a lot better in order to coparent our child.”
She stared at him, horrified. “Coparent?”
“I might not have had any say in the choices you’ve made up to this point, honey, but I promise you, I’ll be involved in any decision making that takes place going forward.”
He kept his eyes on hers, implacable and unyielding. “If you are pregnant—you don’t just get a baby. You get me, too.”
* * *
His words had sounded more like a threat than a promise, but Avery decided not to worry too much about what Justin had said in the heat of the moment. She understood that he was angry—and that he had reason to be. They’d both forgotten about birth control on New Year’s Eve, but she’d unilaterally decided to accept the possible risk of pregnancy.
And maybe it was foolish to want a child under the current circumstances, but she couldn’t deny that she did. Even if this wasn’t the way she’d envisioned it might someday happen, she refused to have any regrets. She had no illusions that being a single mother would be easy, but she was fortunate to have a job she enjoyed along with a steady income that would pay her bills. She had a lot of patients who lived under much more difficult circumstances on a daily basis.
She’d seen Justin frequently in the week that had passed since the night they’d had dinner at her apartment—and he’d made a point of being seen with her as often as possible—but she’d managed to keep their conversations mostly short and impersonal.
The prospect of coparenting with him made her more than a little uneasy, but there was no point in worrying about that unless and until her pregnancy was confirmed. And even then, nine months was a lot of time. She was confident his determination to be involved would wane long before their baby was born. Maybe that was an unfair assumption to make considering how attentive and solicitous he’d been, but he had a notoriously short attention span when it came to his relationships with women.
She could have taken a test already. The presence of hCG, the hormone that indicated pregnancy, could be found in very low levels within seven days after conception. But she wasn’t ready to confirm her pregnancy just yet. Because as soon as she knew for certain that she was going to have a baby, she’d feel obligated to tell Justin, and she wanted to hold the excited anticipation close to her own heart for a while before he trampled all over it.
Three more days .
The words echoed in her head as she waited for sleep to come.
She awoke a few hours later with a crampy feeling low in her belly. Uneasy, she got up to go to the bathroom. That was when she realized her instincts and intuition were wrong.
She wasn’t pregnant, after all.
She crawled back under the covers of her empty bed, in her quiet apartment, and cried softly.
* * *
When Justin finally got a break and went in search of a much-needed caffeine fix, he found Avery sitting alone in the cafeteria with a single-serving tub of cookies ’n’ cream ice cream in front of her. He took his extralarge cup of coffee over to her table, wondering if the ice cream was evidence of some kind of pregnancy craving or just strange eating habits.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
She glanced up when he stopped by the chair across the table from her. “Of course not.”
He lowered himself into the empty seat. “Breakfast?” he asked, nodding toward the ice cream container.
She dropped her spoon into the melting dessert and shook her head. “I was hoping to see you today.”
He was surprised and pleased to think that she wanted to see him rather than avoid him, which was her usual modus operandi. “You were?”
“I figured you’d want to know as soon as possible that you’re off the hook.”
“Off the hook?” he echoed, the implication of her words taking a moment to sink into his brain. “Oh.”
She nodded. “I got my period last night.”
“Oh,” he said again.
“We successfully
She stared at him, horrified. “Coparent?”
“I might not have had any say in the choices you’ve made up to this point, honey, but I promise you, I’ll be involved in any decision making that takes place going forward.”
He kept his eyes on hers, implacable and unyielding. “If you are pregnant—you don’t just get a baby. You get me, too.”
* * *
His words had sounded more like a threat than a promise, but Avery decided not to worry too much about what Justin had said in the heat of the moment. She understood that he was angry—and that he had reason to be. They’d both forgotten about birth control on New Year’s Eve, but she’d unilaterally decided to accept the possible risk of pregnancy.
And maybe it was foolish to want a child under the current circumstances, but she couldn’t deny that she did. Even if this wasn’t the way she’d envisioned it might someday happen, she refused to have any regrets. She had no illusions that being a single mother would be easy, but she was fortunate to have a job she enjoyed along with a steady income that would pay her bills. She had a lot of patients who lived under much more difficult circumstances on a daily basis.
She’d seen Justin frequently in the week that had passed since the night they’d had dinner at her apartment—and he’d made a point of being seen with her as often as possible—but she’d managed to keep their conversations mostly short and impersonal.
The prospect of coparenting with him made her more than a little uneasy, but there was no point in worrying about that unless and until her pregnancy was confirmed. And even then, nine months was a lot of time. She was confident his determination to be involved would wane long before their baby was born. Maybe that was an unfair assumption to make considering how attentive and solicitous he’d been, but he had a notoriously short attention span when it came to his relationships with women.
She could have taken a test already. The presence of hCG, the hormone that indicated pregnancy, could be found in very low levels within seven days after conception. But she wasn’t ready to confirm her pregnancy just yet. Because as soon as she knew for certain that she was going to have a baby, she’d feel obligated to tell Justin, and she wanted to hold the excited anticipation close to her own heart for a while before he trampled all over it.
Three more days .
The words echoed in her head as she waited for sleep to come.
She awoke a few hours later with a crampy feeling low in her belly. Uneasy, she got up to go to the bathroom. That was when she realized her instincts and intuition were wrong.
She wasn’t pregnant, after all.
She crawled back under the covers of her empty bed, in her quiet apartment, and cried softly.
* * *
When Justin finally got a break and went in search of a much-needed caffeine fix, he found Avery sitting alone in the cafeteria with a single-serving tub of cookies ’n’ cream ice cream in front of her. He took his extralarge cup of coffee over to her table, wondering if the ice cream was evidence of some kind of pregnancy craving or just strange eating habits.
“Do you mind if I join you?”
She glanced up when he stopped by the chair across the table from her. “Of course not.”
He lowered himself into the empty seat. “Breakfast?” he asked, nodding toward the ice cream container.
She dropped her spoon into the melting dessert and shook her head. “I was hoping to see you today.”
He was surprised and pleased to think that she wanted to see him rather than avoid him, which was her usual modus operandi. “You were?”
“I figured you’d want to know as soon as possible that you’re off the hook.”
“Off the hook?” he echoed, the implication of her words taking a moment to sink into his brain. “Oh.”
She nodded. “I got my period last night.”
“Oh,” he said again.
“We successfully
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