Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
She’s shaking her head again. “Actually, I have plans this afternoon.”
She’s cagey, looking at everything but me again. “Plans? What kind of plans?”
She shrugs. “Just plans.”
I grip the sides of my chair a little tighter. “A date?”
Finally, she looks at me and starts to laugh. I swear she even snorts a little bit. “Really? A date? Have you looked at me lately? No, I don’t have a date.”
I’m quiet as she finishes washing my hair. I want to ask her more about her plans, but I don’t. At one time, we told each other everything, but now she’s keeping more and more to herself. It sucks, but lately, I can’t seem to reach her.
She finishes rinsing my hair and leans me up to towel it dry. I walk over to her station and take a seat. She goes about combing my hair, and because I can’t stop myself, I reach for her hand to hold her in place. Her eyes fix on mine, and I say the thing I’ve been thinking, the thing I probably shouldn’t. Something that I’ve kept to myself for a long time. “I have looked at you, Ally, and just because you’re pregnant, it doesn’t make you any less desirable. If anything…” I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If anything, you’ve always been sexy, but seeing you like this just brings out something in a man. So yeah, the idea of you having a date is not outrageous. I just hope if you plan on dating someone, well, I hope it’s me.”
Her eyes widen, and when I get it all out, her breath is coming out in little pants. She’s speechless, and when she continues to just stare at me, it almost feels like a rejection of sorts. I release my hold on her hand but keep my eyes glued on hers. “Austin… I…” She starts and stops, and it’s obvious that I’ve made her uncomfortable. Maybe I’m doing this all wrong. Maybe she doesn’t want to tie herself to me.
I force my eyes to the mirror in front of us. “It’s okay, Ally. We can talk later.”
“But…” she starts, and when she doesn’t say anything else, I find her gaze and force a smile to my face. “It’s fine, really. I know this isn’t the place for us to talk about everything.”
She inhales deeply and nods her head. “Right. You’re right, of course. So you want the same?”
I know she’s talking about my hair, and I nod my head. She gets to work, and I get lost in thought, thinking of all the things I want. The truth is, I don’t want anything to be the same. I wish we could be different. I want more than her friendship. I want the right to touch her, hold her, and tell her that everything’s going to be all right. I want to be the one she depends on. I want to be the one she loves. But right now, with the strained silence between us, I’m beginning to wonder if our friendship is going to even make it through this.
Chapter 3
Ally
It’s bad.
I can tell by the way the nurse keeps looking up at me as she jots down my numbers. I swear she tsked at me when she saw that I’d gained ten pounds in the last month. Trust me, I don’t need her tsking me. I feel the weight of every one of those pounds, and it’s punishment enough.
“So?” I ask her after she’s taken a urine sample, checked my weight, oxygen, and blood pressure.
She finishes writing, and I’m beginning to wonder if she even heard me when finally, she jumps up from her seat. “Okay, so Dr. Parks is out of town, but Dr. Reynolds is filling in for him. He’ll be in soon.”
I hold my hands up. “Wait, I want to see Dr. Parks.”
The nurse rolls her eyes at me with impatience. “I understand that, but he’s out of town. Dr. Reynolds is a great doctor. Plus, he’s nice to look at too.”
My mouth falls open. Really? Did she really just say that? I’m sure there’s some code of ethics or something, and you’re not supposed to talk about your doctor being hot with a patient, but obviously Nurse Hatchet doesn’t know that. And no, her name is not really Nurse Hatchett, but that’s the name I’ve given her, the one I think she deserves. The last time I was here, she made a big deal about the fact I was pregnant and not married. I thought about switching doctors then, but I couldn’t because Dr. Parks has been so wonderful to me. “I don’t care if he’s nice to look at. I want Dr. Parks.” I grab my purse, sling it over my shoulder, and try to make a statement by getting out of my chair, even though it ends up taking me what feels like five tries before I’m finally stable on my feet. “I’ll just wait until he’s back in town.”