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His gaze locked on Pippa, concern and unconditional love pouring from them. “Will you be okay, baby girl?”
“Si, Papi. You go get something to eat. Or go back to my place and shower and rest. I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll be in the waiting room. We want to know how everything with the baby goes.” He kissed her temple.
“Okay.”
Pippa waited until her family disappeared before she let her guard down. Tears dripped over her cheeks. She’d been attacked and couldn’t even remember. She’d almost died and her baby might not be okay. She swiped her cheeks and took a deep breath. She would wait to fall apart until she was in the privacy of her own home—not in a hospital room where anyone could walk in.
“We meet again.”
Pippa’s head snapped up. Her heart stuttered for a moment until it was clear the lookalike was not Mason, but his brother, Sebastian, wheeling a portable ultrasound machine into the room.
“Wish it was under better circumstances. How are you feeling?” he asked, setting the machine up.
“I’ve been better,” she croaked.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear. But a little birdy told me we have a baby to check on.” He offered her a sympathetic smile.
“Does Mason know? Did you tell him?” she asked, terrified of his answer.
“No. That would break HIPPA laws. Would you rather have the ultrasound tech assist you?” His smile softened.
Her brows drew together. “Aren’t you the tech?”
“I’m actually the pediatrician, but once I saw you were here, and my brother called me, I figured I’d offer my services. Of course, he knows I can’t share anything with him. I think it makes him feel better to know I’m checking in on you. But if you would prefer someone else?”
Would she? “No, it’s okay. I just . . . I tried to tell him, but he . . . I didn’t get the chance. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue the pregnancy. But now I’m sure. I want this baby, even if it means doing it by myself.”
Sebastian nodded. “He’s been in the waiting room since you came in.”
Her gaze locked with his. “He has?” And I just sent my dad there. Panic flared inside her chest.
Sebastian pulled up the wheely circular chair, the kind you found in every doctor’s office. “You know, ever since Amanda passed, Mason has been a shell of himself. He’s been different. Harder and closed off, except where Aspen is concerned. Seeing him with you was the first time I got a glimpse of the old Mase—or the new one, I guess.”
“But—”
“It was an accident.” He leveled his gaze on her. “Amanda was driving drunk and ran a red light with Aspen in the car.”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Amanda had caused the accident? With her daughter in the car!
“I think, instead of facing the fact that he blames himself for not getting her help when she needed it, he chose your dad to force the weight of his guilt onto. I won’t stand by and let this guilt ruin my brother any longer. I’ll knock some sense into him, even if it means I have to bruise these precious hands to do it.” He wiggled his fingers and offered her a playful smile. “Now, how about you lift your shirt and lie back so I can check on my niece or nephew?”
She nodded, still reeling from everything he’d shared as he lowered the bed. Pippa pulled up her hospital gown, and he squirted some cold jelly on her belly.
“Sorry, you’d think they’d come up with a better warmer for these things.” He placed the ultrasound device on her stomach.
A whooshing sound filled the room. Pippa’s eyes locked on the grainy screen. A tiny dark blob appeared on the screen.
“Is that . . . ?”
He grinned. “It sure is.”
“The baby is okay?”
“That’s a healthy heartbeat. And from these images, it looks like everything is great, development-wise.”
Pippa breathed out a sigh of relief. A smile stretched her face despite the pounding in her head.
“But . . .”
“But what?” Her chest constricted in panic.
Sebastian squinted at the screen as he moved the ultrasound wand over her belly again, pressing into her skin. The whooshing sound amplified. He blinked and turned to her. “I don’t know how to tell you this other than to just rip the Band-Aid off.”
She held her breath. What could it be? It didn’t matter—so long as her baby would be okay. It would just be the two of them, but she’d make it work. “Just say it.”
