Dirty Sexy Alphas (Twenty Book Box Set) - Hannah Ford Page 0,326

the forms she had to fill out. Ethan was there. With her. For her. Little by little she let herself relax. If she were honest, this was how she wanted it to be.

He could have let her go, but he hadn’t.

His future was at risk, but she remembered what Kylie had said. Shouldn’t Ethan get to decide for himself? It seemed that he had, and he’d chosen her. A smile ghosted her lips. So many people had walked away from her, had left her alone, but Ethan was there.

With her.

Her heart swelled and she looked at him for the corner of her eye. He still watched her and heat climbed up her neck as she leaned over the forms, filling everything out.

A few minutes after Ethan gave them back to the woman, a nurse came out and called Harper’s name. Ethan’s hand rested on her lower back as they walked to the exam room.

He’s still here.

I’m not alone. I’m really not alone.

She was still trying to let the reality of it all sink in—Ethan. Baby. Her.

A family.

She sat in a cotton gown that tied in the back while Ethan held her hand. The doctor, a middle aged woman with a bright smile came in and introduced herself as Dr. Lewis. She shook my hand and then Ethan’s before going over the information she’d given.

“So has the pregnancy been confirmed with a blood test?” she asked.

“Yes.” Ethan’s voice was strong and sure, just like his grip.

“Okay then, I’m going to do the basics, blood pressure and all that. I see that you were extremely irregular before this. Do you know how far along you are?” The doctor smiled at her and she glanced at Ethan.

“It was...about seven weeks ago, give or take.”

Dr. Lewis didn’t stop smiling. “Okay, well we should be able to see the sac and hear the heartbeat then. I can take a few measurements and give you a pretty accurate due date.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs. They were going to hear the baby’s heartbeat today? If Ethan hadn’t come for her, if he hadn’t pushed back when she tried to shove him away, she’d be doing this alone. She would have taken that special moment from him.

Tears filled her eyes.

She wanted to apologize but emotion clogged her throat so much that is was hard to even swallow. He turned her hand over and stoked his thumb across her palm, reassuring her as if he knew what she was thinking. Harper closed her fingers around his hand, holding him tight.

She didn’t let go until the nurse wheeled in a machine and left it next to the exam table. She leaned back and the nurse helped her put her feet up. Ethan moved next to her and sat, finding her hand again.

“Holy shit,” he mumbled. “That looks like a…”

Dr. Lewis laughed. “It’s an ultrasound wand and yes, it goes inside. It’s the only way to get an accurate picture this early on.” She slid what looked like a condom over the thing and then lubed it up. Holy shit.

“I gotta admit I’m having an inferiority complex here, Doc.”

Harper swallowed back a laugh. Even the nurse chuckled.

Although the comment was ridiculous, it was just what she needed to relax her muscles at what was to come.

“Ready?” Dr. Lewis asked.

“Not really sure,” she answered honestly.

“Don’t worry, once you see the baby you’ll forget it’s even in there.”

Doubtful but Harper nodded anyway. Once everything was in place, the monitor came to life and a fuzzy black and white image filled the screen. It looked like static on an old TV.

Ethan leaned closer, as if he could tell what he was looking at. “What’s that?”

“Harper’s bladder.” Dr. Lewis moved the wand around a little more and then a tiny circle came into view. Inside they saw what looked like a flickering light.

“And there’s your baby,” the doctor said, her smile evident in her voice.

Harper could not look away from the screen.

Ethan sucked in a sharp breath.

The doctor made some measurements and talked about size and other things Harper had no idea about, but then the machine whirred to life and suddenly they were holding grainy pictures of what looked like a bean; their baby.

Harper looked up at Ethan who was staring at the images still, a look of awe on his face. When he finally met her gaze, his lips quirked up into a lopsided grin. “Holy shit, babe. Look what we did. Un-fucking-believable.”

If she hadn’t already been in love with Ethan, that