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“But—”
“Please, Scott. Let me say what I need to.”
He raked his hand through his hair, something it appeared as if he’d done a lot since leaving her at the hospital. “Fine, go ahead.” The same frustration she’d heard earlier remained in his voice.
This time she was the one to stand and pace. “You already know I’m divorced. What I didn’t tell you was why my marriage ended.” Paige moistened her lips and wished she’d brought water in the room with her. “I met Benjamin at the hospital. He’s a nurse too, but in the emergency room. We dated for a year before we got engaged.”
Since pacing didn’t help get the words out and made it harder to watch for Scott’s reaction, she sat down again. “He comes from a family of six children, but he’s the only boy. Benjamin is big into keeping the family line going. Actually, his dad and grandfather are too. If he doesn’t have a son, the line and name will end with him.”
Scott’s fingers curled around her hand, and she paused. “I don’t understand what this has to do with us?” he asked.
“Since he wanted children right away, we started trying right after we got engaged and throughout our marriage. When it never happened, Benjamin filed for divorce. He blamed me.”
He squeezed her hand and tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision.
“Even I know sometimes the problem is with the guy not the woman.”
“You’re right. But not this time. How much do you know about the female reproduction system? Never mind, it doesn’t matter.” The man didn’t need a whole anatomy lesson. “When I was twenty, I had a dermoid cyst removed, and they took my left fallopian tube and ovary.”
“I haven’t sat in biology in a long time. Do you need both to get pregnant?”
“Well no, not technically. But it can reduce the chances if you only have one.”
“So it could be your ex-husband’s fault you never had children.”
She shrugged. “He got tested, and the doctor said the problem wasn’t with him. And we tried everything: tracking my menstrual cycles, recording my basal body temperature even those over-the-counter ovulation prediction kits. ”
“Did the doctor tell you that too? Did you see his test results?”
When it happened, she’d taken Benjamin’s word. She’d seen no reason not to. “No, but why would he lie?”
“And how long afterward did he file for divorce?”
“Two months. And he started dating again a few weeks after he moved out.”
“I doubt he ever got tested. Sounds the type to be too afraid because he might not like what he hears. It’s much easier to blame the problem on someone else.” Scott ran the back of his hand along her jaw. “Your ex was an ass, but what does any of this have to do with us, Paige?”
He was intelligent. How could he not connect the dots? “Scott, you told me you want children someday. If we stay together, it may never happen for you. I thought you needed to know. All week I’ve obsessed about telling you because I don’t want to lose you. At the same time, it’s not fair to wait until it’s too late.” She took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I love you, but I understand if you want to call it quits now.” A tear rolled down her face. Before she wiped it away, Scott did it for her.
“If we decide we want children and have trouble, we can see a fertility doctor, Paige, or we can adopt. I’d never leave because you can’t have children.”
Relief broke the chains squeezing her heart. “Really?” Even she recognized it as a stupid response, but it slipped out. Scott wouldn’t say anything he didn’t mean.
“Any man who would doesn’t deserve you.” Scott leaned closer. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m not worried about it, and you shouldn’t be either.” The last of his sentence came against her lips. “I wish you’d told me this last weekend. You had me worried all week.”
She kissed him before speaking again. “Sorry. Really, I planned to. But after Nicole’s news, I couldn’t do it. Instead I kept thinking if Cooper was your son maybe you’d want to try things with her again. Perhaps even marry her so the three of you would be a family.”
He moved his hand from her face and raked it through his hair. He’d come in frustrated and expecting the worst. Now anger replaced the frustration. Paige deserved better than the treatment she’d received from her ex-husband. He understood a couple getting a divorce because things weren’t working between them. Sometimes people who weren’t right for each other got married and only later realized they didn’t belong together. It’d happened to more than one person he knew. But leaving someone because you didn’t have children? Not okay in his book. Especially when there were other options to starting a family. Scott wished she’d told him everything sooner. Perhaps they both would’ve had a better week.
“Anything else you need to tell me?” He didn’t want anything left unresolved between them.
Paige shook her head. “Nope.” Her stomach growled, a reminder of the hour. “I’m starving. Do you want to get takeout? I’m kinda in the mood for Chinese tonight.” She stood before he answered. “Or I can make some blueberry pancakes.”
He grabbed her arm before she got far. “Maybe in a bit.”
Perhaps sensing they still needed to talk, she sat back down again. “If you’re not hungry, I can heat up leftovers for myself.”
She’d told him everything. Time to reciprocate. “Starving, actually. I haven’t eaten since before I met with my uncle. We just have more to discuss.” Reaching over, he took both her hands in his. “Not long after I saw you at the hospital, I checked the lab website again. The results were there.”
