Chapter 14

Wednesday

I closed the lid of my suitcase. James would be home any minute. I touched the center of my chest. All I needed to do was go to this appointment and get the all clear. Then I could focus on Bee's bachelorette party. We were leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Separate cars so that we'd have a little girl time before meeting the guys at the beach. It was going to be so much fun. And I was beyond excited for their wedding on Saturday. I had been waiting for years for Bee and Mason to tie the knot.

My phone buzzed and I lifted it off the bed. There was a text from James. I clicked on it.

"We just pulled into the garage. We should probably get going if we're going to make the appointment on time."

I laughed and slid my phone into my purse. That was his nice way of saying, "get your ass down here or we're going to be late." I made my way down the stairs. The house was too quiet today. Scarlett had insisted on going to the park and Ellen had insisted that I wasn't allowed to accompany them. She usually tended to agree with James.

I stepped onto the elevator and watched the doors close. The day alone had given me time to read through my rough draft for my second book. And our heated night made it easy for the words to flow. I was pretty sure all the scenes with him were perfect. It was the moments with Tyler that were tripping me up. Picturing him in his Wesley costume on Halloween put this feeling of guilt in my stomach. And my son could feel it. It was as though he was trying to kick it out of me.

I needed to talk to Hails. That's what was bothering me. I'd be hanging out with her all day tomorrow. Certainly I could smooth things over. But maybe she wasn't even upset about that. We had never talked about my past with Tyler. She had always seemed cool about it. Was there something else bothering her? I tried to shake away the thought. The last thing I needed before going to the cardiologist was to get upset.

Breathe in. Breathe out. "Hi, William," I said as I walked up to the car. "How has your day been?"

"Very good, Mrs. Hunter." He bowed slightly as he opened up the door.

Had I just imagined him doing that? Our relationship or lack thereof was really starting to bother me. "You really can just call me Penny. Did James torture you all day?"

"Not at all, ma'am." He sounded slightly offended.

Ma'am? I wasn't seventy years old. If anything, I should have been the one that was offended. I stepped into the car and slid next to James in the back seat. The door closed behind me.

"Stop terrorizing him," James said with a smile.

"I'm trying to get to know him. How was class?"

"Good." He kissed my temple as he pulled me into his side. "Although, I was pretty tired all day."

"A sex marathon will do that to you."

He laughed and rested the back of his head against the seat.

"Are you okay?" He really did look exhausted.

"I've just been worried about this appointment all week."

"I'm sure the doctor will say there hasn't been any change." I rested my head on his shoulder. "How did the board meeting go this afternoon?" Rob had taken over as CEO of Hunter Tech. James still remained on the board, though. The company was still his baby, but he was happier teaching. Plus his blood pressure was back in the normal range now. His days of barking orders were over. And I was happier because of it too. He smiled more now. He was more relaxed grading papers and giving lectures. It helped that the university was crazy flexible with his hours. James was only teaching two classes this summer. He had even given a few lectures via video chat from bed. Those were my favorite mornings.

"The rollout is still on schedule. I think the board is still getting used to Rob's sense of humor, though."

"Why do you say that? Did Rob say something and hear crickets?"

"More like gasps. Today he said the launch was going to be as big as his dick."

I laughed. "Wait...you're not serious?"

"You've met my brother, right? He comes up to about here," he said and put his hand against his nose. "The one with no filter and the overtly sexual phrases?"

I shook my head and laughed again. "I'm still having trouble picturing him in a suit and tie all day. But I kind of just assumed he'd tone it down at work."

"I think the board secretly loves him. Besides, our client list is growing faster than ever. Everyone finds him super relatable, I guess."

"He's probably talking mostly to guys then."

"Or flirting with the ladies."

I lightly slapped James' arm. "Is that what you did? You grew your companies by schmoozing rich women?"

"A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do."

I rolled my eyes. "Fortunately for both of us, you're out of the game."

"Speaking of that, I may need to go to London for a few days. There's a deal that we really need to land. Rob's been flitting around with it for months. So I think it's best if I handle this one in person."

"When do you have to go?"

"Right after the wedding."

"Oh." I wasn't sure why, but I felt disappointed. Weddings were so romantic. I was hoping to spend a few days after the wedding with my head in the clouds. It was hard to do that when he was gone. I hated when he traveled. Scarlett did too. She always cried when he didn't tuck her into bed.

