CHAPTER 27
“ Thank you,” I shook my new doctor’s hand while adjusting my shoulder bag.
“And I’ll see you next week.”
I noticed my bodyguard calmly reading the magazine in the waiting area, acting nonchalant.
Ha. Anyone could see his beady eyes tracking the movements of everyone who came by.
“Don’t forget what I said and call my office if you have any questions. I want to get your anaemia under control.” he advised with a brusqueness which seemed rife amongst some within the medical profession.
The bodyguard snapped to sudden attention and my gaze followed his.
Striding into the waiting area with an apologetic look on his handsome face was my ex-husband.
“Traffic was murder,” Matt murmured as he stood next to me, his hand automatically rested on the small of my back.
I fought the flutter in my chest and edged away while he greeted my doctor.
Completely flustered from his absent-minded touch, the back of my neck began to sweat.
Thank goodness I wore my hair loose today.
“I didn’t miss the scan, did I?” Matt asked quickly.
“Yes, you did. We were just saying our goodbyes,” I murmured while smiling at Dr Nichols.
“Nonsense.” Matt brushed my words aside.
“I’m sure we can have another scan done.” He stared expectantly at the doctor.
“Of course, Mr Bradley,” the smooth reply from Dr Nichols reminded me we were in Harley Street, London.
The best of the best and catering to the wealthy.
“If you don’t mind waiting-”
“I’m quite pressed for time.” Matt drawled.
Never mind he was the late party.
I swallowed the urge to elbow him in the side and let my eyes do the talking.
Giving me an innocent look, Matt once again rested his hand against my lower back as the doctor acquiesced to his request.
Five minutes later the three of us were in a darkened room with me on my back and my top pushed up to my boobs as I valiantly tried to hide my slightly protruding belly button.
“What are you doing?” Matt asked and gave the doctor a polite smile as he waited for me to move my hand.
“I don’t want you seeing my belly button,” I groused.
“It pokes out now and it’s weird.”
“Madison,” It was his bossy voice.
“Stop being foolish. Come on, I can’t wait to see them.”
Begrudgingly I removed my hand.
Matt was really excited, boyishly excited and again I fought the flutter.
Dr Nichols squirted some gel on my abdomen for the second time in an hour and Matt grinned at me as the doctor began the scan.
Then he said, “I see what you mean, it really does stick out.”
“Shut up and watch the screen.” I croaked in embarrassment.
“Shouldn’t she be much bigger?” Matt asked the doctor.
“Matt,” I hissed.
“Please.”
“As I mentioned in our initial meeting,” Matt continued without acknowledging my whispered complaint.
“I’m a touch worried about her and the babies. She refuses to consider slowing down at work,” A tiny scowl tugged at his mouth.
“And it’s physically draining.”
“It’s not.” I shot back.
“Dr Nichols told me it was fine to continue dancing, as long as I don’t overdo it and stop speaking about me as if I’m not here.”
Matt narrowed his eyes.
“Is that right, Dr Nichols?”
“Here we go,” Dr Nichols expertly dodged Matt’s burgeoning irritation by using the best tactic possible.
“Baby…ah, yes, it’s the boy.”
Matt peered intently at the screen and the craziest thing happened, I swore he looked as if he was about to cry.
I held my breath, hoping against hope he didn’t start bawling and humiliate me in front Dr Nichols.
“Do you see him?” Matt asked me eagerly, gaze still locked on the screen.
“I saw them before.” I reminded him.
“And your baby girl.” Dr Nichols moved the apparatus around my tummy to bring up another image on the screen.
Matt was staring in wonder and I let him have his moment.
“Look at them,” he said in very hushed tones as if fearful to disturb them.
“Are they trying to touch hands? They are. Look, they’re trying to touch their hands together.”
I looked and nodded in agreement, although it looked more like a fist bump from my angle.
Matt wouldn’t appreciate me saying that.
“Are there any issues with their growth rate?” Matt asked and I sighed softly before glancing at the screen.
It was the 4D ultrasound machine, a big change from the normal 2D I got via the NHS.
