blue sky. He reached for her hand, something so simple, and yet it made her feel as if she were on top of the world. She never thought that much about hand-holding, but holding Lucien’s hand, when it was done so naturally, almost unconsciously—yep, she liked it a lot.
They reached a silver truck on the corner. “We’re getting Chinese from a truck?” Darcy asked.
“No better place in the city, trust me.”
He carried the white plastic bag while leading her to what was, according to him, the perfect place to eat it. They stopped in front of one of the horse drawn carriages and, after paying, he helped her up into it. He settled next to her and dealt out the cartons.
“I’ve never ridden in one of these before,” she said.
“Me neither.”
“Well then, how do you know it’s the perfect place to have our lunch?”
His smile was slow to form, but breathtaking when complete. “We’re moving, so if I say something stupid, you can’t escape.”
“You’re an idiot.” But inside she was grateful that he couldn’t walk away after she told him her news.
He never took his eyes from her when he said, “I have been, but I’m working on that.”
His words surprised her. And his lips were so close that if she leaned into him, she would feel them under hers.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he said softly. And then those lips were on hers and she sighed, granting him full access to her mouth.
Minutes later, he leaned back as if he were trying to keep himself in check, but desire burned in his eyes when he looked at her.
“Tasty,” he said, then grinned. “The Chinese, I mean.”
Now was the time to tell him, but she couldn’t get the words out. The thought of him never again looking at her with such tenderness was enough to make Darcy delay for just another day.
“Ember, Trace, this is Dr. Lipton. If it’s all right with you, he’s going to sit in on your ultrasound today. He’s a neonatal surgeon whom I asked for a consult,” Dr. Cole said.
“Sure.” Ember’s voice sounded a bit strained, not surprisingly since she was nervous, a feeling Trace shared.
“Okay, let’s get you ready.”
Dr. Cole handed the paper gown to Ember before showing them to a room. “We’ll be back in ten.”
Trace turned to Ember once the doctor had left. She was looking at the ultrasound machine.
“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” she said.
Trace’s eyes followed hers. “No, it doesn’t.” He took a step closer to her. “Are you okay?”
“Nervous.”
“We should get you undressed.”
“Normally, that statement from you makes me almost light-headed in anticipation, but not so much today.”
“I’ll be right here.”
“I know.”
Trace placed the gown on the table before reaching for the hem of Ember’s shirt. “Arms up, sweetheart. When this is over, I’ll buy you a cake pop.”
She grinned. “Two cake pops.”
“You got it.”
A knock at the door signaled the arrival of the doctors. They took a few minutes to get everything set up. “Are you ready, Ember?”
“Yeah.”
“I know it’s a bit uncomfortable, but try to relax.”
Trace felt a swell of love for her as she took a few calming breaths before she said, “I’m ready.”
Ember tensed, her grip on his hand tightening as Dr. Cole inserted the probe.
“Okay, let’s have a look.” Dr. Cole’s voice pulled Trace’s attention to the screen. He saw it when Ember did since she squeezed his hand. The heart beating. He couldn’t exactly say what emotion moved through him seeing the heartbeat of their child, but it was damn powerful.
Dr. Lipton moved forward to study something on the screen, which made Trace ask, “Is everything okay?”
“There seems to be a membrane that divides Ember’s uterus.” Dr. Cole pointed to a small, thin white line.
“Is that a problem?” Trace felt his heart constrict.
“The baby has room to grow, but enough room, I don’t know,” he said. “Right now, we look good. The baby’s in a good position and the placenta looks fine. Let’s monitor with ultrasounds, one every two weeks. The uterus is an incredible organ and has the ability to grow substantially, so we could all be worrying for nothing.”
“And if it’s not?” Trace asked.
“Well, depending on how far along the pregnancy is, we’ll confine Ember to bed rest to get as many weeks as we can for the baby before we deliver. And if we have to deliver early, premature babies’ chances are incredible with today’s technology. But let’s not worry about that now. Like I said, it may never come