younger brother lives on the West Coast and I rarely talk to him or his wife.
I was much more comfortable when we moved on to career goals and aspirations. I confirmed that I wanted to continue working in the ER, which is true. And I learned more about Lynsey’s dreams of opening her own group therapy clinic for children. Hearing her discuss her future business plan, it’s clear she’s extremely intelligent and motivated.
Guilt coursed through me. This baby could potentially derail all her plans. I don’t want that to happen.
At one point, the doctor asked me why I never planned on having children. I blamed it on my career being my top priority, but now that I was faced with this situation, I was perfectly willing to step up and be responsible. It was easy to avoid getting too deep with the session, and that’s one reason I don’t actually like therapy.
Patients can lie. Patients can omit. Patients can feed you a line of complete bullshit. In the ER, the tests don’t lie. Sure, I deal with patients who try to tell me they don’t use recreational drugs all the time. But I have a blood test that provides the truth, so there’s no gray area in my charts.
“How did you feel about everything in there?” I ask, turning the car on and angling myself to face Lynsey while it warms up.
She stares forward, long lashes fanning her cheeks with every blink. “It was more enlightening than I thought it would be actually.”
I nod. “We learned a lot about each other.”
She rolls her eyes. “We learned a lot of basic things.”
“Why are you saying that like it’s bad?” I went to a lot of trouble to put this together, the least she could do is appreciate it.
Lynsey points at the building. “You basically took me on a job interview, Josh. I felt like an employee taking a personality quiz so you’d know how to handle me.”
“I think we should take that enneagram personality quiz she recommended.” I pull my phone from my pocket to look at the note I took when she mentioned it. “That might be helpful for us.”
“Stop.” Lynsey groans, placing her hand over mine. Her skin is soft, and a desire to feel more of it lights inside me.
Lynsey’s eyes narrow for a second, and she takes my phone. “Actually, yes, we should do that. I think you’re a five, and if I’m right, then that really explains a lot of weird things about you.”
“See? It was a productive session. There should be nothing stopping you from moving out of Dean’s place and in with me.”
She shuts my phone screen off and hands it to me. “You think a one-hour session is all it takes to make me move in with you? Why on earth would you think that? I still don’t have a job. I’m not going to just move in and mooch off you when you barely know me.”
“I have plenty of money, Jones. More than enough for you, me, and that baby. You wouldn’t even have to work if you don’t want to.”
“I want to work.” She scrubs her hands over her face. “Didn’t you hear anything I said in there? I’m focused on achieving my career goals, Josh. And it’s important to me to be self-sufficient and feel accomplished. I could never move in and just sit around being pregnant all day. How boring.”
My nostrils flare as an ache in my chest resurfaces. She’s cute when she’s passionate like this. And as much as I’d prefer her to be safe and sound in my house every day, her ambition is sexy.
“So, what’s the solution?” I ask, my voice hoarse with unexpected desire that I really don’t need right now.
She licks her lips and takes a moment to calm herself before replying, “You can be involved in this pregnancy stuff while I’m staying at Dean’s. You can’t possibly have a problem with that.”
I feel the muscle in my jaw tick at the mere mention of his name. “I don’t like Dean.”
She blinks her big brown eyes at me, looking years younger than twenty-seven in her outfit right now. “Your opinion of Dean doesn’t really matter, Josh, because you and I are not in a relationship.”
“But you are carrying my child.”
She faces forward and exhales. “I get it. This is complicated. Look…we’ll…start with a friendship, okay? I understand that you want to be involved with everything, and that’s fine. You can come to my appointments.”
“But