several shocks today, and she needs time to figure out what to do. I will need to wait, even if it’s excruciating.

Leaving her sleeping, I make my way into the living room. Clark comes out of the kitchen, dressed for a run with a water bottle in his hand. He narrows his eyes at me.

“How’s Megan?”

“Still asleep.” I hold up my hands. “I didn’t bother her, I promise.”

Clark grunts and takes a gulp of water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You have one fucked up family, do you know that?”

“Just my daughter. But I know what you mean.”

“Are you going to do anything about that woman?” he asks. “She hurt my sister, and not for the first time.”

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