to do, the hold music clicked off, and a voice filled the room.
“Hi, Annalise,” a businesslike woman said. “This is Dr. Montgomery. Dr. Hannigan faxed over your chart. Now, I’m noticing an unusually high beta-hGC level for such an early stage of pregnancy, and I’m wondering if anyone has discussed the possibility of multiple births with you? You might already know that that’s something that’s more likely if you have multiples in your family history. Are there any twins or triplets in your family?”
Annalise had frozen in Curt’s arms when Dr. Montgomery had started to speak. She had forgotten when he had come in that she was on hold with the doctor, and now, listening to Dr. Montgomery, she had almost forgotten that any response was required.
“Hello?” Dr. Montgomery prompted.
Annalise broke the embrace and hurried over to the phone. She turned off the speaker and held it to her ear, her back to Curt. She couldn’t bear to see the look on his face as he processed what he had just heard.
“Hi, Dr. Montgomery,” she said. “Thanks for taking my call.”
“Hi, Annalise,” the doctor said again. “I’d like to see you soon, if we can arrange that. Are you free on Tuesday?”
She nodded before remembering that the doctor couldn’t see her. “Yes.”
“I’m not too concerned about the high beta-hGC level,” the doctor said. “But it’s best to know what we’re dealing with. You have severe endometriosis, right?”
“Yeah.” She was having trouble putting together long sentences. All she could think about was the fact that Curt was right behind her, listening to every word she said.
“Do you have multiple births in your family history?” the doctor asked.
“I’m a twin,” Annalise said.
“Okay,” the doctor said. “And have you had fertility treatments at all?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Well, we’ll see what’s what on Tuesday. How’s two in the afternoon?”
“That’s fine.” She could get another sub.
“I’ll see you then,” the doctor said, and hung up.
Annalise lowered the phone slowly. She knew that when she turned around she would be forced to confront Curt’s reaction to everything he had just heard.
She didn’t want to. But it had to be done.
Slowly, she turned to face him.
He was staring at her, mouth slightly ajar, eyes wide.
“You’re pregnant?” he whispered.
She nodded slowly. “I just found out,” she said. “That’s what… that’s what’s been wrong with me. That’s why I was sick. When I went to the doctor yesterday, he told me, and… and I know I should have called you, or taken your call, but it was so much to deal with. I didn’t know what to say. I thought I would just wait until you got home, and we could talk about it then.”
“You told me you couldn’t get pregnant,” Curt said. There was something accusatory in his tone that made Annalise feel as if her heart was cracking.
“I thought I couldn’t,” she said. “I told you the truth. My doctor—”
“You told me you’d never had sex before,” Curt interrupted. “Was that true?”
“Yes!” Annalise said. “Why would I lie about something like that?”
“I don’t know,” Curt ran a hand through his hair. “Women lie to famous men all the time, Annalise.”
“Is that what you think of me?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You think I made up a story to get you to sleep with me?”
“If you did, it worked, didn’t it?” He shook his head. “Maybe it was all lies. I can’t know for sure. Maybe you knew all along that you could get pregnant. God, I’m an idiot for not using protection.”
“I didn’t lie to you, Curt,” Annalise said. “I never would have done something like that. That’s not the kind of person I am. And frankly, I thought you knew me better than that.”
“I thought I did too,” Curt said. “I thought I knew who you were.”
“Why does this change anything?” Annalise demanded.
To her horror, her eyes were filling with tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. She wanted to be strong. But she had never imagined that when she finally found the strength to tell him what had happened, he would make this kind of accusation.
“You don’t know what it’s like for me,” Curt said. “You don’t know what it’s like not to be able to be sure of the people in your life.”
“You can be sure of me,” Annalise said. “I’ve been more honest with you than I have with anyone, ever.”
Curt looked away from her.
Then he looked back. “That doctor on the phone said something about multiples,”