“I don’t want to disappoint her. If I hurt her, I hurt me.”
“Don’t you think Love knows that about you?”
He didn’t even blink before answering, “Yes. She knows everything about me.”
“And she loves you, anyway.”
That she did. Drake bent down, picked up the dollar bill and dropped it on El’s desk. “You earned that today.”
“Get the hell out of here.”
Drake barked out a laugh. “I do have to study. I better get to it.”
“Wait, all this mushy talk, and I conveniently forgot to ask about this whole pregnancy thing.”
Drake told El about Love’s text, and his uncle-brother snorted in amusement. “Wow, you two are made for each other. I’m assuming Love is on some sort of birth control, correct?”
Pausing, Drake thought about that for a moment. They’d never talked about it, but knowing her, she had it under control. He nodded. “I guess. I can’t see her not being on the pill or something.”
“Well, I suggest you definitely have that conversation. Can’t have any Drake Juniors running around the hospital.”
“Shut up.” The thought of a mini-Drake or a little Lovely was uncomfortable, but a pregnant and glowing Love was appealing on some level.
“Hey, I’m just saying…”
“I gotta go. Basketball tomorrow?”
“Sure thing. Are you going to that fund-raiser next week?”
Drake groaned, unable to hide his disgust. “I am, unfortunately.”
“Tell me about it. I won’t be there long, though. One of my patients will need me.”
Drake waved a dismissive hand. “And you know that already?”
“Yep.”
Drake snatched his dollar from the table. “I need this back to buy a bag a chips out of the vending machine.”
Drake made plans to meet El for breakfast in the morning, before heading to the gym. Then, he gathered his things and went to see his wife. They had to talk.
CHAPTER 15
Love sat on a swing in the park next to her condo rental, a beer in hand. The day had been longer than she’d hoped, and she’d needed a breath of fresh air and solitude. It was cold as hell, but she was bundled up. And she wasn’t pregnant. Thank God.
She peered up at the endless sky. The chill of the night was somehow overshadowed by the magnificence of the stars. One of her favorite things to do was visit the planetarium. Love was a proud nerd. Astronomy was one of her favorite subjects in school, and she’d spent hours at the College of Southern Nevada Planetarium as a young girl. Even now, as an adult, she would walk over to the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History and sit in the planetarium. Nothing beat the real thing, though. And the clear night above her was proof that God existed.
Drake pulled into his parking spot, and she watched him hop out of the car and grab his things. He was so confident in everything he did, from school to work to driving. They hadn’t talked much since she’d sent the dreaded text earlier. His three-word response only served to ramp up her anxiety about their situation.
She could admit that she wasn’t as experienced as he was with the opposite sex. While she hated to think of him with other women, even before he was with her, she knew he’d had many lovers. She’d had only three: terrible sex with the popular jock in high school, Derrick, and now Drake. Bad-sex guy had ruined her first time by behaving like a jerk during and after. She wasn’t even sure why she’d done it. She didn’t even like the guy that much.
Love took another swig of her beer and tugged her favorite Michigan hat over her ears. Drake had given it to her for her birthday a few years earlier. He’d had it specially made for her. It was blue, with hashtag “Hail” in gold writing across the front. It was a University of Michigan thing, short for “Hail to the Victors,” the Michigan Fight Song.
Drake spotted her on his way into the building and headed over to her. “What’s up?” he asked. “You do know it’s forty degrees outside.”
She smiled at him. “I’m bundled up.”
“Did you bring an extra?” he asked, gesturing to her beer.
Pulling one out of her coat pocket, she handed it to him. “Of course.”
He set his stuff down, and sat in the swing next to her. “Long day.”
“Tell me about it.”
They swayed in their swings for several minutes, in a comfortable silence. Drake broke the ice first when he said, “You’re not pregnant, Love.”
Giggling, she finished off her beer. “I know.”
He glanced over at her, sending a bolt of awareness through her body. “What was that about?”