Wait, what am I saying? This is Hudson we’re talking about. He lives for moments like these.
“Not in the waiting room,” Christy hisses, her cheeks glowing red. “We have a special room that is more than equipped with the facilities you’ll need to get the job done.”
“Ohh, right. Sorry.” His lips twitching upward. “So, do you cater for everything?” he asks.
“What do you mean ‘everything’?” she retorts, frowning at him.
“Hudson,” I hiss.
I’m pretty sure I know where this is going, but he pretends not to hear me. I slink away from the desk, distancing myself from him.
Yes, I’m definitely attending these appointments alone in the future.
“I mean, do you cater for everyone,” he repeats. “You know, the people who get off on really weird stuff, like toe sucking, or clown porn.”
“Clown porn?” she repeats, her face going pale.
He nods. “Trust me, it’s a thing. Everything is a thing on the Internet. I promise you can’t name me one single thing that hasn’t been made into porn. And if there’s porn of it, then there’s bound to be someone getting off on it.”
Poor Christy gapes at him, speechless, while several other staff nearby struggle to contain their amusement. He glances at me and winks, like he’s pretty proud of himself. I glare back at him and narrow my eyes, even though I am the tiniest bit amused. Or at least I would be if it were happening to anyone other than me.
“We’ve never had anyone not able to complete the job because of lack of visual stimulation,” Christy assures him, finally finding her voice.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ve got more than enough material on here to get the job done,” he says, holding up his phone as he backs down the hallway in the direction of the room. “I’ll just get this sample for you then, shall I?”
“I’m so sorry,” I mutter to the nurse as she looks back at me in shock.
“Don’t be,” she assures me. “I feel like I should be the one feeling sorry for you.”
I sit down next to a woman trying to soothe her crying baby, all while trying to stop her toddler from running riot around the waiting room. She leans forward to get something from the diaper bag hanging from the back of the stroller, causing it to overbalance.
“Here, let me help you,” I offer, jumping to my feet.
“Thanks,” she gives me a grateful look as I steady the stroller.
“So much stuff,” I murmur, more to myself than her.
“And this is just for a day trip,” she jokes. “I had to upgrade to a SUV just to fit everything in.”
Oh shit. My car.
How the heck am I going to fit a baby in my Fiat—unless I strap it to the trunk?
I glance around the room and take in the heavily rounded bellies of expectant mothers, the screaming babies being juggled by exhausted, worn out women and a million other baby related things I hadn’t considered. I sit forward, nausea taking over me, because my car is the least of my problems.
No less than five minutes later, Hudson strolls back out. He sits next to me and gives me a wink.
“That fast, huh?” I raise my eyebrows at him. “I wouldn’t be boasting about that.”
“Hey, I’m was crouched into a tiny room, listening to the sounds of men grunting in the rooms either side of me,” he protests. “You’re lucky I managed to get any at all.”
“All I’m hearing is excuses,” I tease, smirking at him.
“How come I have to do all the tests and you get to sit back and do nothing?” he grumbles. “That’s hardly fair.”
“Are you serious?” I chortle, glancing at him in disbelief. I never know if he’s being serious or not. “How about the fact that I have to suffer through a pregnancy and then push this kid out? You still want to tell me that you're getting a raw deal?”
“Fine, fair enough,” he concedes. “Keep your panties on. So, you’re going with a natural birth, huh? Interesting,” he muses when I nod.
“And why is that so interesting?” I snap, irritability creeping into my voice.
He shrugs. “I just figured that all rich women had cesareans.”
“You’re much more attractive when you keep this”—I wave my index finger around his mouth—“shut.” I know he’s just trying to get a rise out of me, but some of the things that come out of his mouth truly amaze me.
“What? It’s true.”
I shake my head. “Sorry, but I think you'll find that the number of natural births far outweigh cesareans even among women with money.” I pause for a moment. “Which, for the record, I have very little of right now. I’ll have this child whatever way I'm told to. Can we talk about something else?” I add, feeling queasy all of a sudden.
I haven’t given much thought to how I’m going to push our child out, and I don’t want to start now. The whole idea of childbirth terrifies me.
“Sure. I guess we could talk about living arrangements.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “You want to live together?”
“Doesn't that kind of make sense, with the whole kid and marriage thing?” he suggests.
My frown deepens. I haven't really given that much thought either.
Apparently there’s a lot I haven’t really considered.
One thing is for sure—I’m not giving up my apartment. I've also never been one who enjoys sharing my space with others, so I’m not sure him moving in would be a viable option. Sometimes five minutes of Hudson is too much. How would I handle living with him? I’m pretty sure I’d murder him.
“I can tell by your silence that you’re thrilled with the idea of living with me.” He chuckles. “I feel like I should be offended.”
“It’s not that,” I argue, even though he’s right. I’m not digging the idea. “It’s just I’m not used to living with anyone else. Don’t take it personally.”
“You only just moved out of your dad’s house last year,” he points out. “The adjustment shouldn’t be that hard.”
“It’s not like my father was ever really around,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I might as well have been living alone. And how do you know when I moved out?”
