29. Athena
TWENTY-NINE
ATHENA
M anuel was guiding me through the parking lot toward a building that looked like an apartment building. When I tripped over my feet—fatigue taking its toll—he scooped me up and carried me into the building.
His warmth felt good, surrounding me. Being close to him, smelling him. So manly, so hot. There was safety in his strong arms, and although I loved it, it did slightly annoy me. Up until now, no guy had ever fascinated me enough to want to do anything beyond a whirlwind romance, but here this man was, infiltrating my thoughts and barreling through my defenses. The man was a walking aphrodisiac.
He started climbing the stairs, and once he reached the top, he turned left and made his way down the dark hallway.
“Where are we going? This doesn’t look like a doctor’s office.”
“It is.” Just as he said it, he shoved a door open with his shoulder.
An older man with a full head of gray hair was seated at the desk, and the moment we entered, he stood up.
“ Buona sera , Manuel.”
Manuel nodded.
“ Ciao, Dottore .” He carefully placed me on his examination table, then shook hands with the doctor. He tilted his chin at me. “This is Athena. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice. There was an accident and she hit her head, among other things.”
Somehow I didn’t think the poor doctor had a choice in seeing us on such “short notice.” Manuel exchanged a few more words with the doctor while my head darted back and forth between them, not understanding a word.
He clapped the doctor on the shoulder and said to me, “Dr. Alleghri will look you over. All right?”
I nodded, and the doctor shifted his attention to me with a good-natured expression.
“ Signorina ,” the man said, his black medical bag on the table next to the examination bed. “With your permission, I’d like to do a quick examination.”
He slipped on a pair of latex gloves, then opened his bag to retrieve his instruments. He listened to my heartbeat, took my blood pressure, and asked me questions.
“Does your head hurt?”
“No.”
“Are you feeling dizzy?”
“No.”
“How have you been feeling in general, before the accident?”
Tired as fuck. Writing, breaking into bookstores, being attacked, having sex with an incredibly hot Italian. Although, I didn’t think the good old doctor would appreciate my honesty.
“Tired, but I’ve been super busy,” I ended up answering with a bit of a snort.
He nodded once, then continued using his stethoscope.
“Hmmm,” he hummed. He exchanged a curious look with Manuel, then turned back at me with a speculative look. “Any chance of a pregnancy?”
I stiffened and my stomach dropped while I mentally scrambled to recall the date of my last period. I racked my brain… How long had it been? Was it before I met Manuel?
“I’m on birth control,” I whispered as a terrible realization settled like lead in the pit of my stomach. I reached for my phone, my heart racing in my chest as I looked back through my calendar.
Oh my God.
No, no, no. It was impossible to be pregnant. I’d had my shot… Oh. My. God. I missed my last appointment. Shit, shit, shit. My periods were always irregular; sometimes I went months without getting it.
My stomach dropped. It couldn’t be. The shot had never failed me. Plus I always used a condom.
Except with Manuel.
Shit, shit, shit . With everything going on, I hadn’t even thought about the morning-after pill. Never even crossed my mind to ask Manuel to use a condom.
“It’s impossible.” I shook my head. This couldn’t happen to me. For Christ’s sake, I was always so careful, not wanting to repeat my mother’s mistake.
The doctor shuffled around in a cabinet and brought a new device to my belly.
My brows furrowed. “What are you doing?”
He smiled gently. “Listening.”
My gaze flitted to Manuel who seemed just as speechless, but then the doctor’s next words had the whole world fading away.
“I can’t hear anything, but let’s get you a pregnancy test for peace of mind.”
I opened my mouth, then paused, every limb freezing. Panic started building in my chest, but I forced it down. Things were going to be okay. I wasn’t pregnant.
No vomiting. Check.
No nausea. Check.
No period. Goddammit, I wish it wasn’t a check.
“Miss, have you been feeling nauseous?” the doctor asked softly again, pulling me out of a whirlwind of thoughts.
I swallowed. “No.”
“We can take your urine sample right now and I’ll be able to tell you for certain whether you’re pregnant or not.”
“I don’t want to know,” I breathed, on the verge of hysteria.
Manuel closed the distance, taking my hand in his. “We need to know.”
I closed my eyes, praying I’d wake up from this nightmare. Unfortunately, when I opened my eyes, nothing had changed. This was very much my reality.
Sliding off the exam table, I headed for the bathroom. When Manuel was about to follow me, I shot him a glare. “I can do this on my own.”
“Just leave a sample on the counter,” the doctor said and I disappeared into the bathroom.
With a trembling heart, I peed into a cup, then cleaned up, and exited the bathroom. Two sets of dark eyes locked in on me and I offered them a shaky smile.
“All yours,” I mumbled to the doctor.
“Excellent,” he agreed. “May I also draw your blood?”
I sat back on the exam table. Extending my arm out, I gave the old doctor permission to draw my blood. He was efficient, disappearing into the bathroom right after, while I sat and twisted my hands nervously.