"It's just for a couple of days." He kissed my temple again.

The good I could draw from this was that James must not be too worried about my appointment today. If he was seriously concerned, he wouldn't be flying across the ocean in a few days. I took another slow, deep breath. That was good news.

The car pulled to a stop outside the high rise where my doctor's office was located. A minute later, William was helping me out of the car. Stay calm. This would all be over in about an hour.

 

***

 

"Okay, good news and bad news. What'll it be first?" Dr. Wells said as he scooted a chair over to me. His gray hair gave him a distinguished look. He had been doing this for over thirty years.

I bit the inside of my lip. I was going to believe whatever he was about to say. And I was terrified about what the bad news was.

James squeezed my hand.

"Let's just rip the Band-Aid off," I said.

"That's the spirit." Dr. Wells adjusted his glasses and looked down at his clipboard. "Your leak has progressed ever so slightly. Unnoticeable if it weren't for the echocardiogram. Despite your concerns, James, I truly believe that your OB-GYN wouldn't have been able to detect it with just a stethoscope."

"But shouldn't he have at least been a tiny bit alarmed?" James said. "Penny was having chest pains and he completely dismissed the possibility that something was actually wrong."

Dr. Wells nodded. "I understand. Us doctors all like to think we're right." He winked at me. "It is unusual to feel pain due to a murmur. It could have been a wide variety of things causing it. Your OB-GYN specializes in deliveries. I'm sure he's highly qualified in his profession."

I didn't care about Dr. Nelson right now and whether he was a good doctor. I wasn't even sure why we were discussing him. Dr. Wells had just said my leak had progressed and I really had no idea what that meant. "What do you mean that it progressed?"

Dr. Wells settled the notebook in his lap. "It's just a small amount, Penny. I'd probably classify the murmur as moderate to severe now. Somewhere in between the two classifications."

"That's bad, right?" Just talking about this made my chest hurt again.

"No, not necessarily. This baby is putting extra stress on your heart right now. I have every reason to believe the murmur will go back to being moderate after the birth."

"Before you said that it might go back to being mild after the delivery," James said.

Dr. Wells nodded and adjusted his glasses again. "This is something we're going to have to continue to monitor. But usually murmurs of this severity don't just disappear on their own. As long as you're not experiencing shortness of breath or any swelling in your legs and feet, your heart is working perfectly fine."

"When you say they don't disappear on their own, what do you mean by that?" James asked. "You mentioned before that if it got any worse she'd need surgical intervention."

"She'll live a long healthy life. Yes, a medical procedure may be in her future. But advancements in this area are astounding. By the time we need to surgically repair or replace the valve, we'll be looking at something a lot less invasive than open heart surgery."

For some reason my mind focused on the words, "open heart surgery." My mouth felt dry.

"The good news is, you're already on bed rest. So the odds of it progressing any further are very slim. I'd recommend staying off your feet as much as possible. We'll reevaluate your condition after your baby is born. Hopefully everything will go back to normal and you won't have to see my face anymore." He laughed at his own joke.

I didn't really know what to say. I placed my hand on my stomach. It's okay little guy. We're going to be okay.

"Should she be traveling at all?" James asked.

I glanced at him. He never let me fly when I was pregnant anyway. Did he suddenly have an urge to let me come to London with him?

"I'd recommend staying at home, Penny," Dr. Wells said. "The stress of travel isn't something I personally think is worth the risk."

James nodded his head. "And our incompetent OB-GYN said he may have prescribed bed rest too soon. Do you have names of any OB-GYN's that you'd recommend?"

"Why, certainly." He readjusted his glasses again. "My receptionist can give you a list of names. I've worked with all of them before. Top notch doctors."

"Thank you, Dr. Wells," James said.

"Did either of you have any other questions?"

"No, I think that about covers it." James stood up, put his hand out for me, and pulled me to my feet.

"Take it easy, Penny," Dr. Wells said. "And watch for any swelling or shortness of breath. You call me right away if you notice anything like that."

I nodded and let James escort me out of the doctor's office. His hand was gripping mine a little tighter than usual. And I couldn't help but think that it was because he thought I was slipping away.