“They look strange.” I decided.
When I had it done earlier I was too surprised to catalogue exactly how it felt seeing them.
Now I did.
Matt stopped talking for a minute, yep I counted.
“Right?” I twisted my head to face Dr Nichols, seeking support.
“I mean, they’ve got squishy faces and I think that knee over there looks knobbly. The noses, urgh, they don’t have my nose. Matt, your nose is snooty, they have snooty mushed noses,” My words trailed off.
With paternal ire, Matt had eyeballed me into silence before quizzing Dr Nichols about everything, seems he’d been doing his own research since finding out he was to be a father.
Thirty minutes later, my tummy was free of sticky gel and my belly button was thankfully covered.
Matt had his own set of pictures, he hadn’t stopped smiling since we left Dr Nichols.
The three of us were in the lift and my bodyguard quietly tried his best to avoid encroaching on his employer’s personal space.
“They look clever.” Matt mused.
“Uh, ok,” I agreed, patting my tummy in reassurance as I mentally promised them protection from any of their father’s unrealistic expectations.
Matt must have seen something I didn’t on the scan.
They looked squishy to me.
And what does a ‘clever’ foetus look like?
“I hope they get some of my height,” he continued thoughtfully.
“Excuse me?” I blinked at my reflection in the sleek mirrored wall panels of the lift.
“What’s wrong with my height?”
“You’re perfectly fine as you are, I’m sure they’ll be tall enough.” Matt belatedly tried to cover his tracks.
I centred my chi with some nice deep breaths and tried to bite my tongue.
The biting of tongue thing had been my motto the past week.
I wanted to ask: What are we doing?
What’s going to happen after they bust out my vag?
Is a custody agreement being drawn up already?
If it is, why am I not being consulted?
When am I going to take the paternity test?
Is it the non-invasive one?
Who gets them for Christmas?
How will the holidays be divided?
What’s going to happen when they are actually here?
What do you want from me?
“Are you alright?” Matt asked, pulling me from the questions thundering around my head.
“You look ill.”
“Yes,” My vague answer earned me an exasperated snort from him.
When the elevator doors slid open, Matt put a hand on my arm, causing me to pause.
The bodyguard slipped past me and stepped out first.
Then Matt guided me out, his hand found its way to my back once more.
Why are you touching me?
I desperately wanted to ask him but thought it better not to.
“I know this is a bit last minute,” Matt leaned in closer as we walked through the glitzy reception area.
“But Hannah and the girls want you to come over for,” He glanced at his wristwatch.
Nice, new and shiny.
“A late lunch, early dinner.”
“I have things-”
“I called Dante on my way over here and he said everything’s under control.” Matt said with a breezy confidence that heated my blood.
“Since when do you and Dante talk?” I asked, surprised over this new titbit.
“What? Are you bff’s now? There are classes I’m obligated to teach, paperwork I have to go through. Do you talk to each other now? How often do you call him? Does he call you?” I stopped walking.
“You’re stealing my best friend?”
“Stop babbling.” Matt urged me forward to where the bodyguard held the door open for us.
“It’s just an early dinner at my place, and I’m not stealing anyone. We’ve spoken a few times since last week.”
“How many times?” I needed to know.
Why hadn’t Dante mentioned he’d been chatting to Matt?
This was borderline cheating, there had to be some rule that made them being friends a form of cheating.
“A few, maybe five or six.” Matt’s nonchalant reply left me speechless.
What the heck was going on?
“So yes to meeting the girls? They are probably there already.” Matt pressed for confirmation as we walked through the door.
The sun shone brightly, causing me to squint against the glare.
“But what do you talk about?” It was worrying.
Did they talk about me?
Who made the first call?
I unconsciously grabbed the edge of Matt’s work suit jacket.
“You guys didn’t like each other before.”
Matt bestowed one of his smiles on me.
The cute relaxed one that always made me think of lazy days spent snuggling.
“Dante is a sound bloke,”
My mouth fell open, unattractively might I add.
“We may not have seen eye to eye before,” Matt divulged, as if I had been oblivious to the unspoken dislike between them in the early days of my relationship and short marriage.
