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Her little experiment with her assistant worked. By the time she returned from her lunch hour, there was a message on her voicemail from Mr. James.
“Hi, Elizabeth, this is Palmer. Heard you were feeling a bit under the weather. I hope it’s nothing serious. Have you given any more thought to our discussion about transferring back to New York?”
In an effort to make sure she had it right, she played the message again. “God, he’s got balls,” she whispered to herself as she erased his message. She rolled her eyes, and had no intention of returning his call. Jeez Louise, inside of less than four hours the rumor mill already reached Mr. James in New York. Don’t these people have anything better to do with their time?
Elizabeth pulled the financials for a new municipal client she planned on pitching soon, thinking those would provide a nice distraction from her personal life for the remainder of the day. Immersing herself in the numbers worked until Mr. Kent poked his head into her office and wished her a nice evening.
It was that time, time for her to pack up for the day and meet Joe at Dr. Stuart’s office. Her hands shook so bad she could hardly button her coat. She closed her eyes and stood still in her office for a moment, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. After a few, it appeared to be working. As she passed by her assistant on the way out, she made sure to wish her an enthusiastic, “Good night.”
“Good luck at the doctor’s,” Darcy replied with a touch of snide.
A few unprofessional responses passed through her mind but she thought better of responding in anger, and kept silent as she continued toward the elevators.
Thankfully, the short drive didn’t give her much time to dwell on where she was going and why. And to help matters even more, Joe was already waiting for her when she pulled into the parking lot of the clinic. The second he noticed her, he opened his door, slid out of the truck, and headed toward her with a reassuring smile on his face.
He’s calm and cool as always.
He slung his comforting arm around her shoulders, led her into the building, and to the registration desk where the receptionist gave her a huge pack of paperwork to fill out while she waited to see the doctor.
Joe sat silently at her side, gazing at her on occasion as she filled out the forms. She hoped he wouldn’t notice her shaky fingers as she gripped the pen.
When she finished with the forms she handed them back to the lady, and returned to her seat.
Joe took her hand. “Do you want me to go in with you?”
His loving gaze tugged at her heart, and let her know he’d do anything she asked.
She thought about it for a moment, imagining how simply weird that would be, yet not wanting to be alone. “No, just wait out here for me.”
The second she answered his question she could see the look of relief cross his handsome face, and that was okay with her, because she knew if she asked him to, he would have gone in with her.
“Elizabeth Shaw,” a nurse called out.
Her heart stuttered at the sound of her name. She rose from her chair. Joe rose as well, and gave her hand a little squeeze.
“I’ll be right here if you need me, sweetheart.”
He released her hand, and she followed the nurse through the doorway and into the examining room.
About an hour later, she returned to the waiting room, and the second her gaze met Joe’s, her eyes filled with tears. There were so many she couldn’t blink them away, and she was unable to control the heaving sobs that followed.
He sprang from his seat, and within seconds, she was wrapped tightly in his arms. Relief weakened her knees. She flung her arms around him, and clung to him like there was no tomorrow, as she buried her face in his chest, smothering her sobs.
He stroked her hair with his hand. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. Everything will be okay.”
She tried to speak but couldn’t catch a breath between the gasps for air.
After choking down her sobs, she stepped back from him. He cupped her face and swiped his thumbs lightly across her cheeks, wiping away the last bit of moisture that remained.
She looked intently into his warm concerned gaze. “I’m not pregnant.”
He stared at her. Confusion filled his eyes. “That’s great news. Why are you crying? Is something else wrong?”
“Everything is fine. I don’t know why I’m crying. I was thrilled when Dr. Stuart told me I wasn’t pregnant, but for some reason, when I came through the door and saw you, I just started crying.” She shook her head. “I just couldn’t control myself.”
He pulled her tightly to him again. “Let’s go home.”
It was about 7:15 p.m. when Elizabeth pulled into her driveway. She slid out of her SUV and glanced in the direction of Joe’s driveway to find him just sitting in his parked truck. His head was leaned back against the seat’s headrest. She wondered what he thought about. A moment later he slid out of his vehicle and looked in her direction.
