Lead Player - Alex Grayson Page 0,65

tiny white blip that looks like a bean? That’s your baby.”

All I can do is stare at the screen, utterly captivated. Having Dr. Miller tell me I’m pregnant was shocking enough, but actually seeing the proof in the form of my baby, is nearly overwhelming.

My thoughts move to Enzo, wondering how he’s going to react to this news. Being surprised is a given, but will he hate me? My thoughts move to the woman who tried to trap him years ago. Will he think I did the same thing? Will he think I did this on purpose? Will he never want to see me again? And worse, will he not want anything to do with our child? I refuse to believe he wouldn’t want to be a part of his baby’s life. But really, how well do I know him? Not enough to know how he’s going to react.

The unknown scares the shit out of me.

“Her heartbeat is nice and strong.”

I glance at the doctor. “Her? You can’t tell the sex already, can you?”

She laughs as she wiggles the wand around some more. Every so often, she presses a round control on the machine.

“No. I always start out using the term ‘her’, until we know for sure. I refuse to use ‘it’. It just seems so impersonal.”

I look back at the monitor as she turns quiet for a few minutes, steadily pressing the controls.

“You look to be about seven weeks along.”

I jerk my eyes to her. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “There’s no way to know for certain, but the measurements indicate seven weeks.”

If I’m seven weeks along, then I must have gotten pregnant the night we first met in the bar. It’s bizarre to think I’ve had a baby growing inside me this whole time.

I don’t remember much after that besides Dr. Miller handing me a few shiny pictures with arrows pointing to my baby and advising me to start taking prenatal vitamins. I stop at the front desk and make an appointment for next month.

I’m in a haze when I climb in my car. Instead of starting the engine, I stare out of the window in stunned silence for several moments. My thoughts are all over the place. How my life is about to drastically change. How Enzo’s life is going to change.

Not wanting to go home yet, and desperately needing someone to talk to, I head to Juliet and James’ house. Stiffly, I get out of the car and go up to the front door. James answers, his smile falling when he sees my ashen face.

“Alaina? What’s wrong?”

The last thing I want to do is tip him off and have him call Enzo to inform him something’s the matter, so I plaster on a fake smile.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m a bit tired.” At least that’s true. The last week I’ve slept fitfully. I wonder if that’s a pregnancy symptom. “Is Juliet busy?”

His eyes narrow, jumping back and forth between mine. After a moment, his expression smooths out and he steps to the side.

“She’s in her office. Go right on back.”

“Thank you.”

I step over the threshold and beeline it to the hallway where Juliet’s office is located. At the mouth of the hallway, I turn back when James calls my name.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Positive,” I answer, keeping my tone light.

Juliet looks up from her computer when I enter her office. “Hey, you. What are you doing here?”

I close the door behind me and go to the small love seat she has against one wall. Plopping down, I bury my face in my hands. My shoulders heave as I try to reign in the tears threatening to fall.

“What in the world, Alaina?” Juliet states, rushing over to sit beside me. “What’s going on?”

It takes several deep breaths before I have my emotions under control enough to look up at her.

“I just found out I’m pregnant,” I whisper, my voice breaking on the last word.

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. “Say what?” Disbelief making her voice come out as a screech.

“Shh….” I hiss. “I don’t want James coming in here.”

It takes her a minute for the shocked look to fade from her face. A hell of a lot sooner than it took me when I first found out. I’m still in shock.

“Okay, okay.” She takes in a deep breath, reaching for one of my hands and uncurling my fingers. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur. “I have