He continued, “But we have quite a fair bit in common and he’s a funny chap.”
“W-what on earth do you two have in common?” I stuttered, not wanting to state the obvious, which was me.
I was what they had in common.
Matt winked at me.
“We both have crazy exes.”
That shut me up for a second before I gave him the ‘look’.
He had better not be referring to me.
Fighting a laugh, Matt propelled us forward.
“Yes to seeing the girls then?”
“I don’t know.” I hesitated.
It would be awkward no doubt.
“The twins would feel terrible if you decided not to come,” Matt, not-so-innocently, started playing me.
“I know Hannah would blame me for your absence.”
His exaggerated sigh was breaking down my reserve, the urge to giggle was building.
Stop, this is how it starts, I mentally warned myself.
When Matt decided to be charming he usually got his own way.
“And George has demanded I ensure you visit today,” Matt said with mock irritation.
“Unbelievable. George making demands on me. I might have to sack him for his insolence.” He sighed again.
“And send him on his way with a poor reference, at his age he probably won’t get another job that pays as well.”
“Matt, that’s not funny in the slightest and it’s illegal to give someone a bad reference.” I gently nudged his arm.
Crap.
Why was I still holding on to his jacket?
And how had my hand gotten on his darned arm?
As if stung, I jerked my hand away.
“Please,” He stopped messing around and got serious.
“They would really appreciate you showing up.”
I didn’t feel comfortable with his semi-sneaky way of dropping this late-lunch early-dinner on my lap, and I worried if I gave in to this request it might start a trend.
Urgh.
I was grown enough to tell him no whenever I wanted.
“ I would really appreciate it,” he stressed, humble and hopeful.
“It’s been ages since I’ve spoken to the twins,” And it was the truth.
This wasn’t me caving at all.
Matt nodded in agreement.
“Hannah desperately wants to see you.”
“She can probably give me loads of advice too,” I added.
Matt nodded again.
“Ever since I told my family you’re expecting, it’s all she’s been talking about.”
A tiny frown wavered over my lips as I recalled the complete Artic block out they had subjected me to when Matt and I split.
They probably assumed I was guilty of trapping him, gossiping amongst themselves, painting me as some sort of hoochie gold-digger-
“George would love to see you,” Matt reminded me while stepping closer.
“I don’t know, Matt. It might be awkward, no, it will be awkward.”
He ran a hand through his brushed back hair and shrugged.
“I know, but Hannah is determined to make amends – she’s over the moon for me, for us; and she doesn’t want to be left out. The girls, well, they have no other cousins. Stuart’s an only child, you know.”
I knew that.
Cousins could be fun.
I wanted my kids to have a nice relationship with their cousins, never mind the age gap.
“One course.” I decided, knowing it was best to face the issue head on.
Matt’s family couldn’t be ignored forever, and it was better to deal with them in small increments.
Today Hannah and the twins, next year…
next two years the rest.
“Valerie would have prepared-”
“One course.” I reiterated firmly.
“One course it is.” Matt conceded when he saw the hard glint in my eyes.
“Shall we go together in my car?”
“No.” I scoffed.
“I’ll meet you there.”
Matt scrutinized my features, suspicion clouded his own.
He was probably envisioning me speeding away without a backwards glance and heading for Portsmouth to catch the next ferry to France.
“I’ll meet you there, Matt.” I grumbled then flashed him a tight smile before hurrying towards my waiting bodyguard and leaving him behind.
It was a silent walk to my car.
Perfect for me to think about what I was doing.
It was only a matter of time, I was being painfully realistic; it was only a matter of time before I fell under Matt’s spell again.
How long could I resist?
I had no idea but was hoping it would number in months and not weeks.
He was a human form of narcotics, created in some bloody lab by a crazed genetic scientist; that was my belief and I was sticking to it.
Like all other bad substances, the only way to overcome an addiction was to stay the hell away from the source.
Cold turkey.
Run far away from any temptation, but the party for two taking place in my womb meant running away wasn’t a viable option.
