his eyes yet to smooth out-he'd clearly caught th

ho

ng out a wet, hiccupping sob, and tilted her

. it

attention back from the computer scre

ounded suspicion had flickered through his mind a mo

ne. I'm right here

hange with downcast eyes, re

rs, she swept the documents on her d

n in his arms, Samantha, the f

ere she was, curled against Ryan in a pose far more intimate th

ite speculation from a

seven years, was onl

't even begin

gle breath, her features settled back into place. Th

ing the faucet, and tossed an ord

e treatment room

orward, but Samantha's hand shot out and seized the ra

er earlier vulnerability transmuting into raw

am room went taut

sign of caving, though his ton

are male. You can't delay this, you

her fingers white-knuckled around the bedrail as th

atment room and shut the door, her e

guarding agai

gnored

oves, and bent down to examine the wound. Every mov

ng white that exposes every flaw and detail, and whe

ng little hum, her eyes darting to Rose's face befor

sentence dangling, a suggestive curl to her brow

idn't

iness rose in her throat, nameless and sickenin

tly separated the wound margins, ass

of the posterior vaginal mucosa. Not arteri

She didn't bothe

rate 102," the

und to stem the bleeding whi

, and prepare lidocaine. I can do the sut

o!

tburst and adjusted her tone to something as

uld trust a doc

sideways, her voice dropping to something soft an

egn

early shrie

ening around the syringe she held-a white-knuc

down to Samant

ed for five months, and Samantha's belly show

where a mixture of coyness and provocation se

, was already spiral

rly in pregnancy. tha

even more self-satisfied, the last vestiges

t down her instruments and addr

witch the broad-spectrum antibiotics to pen

, she all

ushing loud enough to drown the fr

ars of m

flown halfway around the world to show him, a

ise their daughter, letting the girl grow up c

What was this

ight of expectation, welcomed into a world that

h

ll she'd gotten was a father who n

of her-this incompete

atherhood. He'd only reje

nstricted, and she ground her mola

her-that carried her through the rest of the procedure, letting her finish the suturi

is

ant the door swung wide, his gaze cutting straight to

e ghost of a smile-bitter, mocking

ard for a while, then head home. All the aftercare ins

ent down, and lifted Samantha into his arms, stridin

etreating back was

g-was already sidling up to the senior nurse, her

ey? Torn up like that." She flushed crimson h

eyes and swatted her arm,

down, w

ose with the unguarded, thoughtless curiosity of some

years now. Have you ever. you

ndling figures, her voice flat and deliberat

rectile dysfunction for seven years. W

Her ears went scarlet as she realized

hrinking back, her voice trailing off into nothin

way, Ryan's s

veling around, and that gaze

t entirely, grabbed Rose's arm, and tried to tug her b

t he? He definitely heard, co

didn'

selessly at her sleeve, her eyes locked on Rya

uilt, not a shred

ween them, grew more

nd gave Rose's arm another desperate y

k a step, as though she'd finally dec

her voice carrying clearly across the corr

husband's just been spending all

ked into the exam room, letting the door swing shut be

'd tightened his grip on Samantha until sh

t hu

ced down at her,

long strides toward the ward, h

-

, Rose's composure

her entire frame trembling beyond her control, before

read messages stacked at the top. Caleb's n

there? I heard Ryan's

e top page bore the bold heading "Equity Transfer Agreement," and a diag

side it, cap o

laugh escaped

rself anymore whether she stil

een handed to he

d over the keyboard for a sing

t a di