It’s not interesting enough for Holly to have told him. Before he can reply, the doctor calls my name. I jump to my feet, secretly glad for the change of subject. Talking about the logistics of everything, however necessary they might be, is beginning to make me very nervous.
There’s so much to think about, and so many things I haven’t considered might be a problem, and that’s before we even get to the part where the baby comes out. I’m starting to think that maybe this isn’t going to be as cut and dry as I thought.
We follow the nurse into the exam room, where she leaves us alone to wait for the doctor. When the doctor enters a few seconds later, I’m surprised at how young she is. For some reason, I was expecting an uptight, older woman, whose personality reflects my grandmother’s. She did, after all, recommend her.
“Lovely to meet you both.” Her smile is wide and genuine, and she instantly puts me at ease. “I’m Doctor Meadows. You’re Valentina Rossi?” she asks, and I nod. “Your gran is a lovely, kind woman.”
She is?
“She is,” I say, even though I’m not entirely sure I agree. “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice. I’m lucky you had a cancellation.” I still don’t believe there was one, but I’ll play along. “This is my partner, Hudson.” His eyes meet mine just as the term partner rolls off my tongue.
“It’s lovely to meet you both. Okay, so you’re trying for a baby. That’s exciting,” she says, reading through our notes. “Have you been trying very long?”
“A few months—"
“Not long at all.” Hudson cuts me off.
She glances from him to me. “Well lucky for you, there’s a good likelihood that you’re both very fertile. You’re both young, fit, and healthy. There’s no reason to believe you wouldn’t fall pregnant naturally within a few months.”
“Can yo
u repeat that, Doc? I want to record it so I can play it for Valentina the next time she freaks out on me,” Hudson asks, phone poised.
My anger rises. I knew letting him come with me was a bad idea.
“I get it, I’m probably being silly, but I just want to make sure we’ve got the best possible chance of it happening as quickly as possible. Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help it along?” I focus on the doctor, ignoring the audible snort from Hudson. “Like take a pill or something?”
“Valentina, it doesn’t happen right away for many couples. That doesn’t necessarily indicate a problem. Most of the time when women relax, it happens for them. All worrying about it is going to do is make it harder and put strain on your relationship.”
A twinge of disappointment hits me. I figured all I’d have to do was ask and she’d be throwing tests at me, not telling me to relax and let it happen. The worst part is I don’t even need to look at Hudson to know he’s got a smug look on his face.
God, I hate it when he’s right.
“So, you’re telling me there’s not any way to speed this along?” I’m getting desperate now, and I feel like I’m repeating myself, but I can’t help it. “I just don’t want to be wasting my time if it’s not going to happen.”
“You can see why I'm with her. She’s such a romantic.” Hudson smirks.
I toss him a dirty look. “Excuse me for not wanting to waste time—”
“What's the hurry?” the doctor asks. She frowns as she looks from me to Hudson. “Are you trying to work having kids around your career? Is that it?”
“Not unless spending money is a career,” Hudson cracks.
“Will you just shut up—"
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do.” The doctor puts her hand up to silence both of us. “Valentina, I’ll run some blood tests to track your ovulation, and we’ll check the sample Hudson provided to make sure his sperm are healthy. Then you’ll have a window to give you the best chance at conceiving. How does that sound?”
“Good,” I say, relieved. Finally, I feel like I’m getting somewhere. “Thanks again,” I say to the doctor, as we all stand. “I know I probably sound like a hormonal, unstable mess—”
“No, you just sound like nearly every other hopeful mother I’ve helped,” she replies, giving me a reassuring pat on the back. “The key is not worrying until there’s something to worry about. And there’s one other key to making this run as smooth as possible.”
“Which is?” I prompt, running through the possible answers in my head.
“Relax.” She glances at Hudson. “And, you. Stop winding her up.”
“But she makes it so easy,” he protests as we walk out.
As we head to the reception desk, I repeatedly brush off his attempts to hold my hand.
“Will you stop that,” I finally snap.
“I’m just trying to be the supporting partner the good doc told me to be.” He glances at me, his demeanor switching to serious. “Feel better now?”
“Let's just take this one step at a time,” I suggest, not wanting to admit to him that I do feel better.
“Hey, that's a good idea. Take things as they come. Sounds like pretty much exactly what I said, huh?”
“You don’t always have to be right, you know,” I huff, unable to keep the testy tone out of my voice. It’s like he goes out of his way to try to irritate me.
“Yet no matter how hard I try not to be right, I still am,” he says with a shrug. “It’s hard being this good sometimes.”
“Settle down, Zoolander,” I mutter, stalking down the hallway. “What do you think you’re doing?” I hiss when I feel his hand graze past my ass. I turn around and glare at him.
He shrugs, his eyes twinkling. “Foreplay?”
I roll my eyes and storm off toward the waiting room. Just as I charge around the corner, I smack into someone. I look up, ready to apologize, but then I see who it is.
I freeze, because it’s Amanda.
My cousin.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hudson
“Are you kidding me?” Valentina hisses.
