“Thanks so much, Dr. Brown.” I beam at him and don’t even try to wipe the smile off my face.
“Oh, and…Matt?”
Matt turns to face him. “Yeah?”
“Can I get an autograph for my son? He’s nine and your biggest fan. Just put your poster up next to Chase Kennedy’s in the playroom.”
Matt laughs. “Of course. Thanks again.”
As the doctor leaves the room, Matt spins on his heel and gives me a playful look and a half smile. “So somebody has gas.”
“Will you cram it?” I say through a giddy laugh, wrapping my arms around him as he leans over to hug me and savoring the scent of masculinity and the comforting pounding of his heartbeat.
“I’m so relieved.” He smiles, resting his forehead against mine.
“I’m so unbelievably glad you’re here.” I kiss him and shut my eyes, my chest swelling.
It’s becoming more and more crystal clear every second that I don’t want to do this without him. I don’t want to do…anything without him. “I want to be with you,” I whisper, surprised by how easily the words slip off my tongue.
He draws back a little, his steel-blue eyes wide and his sexy lips in a sinful smile. “You’re just emotional.”
“No, I’m not. I realized today that…” I dig for the words. “Obviously, me getting pregnant is what’s brought us together, but…I’m glad we’re that way. Together.”
He slips both my hands into his and kisses my nose softly. “We should stay that way.”
“Yeah. I think so, too.”
“Elizabeth Vice?” A nurse wearing purple scrubs and an enormous, bright smile comes into the room, wheeling an ultrasound machine.
“That’s me,” I say, scooting up in the bed and keeping my fingers threaded through Matt’s.
I never took myself as someone who would be part of a mush-ball couple, clinging to each other in a hospital room, and yet…here I am.
“All right, honey. I’m Rita, and I’m gonna do your ultrasound today.” She starts prepping the machinery and instructs me to lift up my gown and expose my belly. “And just to put it all out there, I know exactly who the both of you are. Mm-hmm.”
Matt and I glance at each other as she untangles the wires to the scanning device and continues talking. “But that’s all I’m gonna say, because I respect everybody’s privacy, and the two of you are probably sick and tired of getting asked questions, huh? We’re all here for one reason…”
I breathe a little sigh of relief and decide in that moment that I would trust Nurse Rita with my life.
“This is gonna be cold, hon. Buckle up.” She smears chilly, gooey liquid onto my lower belly and starts scanning it with the machine.
I glance up and meet Matt’s eyes, feeling more entangled with him than ever before.
He beams at me, keeping his fingers laced through mine.
“There you are,” Rita says with a bright grin. “Listen.”
A rhythmic, squishy, thudding sound echoes from the machine, and I gasp a little and give Matt’s hand a squeeze.
“Holy shit,” he whispers.
The tiny little heartbeat fills the room and wraps us up in a warm, fuzzy joy unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“That’s its…” I feel light and dizzy, but in the best way possible. “Heart.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Rita nods and pushes a long braid behind her ear, winking at the two of us. “Still a tiny thing, it’s too soon to tell the gender. But he or she is nice and healthy. Congratulations.”
I smile at Matt, and he smiles back at me, and everything in the world feels okay. More than okay. Perfect, in fact. I’m falling for him…like, seriously, majorly falling. And I am completely and totally fine with that.
“Matt…” I say softly.
“Elizabeth! There you are!” The booming, intimidating, commanding voice of Christopher Vice comes crashing into the hospital room.
I jump in surprise, and Matt pulls away from me, stepping back with his jaw falling slack, both of us in total shock.
Oh holy hell. It’s not just Dad. It’s all of them.
My heart does a somersault, and I gulp hard, panic and fear quickly replacing the blissful daze of ten seconds ago.
“I tried to stop them.” Noah walks in after the rest of the Vice clan, giving Matt and me an apologetic look. “I know this isn’t how you wanted them to find out—”
“Matt McKenzie?” Jayson and Ethan glance at each other in utter disbelief, their mouths wide open and their bodies frozen like statues.
“Oh…” Mom holds a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Oh my.”