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“We can usually hear the baby’s heartbeat between eight and ten weeks. You’re right on the cusp, so don’t be disappointed if we don’t hear anything. If not today, you’ll hear the heartbeat at our next visit.”
“I’m very hopeful.” Cal grinned, so eager to hear his baby’s heartbeat that Lyssa’s knees went weak. Good thing she was already in the stirrups.
Lyssa felt more than a little awkward as the doctor slid the ultrasound wand inside her with Cal right beside her, holding her hand. But her slight discomfort with the situation quickly disappeared when the doctor spoke.
“Goodness, we’re in luck today.” She beamed at both of them as she briefly looked away from the ultrasound’s screen. “It’s always lovely when a couple are both here to witness the heartbeat together for the first time. In another ten weeks or so, we should also know the baby’s sex—that is, if you would like to know.”
Though a part of Lyssa’s brain stumbled over the doctor’s inaccurate use of the word couple, the faint but steady ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump coming through the machine’s speakers quickly stole all of her attention.
Elation like she’d never experienced rushed through her. Her heart raced, thrill bumps covered her arms, and tears pricked her eyes.
She looked at Cal. His face was a mask of wonder, his lips slightly parted, his eyes bright with unfettered joy.
He took her hand, squeezing her fingers, and looked at her with awe. “We did this, Lyssa. We made a baby together,” he whispered.
In his eyes, with her hand in his, she felt the most amazing connection she’d ever known in her life.
* * *
After the appointment, Lyssa couldn’t stop staring at the sonogram the doctor had given them.
“Wow. It’s so small, but with such a powerful heartbeat already.”
Cal would never forget hearing that miraculous sound and seeing the picture on the screen—their child nestled inside Lyssa. It was awe-inspiring, mind-blowing, astounding, beyond wonderful.
“Marry me, Lyssa.” They were standing on the sidewalk just outside the doctor’s building, but he couldn’t keep the words inside for another moment. “Come with me to City Hall. Today, if possible. We can tell your family afterward.”
Lyssa had been floating on cloud nine with the echo of the baby’s heartbeat in her ears. So had he. But all her joy seemed to vanish in a flash. “Are you kidding me? People no longer need to jump into marriage because there’s a baby coming.” She tucked the photo inside her purse, almost as if she thought that would make him see sense again.
“I know they don’t.” A voice in his head was saying he should stop talking before he made things even worse. But now that he’d seen the baby’s tiny form on the ultrasound screen, he couldn’t keep the words from bursting out of him. “But we have to think about what’s best for the baby.”
Her face turned stony. “What makes you think marriage is best?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “If a marriage isn’t based on love, the baby will suffer.” Her expression softened slightly as she added, “I saw all the love my parents had over the years, even through the bad times. And I want that. Not just two people who get a legal piece of paper and live together in the same house because they’re having a baby. Can you understand that?”
“I do. I get it. Your family is great. Why wouldn’t you want what they had?” He was afraid she’d ask about his family, and he didn’t want to go there, especially not on the heels of the miracle they’d just witnessed via the ultrasound machine. He rushed on. “I have money. I have success. But when I come home from work after a long day, what I’ve finally realized I long for is family. I said it all wrong a few minutes ago. But if you’ll let me try again—”
She shook her head. “Please, Cal. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
He couldn’t give up just like that. Not when their entire future—and all the happiness he longed for—hung in the balance. “I know you must find it hard to trust me now, after the way I behaved these past weeks.”
“You don’t need to keep apologizing, Cal. What happened happened. Now we’ve just got to figure out a smart way to move forward. Keep our focus on the logistics of the situation.”
“We can be so much more than logistics, Lyssa.” As soon as he said it, he felt the truth of it with every fiber of his being. “I’ve tried to give you time, but time won’t change what I want—and what I hope you’ll come to want too.”
“I already told you.” Her nostrils flared as she breathed in, her teeth seeming to clench. “I want more than a loveless marriage. So if you want me to marry you, there’s only one way that will work. You need to make me fall in love with you.” She paused before laying down the ultimate gauntlet. “And you have to love me just as much.”
