When I reached the lobby, my Uber was eleven minutes away so I decided to stop at the small Starbucks there.
“A black coffee please; no, wait—” Would coffee harm the baby? Should I drink coffee?
I looked at the young barista who was staring at me expectantly.
I sighed. “A peppermint tea, please.”
I waited outside, hoping that some fresh air—well, some London dubious fresh air, anyway—would help me. It sort of did. I felt a little more like myself when I sat in the Uber to go to Ethan’s office.
I looked down at the cup I was holding. It was not a bomb I was going to drop on him, it was a nuclear blast!
Oh Ethan, you know the guy I slept with? Yeah, well, he was not just anyone, he was your brother and you want to know the kicker? He got me pregnant. Yay, right?
I growled, leaning my head back.
“Are you alright, miss?” the driver asked me as he threw a concerned look in the rearview mirror.
“No.”
“Oh, I—”
“Don’t worry about it. Just drive.”
He let out a sigh of relief and I almost laughed; he would think twice now before asking these types of questions again.
I walked in the office building, unsure of how I would even approach the situation with Ethan. I was not even sure I understood everything myself. How was I supposed to explain it to him?
I took the elevator up, still holding my now lukewarm untouched peppermint tea. I was not even sure why I ordered that. I’d never been a fan of herbal tea. I was a coffee gal.
Something you’ll need to change now that you have a baby growing inside of you.
I groaned in frustration as the elevator opened on Ethan’s floor and I walked down the corridor to his office.
“Ava dear, how are you?”
“I’m okay.” I forced a smile as I looked at Ethan’s middle-aged receptionist. “Is he free?”
“Yes.” She waved her hand toward the door of his office. “His last patient just left. Let him know I’m leaving now, will you?”
“Of course, have a good evening.”
I opened the door and he looked up, startled. His blond hair was looking even paler against his bronzed skin. “Damn, you’re tanned!” I exclaimed with a small smile as I walked in the office to find him staring at his screen. “Are you sure you were at a conference?”
He looked up and grinned as I approached his desk. “I was, but I was at the beach a lot, too. Found the perfect one—there’s no tan lines anywhere. I’ll show you later.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Despite the shit show my life had become, Ethan was always able to make me smile.
“You okay, love?” He cocked his head to the side and frowned a little, probably noticing the stress I couldn’t or wouldn’t hide anymore.
“Honestly, no, I’m not.”
“Talk to me, babe. Did the doctor say something?”
I looked at him silently and saw his face morph into genuine worry.
He stood up, circling his desk. “Ava.” It showed his level of worry as he very rarely called me by my name. “What did he say? What happened?” He sat on the chair beside me and grabbed my hand.
I took a deep breath and looked down at his thumb that was gently rubbing my knuckles.