Matt would hunt me down anyway, and he knew people.
Ha.
Dante, freaking Judas, would probably sell me out.
Why hadn’t he mentioned these conversations with Matt to me?
Were they planning something?
I wouldn’t put it past them to try and have me committed!
Matt would get the kids and Dante would get my business.
Win-win.
“Hey, Callum, can people get committed against their will over here?” I asked the man at my side.
“If they pose a danger to themselves or others,” Callum replied in a deep, raspy voice.
“Yes.”
I automatically covered my nose and increased my pace.
“Sounds like you’ve got a cold. I don’t want the cold. Do you know pregnant women have a lowered immune system? I don’t want your lurgy.”
The beefy bodyguard easily matched my pace.
“I don’t have the cold, Ms DuMont.”
“Good.” I dropped my hand to my side as we drew close to my parked car.
“I’ve been wanting to use lurgy for a while now but no one’s been sick. Thanks.”
Callum didn’t react.
He was very professional, and boring.
“Do you need to pay the Congestion Charge, Ms DuMont?”
I knew I should have gotten the tube into Central London, but I didn’t want to risk the germs.
Grumbling under my breath, I was now regretting not registering my car for CC Auto Pay, I could have saved myself ￡1 today.
“I’ve got until midnight before it goes up.” I drawled and unlocked my car.
“Are you following me to my ex-husband’s?”
“Yes, Ms DuMont.”
Giving him a quick wave I got in my vehicle, buckled up, then pulled away from the curb.
I was secretly looking forward to spending some time with Natty and Nicki, their youthfulness always brought a smile to my face.
Had I ever viewed the world with such unwavering confidence?
An hour later, traffic had been murder, I parked up across the street from Matt’s Kensington home.
“Ok,” I looked at my half reflection in the rear view mirror.
It was pep talk time.
“I’m going in there with a clear frame of mind. I won’t harbour any ill will towards any person who did me wrong,” I spotted a smudge in my eyeliner and quickly dabbed at the corner of my eye to rectify it.
“The girls were in a bad position. Loyalty needed to be shown to their uncle, and Hannah, well she’s Matt’s sister so, yeah. Loyalty. I can’t be angry at them-”
The sharp knock on the window broke my ramblings.
Callum looked at me askance and I waved him back before grabbing my bag and exiting the car.
A quick press of the key fob to lock my ride and I was ready to face them.
“The front door is literally across the street. You don’t have to walk me in, Callum.” I let him know in case he didn’t.
“I’ll be waiting out front until you’re ready to leave, Ms DuMont.” he advised, following my steps as we crossed the quiet road.
He never cracked a smile, never joked, geez.
It was nothing more than being stalked by a cloud of professional gloom.
He wouldn’t even let me press the doorbell when we stood out front the imposing front door.
“Ms DuMont,” George greeted the moment the door swung open.
He took a moment to survey my form then gave me his warmest smile ever.
I felt myself smiling back.
The old, starchy butler looked exactly the same.
“Come,” George started ushering me in.
“Mr Bradley only arrived a short while ago,” He peered at Callum, who was making sure I had entered the house fully, then closed the door on my bodyguard’s face.
“No hug?” I couldn’t allow the opportunity to go to waste.
I had missed teasing Matt’s loyal butler.
Loyalty.
I was focused on loyalty.
They couldn’t be blamed for ostracizing me…
the mean bastar-
George shook his head at me, but he didn’t complain when I wrapped my arms around his stiff shoulders and squeezed tightly.
“It’s good to see you.” I said with the utmost sincerity.
“Madi, you’re here.” the half screech coming from behind George was warning enough.
Natty and Nicki were about to descend.
I stepped away from George, grinning at their double exuberance and preparing myself.
They both sported casual t-shirts and jeans, in the not-really-trying-but-still-winning sort of catwalk way I never could manage at their age.
My mouth fell open when I saw the change in their appearance.
“Hey,” I managed to get out before they swamped me.
George was unceremoniously pushed aside as we giddily hugged in the foyer.
Who could stay mad at these loony sweethearts?