Chapter 15
LUKE
“Leaving already?”
Luke was halfway out the door, already in his street clothes, when Marco called out to him from across the lobby. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to meet the chief of surgery’s eyes.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, of course not. Your shift ended a few minutes ago.” Marco smiled. “I’m just surprised. You’ve gotten so punctual lately.”
“Hmm,” Luke said noncommittally. He had been increasingly punctual over the last three weeks, since Bella had moved in with him.
He always looked forward to getting home to her, so he no longer worked hours of overtime or as many double shifts, and he never slept at the hospital unless he had a night call.
“Got a hot date?” Marco asked teasingly.
“Ha.” Luke shook his head. “Nothing like that.”
Although, in a way, it was like that. He and Bella weren’t romantically involved, but they did spend a lot of time together.
At first, it had been awkward, but now, things were settling into a routine.
He’d helped her pack up her apartment, and she’d agreed to stay in his home at least until the baby came.
She’d found staff to cover her catering events, though she still spent a fair amount of time on the couch with her laptop trying to oversee everything from a distance.
Luke still didn’t know all that much about her, but they were closer. At least as close as roommates.
“Well, have a great evening, and see you on Monday,” Marco said.
Luke nodded his agreement and headed out into the April evening.
It was unseasonably warm and sunny, and the trees that surrounded the parking lot were covered in blossoms, sending a floral fragrance through the air.
Luke drove home with the windows open and his favorite NPR channel playing on the radio.
At home, he parked in the driveway and climbed the few steps to the front door. When he opened it, he called out, “Honey, I’m home!” a joke he and Bella had started the first week she’d moved in.
“Welcome home!” a cheerful voice called back.
Luke took off his shoes, putting them on the shoe rack, and hung his keys on the key-shaped keyholder Bella had insisted on buying.
Over the last few weeks, she’d added her small touches to the house, from the keyholder to better kitchen equipment, to colorful curtains in the living room.
Luke complained about it a lot, but secretly he found it pleasant that his house looked a little more like a home.
Luke followed the smell of butter and garlic to the kitchen. Bella was standing by the stove, sautéing something in a large pan. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, and one hand rested on the curve of her stomach while the other worked the spatula. She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“How was work?”
“The usual.”
“Come on, you can do better than that.” Bella was facing away again, but he could hear in her tone that she was rolling her eyes.
“Well, I treated a few patients with headaches or stomachaches,” Luke said.
He leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “One resident thought she’d found a brain tumor in this poor woman’s head, but it turned out to be just a regular headache.
And I sewed up some guy’s hand, which he’d cut while cooking. ”
“Amateur. Get me a plate?”
Luke fetched two plates from the cupboard, and Bella scooped pasta onto each, then added a few basil leaves and a sprinkle of parmesan.
“Dinner’s ready,” she said with a flourish.
“Excellent. You didn’t have to spend too long on your feet, did you?” Luke asked.
“No, Doc,” Bella said teasingly. “This was only the last half an hour or so. Before that, I spent almost an hour on the phone with a client, but that was all lying on the couch, I swear.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” They carried their pasta to the table, where a giant game of Ticket to Ride was set up. Early on, they’d discovered that they both had a competitive streak, so they often played games over dinner.
“What else did you do today?” Luke asked as Bella dealt him a few cards.
“Just coordinating stuff for work and thinking about… work.” Something in the way she said that made Luke think she wasn’t telling the whole truth, but that was fine.
The reason this arrangement worked as well as it did was that they kept things on a surface level.
They played games instead of talking much, and exchanged small talk about their days instead of talking about what they meant to each other and what it would be like when they were parents.
It suited Luke perfectly. He was glad to have Bella in his house.
He enjoyed spending time with her. But as long as they kept their distance, he could avoid getting too attached, and that was important.
You never knew when people were going to leave your life, either on purpose or in a terrible accident, and he didn’t want his heart to break when Bella and the baby eventually left.
For now, he could keep them safe, and that was enough. They didn’t have to talk everything to death.
“You’re first,” Bella said.
“Okay.” Luke placed a few plastic trains on the board in exchange for a card from his hand.
“And don’t forget to eat,” Bella added. Luke chuckled and took a forkful of the pasta. It was buttery and cheesy and a little spicy, with tomatoes and basil adding what Bella would call “a fresh element.”
“Oh, wow. Yum.”
“Good — focus on the food, not the game.” Bella winked. “Then I’ll win for sure.”
“You wish.” Luke took another bite and returned his focus to the game. “I never lose.”
“You lose all the time,” Bella contradicted, rolling her eyes. “At least ninety percent of the time.”
“No way. It might be fifty-fifty.”
“Nah.” She grinned. “I win more than you for sure.”
For a while, they ate and played in an easy rhythm. Just as Luke was finishing the last bite of his pasta and Bella was claiming an important route on the board, she froze. For a moment, panic spiked in Luke’s chest, but then she met his eyes, grinning.
“Oh, wow.”
“What?”
“It’s just, well, he’s kicking so much.” Bella stood and circled the table.
Grabbing Luke’s hand, she placed it on her stomach.