I look at her in surprise as she stares daggers at the woman who she nearly collided with. At first I think she's just annoyed that someone had the nerve to get in her way, but then I realize it's more than that. They know each other.
“Valentina,” the woman drawls, a distasteful look on her heavily made up face. “Fancy running into you here of all places. Let me guess. Grandmother?”
The look in Valentina's eyes grows even colder as she stiffens her spine. She flicks her hair over her shoulder and places her hand on her hip. Neither woman looks ready to back down and give in to the other. I’m not sure what the backstory is here, but I get the feeling there’s no love lost between these two.
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Valentina snips in an icy tone.
The woman glances at me and then back to Valentina, her eyes narrowing in delight.
“And who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce me?” she asks.
Valentina glances back at me as if she just remembered that I was there.
“No. I’m, not,” she retorts.
“Fine, then I’ll do it myself.” The woman steps forward, thrusting her thin, perfectly manicured hand into mine. She flashes me a smile. “I'm Valentina's cousin, Amanda. It’s lovely to meet you...?” She poses the introduction more as a question than a statement, leaving me little choice but to answer.
“Hudson,” I supply, ignoring the death stare Valentina is giving me.
Amanda’s smile widens. “Hudson. Lovely. And excuse my ignorance, but are you two"—she motions between us—"here together?”
Valentina sniffs. “That’s not ignorance; that’s just plain rude. It’s hardly any of your business why we’re here. Anyway, as much as I’d love to continue this chitchat, we have somewhere to be.” Valentina glances at me. “Right?”
“Right,” I echo.
Even I know my limits.
Valentina grabs hold of my hand and drags me past Amanda, to the exit.
“Well, it's obvious who's the boss in that relationship,” Amanda mumbles behind us.
I get the feeling she doesn’t mean me.
Valentina lets out a low growl as she pushes through the door and stalks over to my truck. She rakes her hand through her long hair, looking visibly upset as she paces back and forth in front of me.
“Your cousin?” I guess.
She nods, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
“And you two don’t get along?” I guess again.
“Was it that obvious?” she mutters, her dark eyes flashing. “Can we just go? Please?”
She waits, her hands on her hips, impatiently tapping her foot against the pavement as I hit the unlock button. I walk around and slide behind the driver's wheel, but I refuse to drive her anywhere until she talks to me. She then looks at me, her expression hard.
“Are we sitting here for a reason?” she snarls.
I shrug and settle back into my seat, making myself comfortable. “I’m just waiting for you to tell me what’s going on. Then I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“What do you mean what’s going on?” She stares me down, her mood deteriorating by the second. “I ran into my cousin, and she put me in a bad mood. End of story.”
“Bullshit. There’s more to it.”
She sighs then looks out the window, tears welling in her eyes. She wipes them away and takes a deep breath.
“It’s nothing. Well, nothing important anyway.”
“Then why are you nearly crying?” I ask gently. “And what did she mean by a little healthy competition?”
“I think I need to speak to my grandmother,” she mutters.
I wait as she rummages through her purse for her phone. I have no idea what’s going on, and all listening to the call between her and her gran does is confuse me even more. From the very first exchange, it’s obvious their relationship is comp
licated.
My own grandparents died before I was born, so I never got to experience that whole relationship with a grandparent, but if I had, I guarantee it wouldn’t have been like this.
“You can't be serious,” Valentina cries, slamming her head back against the headrest. “Yes. I know, but that would’ve been handy to know before I…” Her voice trails off. She glances at me and then looks away. “Okay. Fine. Bye.”
Alarm bells ring in my head, and she places her phone back in her purse.
Before what? She decided to involve me?
I thought the inheritance was a done deal. All she had to do was get pregnant, but I’m starting to think there is more to it. I wait impatiently for her to explain what the heck is going on. She shrugs, like she’s not sure what to say.
“Want to explain to me what’s going on?” I ask.
“Not really.” She sighs and rubs her temples. “This was such a bad idea.”
“This has turned into a competition between you and your cousin, hasn’t it?” I ask, slowly piecing the details together as best I can.
She nods, her lip quivering like the waterworks are about to start flowing.
“And what happens if you both get pregnant?” I ask.
She stares down at her fidgeting fingers and shrugs, her shoulders slouching forward.
“I guess it comes down to who has a baby first.”
“Wow,” I state, shocked. “Your grandmother is one sadistic, old bitch.”
“Hey!” Valentina barks, her eyes flashing. She opens her mouth, but then closes it again. “No, you’re right. She is.” She glances at me uncertainly. “So, does this change things for you?”
I think hard about that one. Does it change things? Yes. It changes everything. I could end up with a kid and be in a worse situation than I am now. I don’t mean to sound like a shallow asshole, but hearing that this isn’t even guaranteed is sitting a little uneasy with me.
“I’m not sure,” I admit.
“This is ridiculous.” She seethes. “Amanda doesn't even need the money. She doesn't need anything. The only reason she's doing this is to annoy me.”
“Maybe you should go and speak to your gran in person,” I suggest. “Or go and speak with your cousin and find out why she’s doing this.”
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