Manuel took my chin between his strong fingers, his expression serious. “Whatever the result, we’ll work it out.”
I shook my head. “I’m not ready for babies. Not now.”
“Why not?”
I pressed my fingers against my temples. “Oh, I don’t know. It might have something to do with the fact I have actual assassins after me.” I was on the verge of hyperventilating. “I’m only twenty-three, Manuel. Way too young for babies. I’ve never even changed a diaper.”
He made a dismissive sound, but before he could say something, the doctor returned. He looked at Manuel, then me, giving us a soft smile that I always thought fathers gave their daughters when faced with bad news.
“Let me be the first one to congratulate you.” I tried to control my breathing and tune out his words. If I didn’t hear them, it wasn’t real. Yet, deep down, I fucking knew it was. “The urine test confirmed it. You’re definitely pregnant. I suspect the blood test will confirm the same, but it will take some time to get results back. I’m guessing you’re about six weeks, but you’ll need to schedule a sonogram to confirm and determine all the details like measurements because I don’t have the equipment for that.”
Six weeks . Oh God—Manuel knocked me up on the first try. Who could do that?
I couldn’t help it—I burst into tears. Pulling my knees to my chest, I buried my face in my hands and cried. In the far corner of my mind, I heard footsteps, a soft click of the door, and then strong hands were wrapping around me. Manuel’s comforting scent surrounded me as his hand stroked my back.
How could I be so stupid?
I’d seen and experienced firsthand what it was like to be raised by a young, single mother. Now I was just like her, stupid enough to get knocked up by a mafia man.
Tears began streaming down my face, soaking Manuel’s shirt. I couldn’t look at him, shame filling me at being so damn stupid.
“This is all your fault,” I choked out through my tears, knowing full well the part I’d played too.
Manuel kissed my forehead, then tilted my chin so he could see my face, his dark eyes boring into mine.
“It takes two,” he echoed my own thoughts. “I’m not going to lie to you and say this makes me unhappy.”
“Surely you don’t mean that,” I snapped, anger flaring in my chest. “If you hadn’t brought me to see the doctor. If we never came here—” I dropped my head in my hands. “Fuck!”
Sighing, Manuel scooped me up and placed me on his lap, the examination table squeaking under his weight as he sat.
His hand came to rest on my belly, his touch gentle, almost reverent. “This is a good thing, amorina .”
“No, it’s not.” I glared at him. “I have all these people after me. I can’t bring a baby into all this.”
His expression turned stormy but his voice portrayed none of it.
“It is a good thing. A baby is a blessing.” I gave him an incredulous look. “We’ll get married and keep our baby protected. It happens every day.” My mouth dropped open. Get married? Was he crazy? Although, while I gaped at him, a tiny voice in my head warned me it was more than my mother ever got.
“I don’t want a baby,” I rasped. “I’d rather have?—”
This time his expression turned dark, almost twisted.
“Don’t you dare say it, Athena,” he said darkly, giving me a full glimpse of the ruthless man underneath the cool fa?ade.
I felt hot tears streaming down my neck.
“It can’t end like this. It can’t,” I whispered, terrified. I wasn’t ready to be a mother. I could barely take care of myself.
He pulled me into a tighter hug, his strong hands offering safety. “It’s not the end, amorina . It is the beginning.” I shifted back, searching out his face, finding nothing but sincerity there. “Now, shall I call the doctor back in?”
I swallowed with an audible gulp before nodding hesitantly. He shifted us around again, putting me back on the table while he went in search of the doctor.
“ Tutto bene ?” he asked when he returned, worry creasing his brow. When I gave him a blank expression, the doctor said in English, “It must be a shock, but a baby is a joyful affair.”
I nearly snorted, but thankfully I managed to show some restraint and agreed flatly.
I wasn’t sure what Manuel meant when he spoke of beginnings, but now was not the time or place to discuss it. I was exhausted, my brain mush and my emotions all over the place.
“If you haven’t been feeling nauseous, you’re a lucky woman,” the doctor explained. “You’ll need to start taking prenatal vitamins. I’ll send some home with you, along with a prescription to the pharmacy. Any bleeding or spotting?”
“No.”
He looked at Manuel. “She’ll need an obstetrician as soon as you can arrange it.”
“ Assolutamente .”
I sighed, then steeled my spine. “You can talk to me, you know. He’s not my husband.”
“Yet,” Manuel chimed in, smiling smugly. What I wouldn’t give to wipe it off his handsome face right now. This situation was getting to me. It was the middle of the night, I was almost killed mere hours ago, and now I was discussing pregnancy and possible marriage.
The doctor sighed, probably ready to leave us to the tension. “Would you like to listen to the baby’s heartbeat?”
When I nodded, he placed the device he’d used before on my belly and adjusted the volume on the machine. And then we heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. A rapid whoosh , whoosh , whoosh, and a tremor rocked through my chest and all my thoughts about not wanting a baby ceased to exist. Everything changed and especially me.
It was all it took to fall in love.