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‘Going through this alone. Of complications, since I wasn’t meant to be able to conceive. The changes my body would go through. But soon fascination overtook the fear.’
Matt nodded, saying nothing more. Hannah supposed there wasn’t much he could say.
‘Shall we leave?’
‘After you.’ Matt held out a hand, which she took as she stood. The café spun sharply. Her vision blurred. Everything turned black...
* * *
Matt reacted like lightning. ‘Hannah!’ he shouted as he caught her. Her lifeless body spiked fear through him, as if he was being impaled. Eternal seconds stretched while his brain caught up and he thought to lower her to the floor on her side. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around, clearly disoriented.
Without another word, he scooped her up, taking her to his car, which he raced through the streets to the office of the doctor they were to see.
Matt burst through the door with Hannah still in his arms. She was more alert now, and complaining about him carrying her around, but he tuned her out. He had never in his life felt fear like this. She would be seen to immediately.
A doctor rushed out to see what the commotion was about and spotted Matt. Wordlessly, he gestured towards his room, where Matt laid Hannah on the bed.
* * *
‘Hold your arm out for me.’ Hannah couldn’t concentrate on anything the doctor was doing. She was so very tired. Matt stood at the foot of the bed, his face unreadable, arms crossed. Was he mad that she had fainted?
Her attention snapped back to the present when a rubber tourniquet was tied around her upper arm and a needle pierced her skin. She looked up at Matt who was still staring at her.
Hannah had no idea how he’d managed to get her to the doctor so quickly, but here she was. Getting a thorough check-up at Matt’s insistence and having the blood drawn that would prove to him that the baby she carried was his.
‘That’s all we need,’ the doctor said as he removed the third vial. He had explained why he would take three, but she hadn’t had the ability to pay attention then.
He taped a plaster to her arm and placed a long sticker on each vial.
‘Remember, I want a rush on those results,’ she heard Matt say in a tone that brooked no argument.
‘I’ll make sure the lab puts priority on it.’
‘Thank you.’
Hannah was no longer listening to the exchange between them as she rolled her sleeve down. She thought she heard the doctor saying she would be fine. That she needed rest. Everything else was a sleepy haze.
They left the doctor, stepping into a lift that was already on their floor, when Matt rounded on her.
‘You’re coming home with me.’
‘Matt—’ she tried to protest.
‘No. I’m not hearing it. What if I wasn’t there? You could be carrying my child.’
Hannah wrapped her arms around her stomach. ‘Fine.’
When they reached the parking garage, the doors slid open and she saw a low, sleek sports car that would have filled her with excitement before. Now it looked difficult to climb out of. It was funny—she had arrived in it but had obviously been too out of it to pay any attention.
‘I’m sorry about the car,’ Matt said in a gentler tone.
‘It’s okay.’ She didn’t need his apology. She was sure the way his day had turned out was nothing like he’d expected. She accepted his help getting into the shiny car. He folded himself into the driver’s seat and, when both doors were shut, leaned across her.
His scent slammed into her. Light and fresh, like the open sea under a blue sky, but underneath that there was something more, something comforting. It was the smell that had clung to her sheets after he had left—his scent. Hannah had to bury the need to nuzzle into his neck. She hoped desperately that he didn’t notice how deeply she breathed him in.
Then he leaned away. Her seat belt had been clipped into place, making sure the lap sash sat below her belly and the shoulder strap was between her breasts. There was no breath left in her now, just a pounding heart and need powerfully coursing through her veins.
Almost in a fugue, she heard him clear his throat and start up the car which came to life with a loud growl. This space was too confined. The air was thick with the attraction that clearly had not died. His scent seemed to be embedded in the very leather she sat on. And suddenly it became very real that she was with Matt, in his car, going to his home, carrying their child.