For a moment, neither of them breathed. Luke just waited, and then…
there it was. The tiniest flicker, like a butterfly kiss, against his palm.
Then it came again, a little harder. This was their baby, kicking him.
Luke had palpated plenty of pregnant stomachs at work and felt plenty of baby kicks, but this felt completely new. He was feeling his own baby, Bella’s baby. Their baby.
He looked up at Bella, his mouth opening slightly.
“Oh, wow,” he echoed.
“I know.” Her voice was low. Luke realized his hand was still on her stomach, and her hand was still on top of his, light and warm. Their eyes met, and the world seemed to slow until it was just the two of them — or the three of them.
“We’re having a baby,” he said.
“Did you just figure that out, Sherlock?” Bella’s voice was still soft and warm, despite the teasing edge.
“I think I didn’t really realize it until now,” Luke admitted. “I mean, I knew we were having a baby, but I didn’t know we were having this baby.”
Bella laughed softly. “What other baby would we have had?”
“That’s not what I mean.” Luke stood suddenly, so that they were face-to-face. His hand still rested on her stomach. “Bella, this changes everything.”
Worry flared behind her green eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we can’t go on like this. We can’t pretend that we’re just roommates or strangers. We’re going to be parents. I think we have to start talking.”
“What do you mean?” Bella repeated. “We do talk. We talk plenty.”
“I mean, I want to know about you. I want to know about your family, about your dreams, about what you want for this baby. And you should know those things about me, too — because like it or not, we’re going to be in each other’s lives forever because of this little one.”
“I think being roommates has been fine,” Bella said guardedly.
“Yeah.” Luke nodded. “It’s been fine. But I think we can do better. We’re going to be a family, Bella. That comes with a certain amount of responsibility.”
Bella let out a slow breath. “You might be right.”
“Good. Are you done with dinner?”
She nodded.
“Then come with me.” He took her by the hand and led her into the living room. They sat together on the couch, across from each other. The window was open, and warm spring air spilled through. It felt like a new beginning.
Luke was scared. Keeping his distance had worked for him; it had worked really well. As long as he was distant from Bella and the baby, he wouldn’t be too badly hurt when they left his life. But he realized now that he’d be hurt anyway, and it was better not to pretend that they were strangers.
“So, tell me something. Something about you.”
“Um…” Bella looked uncomfortable. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your family,” Luke suggested.
“I’m an only child, no siblings,” she told him. “I don’t speak much with my parents anymore, although they live near here. They were both only children, too, so I don’t have aunts or uncles. My grandparents have passed away.”
There was a world of hurt in those few sentences. Bella really was all alone in the world — no wonder she’d been so upset in the hospital when she realized she had to take time off.
“And you?” she prodded.
“I’m an only child, too. My parents live back East, in Pittsburgh, and I visit them now and then.
We talk on the phone a bit, too. They’re great parents, but we’re all busy with our own lives.
” Tell her about Jenna, an insistent voice at the back of his mind put in.
After all, they were being honest with each other.
Still, he struggled to find the words. “Um, and I was married, but I’m not now. ”
It wasn’t the whole truth, not even close, but it was a start. Maybe that was enough.
“Okay.” Bella’s voice was soft. “I think we did well here. We can take a break, right?”
She looked worried, her green eyes pinched and her hands clasped. Luke realized it must be just as hard for her to share personal things as it was for him.
“Of course we can take a break,” he said gently. “I don’t mean to force you to talk about things you don’t want to share.”
“It’s okay.” Bella bit her lip. “You’re right; it’s good for us to know each other, at least a little, so we can be ready for the baby.”
“Exactly.”
“But for now, let’s have dessert. I have a tub of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer that I plan to eat most of myself, since I’m pregnant.”
Luke chuckled and got to his feet, holding out his hands to help Bella up. “That sounds good to me.”
“And we can finish our game,” Bella added. “You’re going to lose.”
She already looked a little more cheerful now that the personal conversation was over for the evening.
Luke was relieved, too. He hadn’t told Bella much about himself, but he’d made a start.
That was important. Soon, they were going to be parents, and by the time that happened, they couldn’t be strangers anymore.
That evening, though, he didn’t try to push them to talk. He just ate ice cream and played Ticket to Ride, which he won by a hair. Then he washed up the dishes Bella hadn’t gotten to while cooking, and they both headed upstairs.
After he got ready for bed, he stopped by Bella’s room, as he did every night, to ask if she needed anything. As usual, he opened the door only a little and didn’t set foot in the room, wanting to respect her privacy.
“Need anything?” he asked.
“No, thanks, Doc.”
He was about to leave again when she cleared her throat.
“Um… about today. Thanks for telling me about your ex-wife and your parents.”
“Thanks for telling me about your family.”
Bella smiled. “Yeah. It wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Luke agreed. “Goodnight, Bella.”
“Goodnight, Luke.”
And with that, he closed the door softly and went back down the hallway to his room.
Feeling that baby kick his palm had changed everything. Playing it safe wasn’t enough anymore, and Luke was certain he’d made the right call, but that didn’t mean it was easy. He would need to be careful in the next few months to share enough — but not too much.