Chapter 30

thirty

Cam paced the short distance between Fiona's kitchen and her living room, glancing Brady's way as he played with his new bucket of Legos on the floor.

Originally, Cam had planned to spend the morning sightseeing with his eager son, but shortly after breakfast, they walked three blocks to the toy store instead, looking for something for Brady to do while Fiona went to her appointment.

Heading for the windows, he looked at his watch, struggling to remain patient as time dragged on. Because Fi had been gone for close to two hours.

"Do you like my house, Dad?"

Cam turned, walking to where Brady sat on the rug, crouching down to examine his little boy's hard work. "That looks great, buddy. I like how you added so many windows."

Brady nodded, dressed for the day in one of his new dinosaur T-shirts and a pair of shorts he'd picked out of the suitcase all by himself. "Grampy says they add value."

Cam laughed, one hundred percent certain that Brady had no idea what that meant. "Everybody loves a view."

"Yup. My Lego guy needs to be able to see outside when he's inside."

Cam nodded. "That's very true. I like the way you think."

The front door opened, and Fiona walked in wearing jeans and a silky halter-neck tank top, carrying two pharmacy bags in her hand. Her gaze met his as she toed off her shoes. "Hey."

Cam rushed to his feet, immediately worried as he studied the pallor of her typically olive skin. "Hey."

"Fiona!" Brady yelled as he hurried her way, oblivious to the sudden tension in the room as he crashed into her legs, giving her a hug.

She smiled, returning his embrace. "Hi, buddy."

"I built a house with my new Legos. It has lots of windows like your condo."

She forced another smile. "I can't wait to see it."

"I have an idea," Cam said as he pulled his phone from the back pocket of his shorts. "Why don't you take your new house into the guest bedroom and make a video about it for Grammy and Grampy."

Brady's eyes lit up. "I like it!" Grabbing the phone on his way to his creation, he carefully picked up the multicolored house on the green platform, taking the phone and his project down the hall.

Eager for answers, Cam closed the distance between himself and Fiona as she grabbed the glass of water on the small kitchen island and drank the entire thing. "What's going on? What did the doctor say?"

She exhaled a shaky breath as she set the glass down. "She says I'm pregnant."

He felt his eyes go huge as he stared at her. " What ?"

She nodded, moving her shoulders in a jerky shrug. "They make patients do a pregnancy test after you check in—the whole pee in the cup thing. Mine was positive."

Frowning, he shook his head. "Did they grab the wrong cup?"

"That's what I asked, but Dr. Miller gave me a pelvic exam to confirm. She says I'm seven weeks."

He raked his fingers through his hair, still trying to grasp what Fiona was saying. "I have to believe that an OB-GYN knows what she's talking about."

Fiona's shoulders jerked again as she grabbed several pregnancy tests from one of the bags, handing them to him. "I was convinced she made a mistake, so I stopped at the pharmacy to buy every reputable brand on the market. They all say the same thing."

He studied each stick. Some flat-out said Pregnant , while others had two lines or a plus sign in the center of the result field.

"This wasn't supposed to be able to happen . This wasn't supposed to be possible without intervention. I didn't do this to trap you, Cam."

His gaze whipped up to meet hers, seeing easily enough that she was still in complete shock. "Fi, I know that. We made the decision not to use condoms together."

"This can't be right," she said more to herself than to him as she rapidly blinked back tears. "I bought more tests that I haven't peed on yet," she choked out in a whisper.

"Fi." He set the tests on the counter, pulling her against him, wrapping her up in a hug. "I think it's safe to say you're pregnant."

She sniffled, nestling herself against him. "It wasn't supposed to be this easy. That's what both doctors told me. I can't make myself believe it."

He rubbed his hands up and down her back. "It's definitely a bit of a surprise."

She huffed out a breath against his neck. "I'd say that's an understatement."

He held her tighter, realizing he was grinning as the news he'd never expected to hear started sinking in. "We're having a baby, Fi."

She nodded as she eased back, then stepped away from him.

His smile disappeared. "You're not happy?"

"I don't—I can't let myself be. I have an ultrasound at noon. Dr. Miller wants to make sure I don't have any new fibroids. My hormones in early pregnancy can cause them to grow quickly. She said they can cause miscarriage or pre-term birth."

Suddenly, the joy of such a special moment turned to fear. "You said something about cramping last night…"

Fiona shook her head. "I talked to Dr. Miller about that. She said mild cramping can be normal—that my ligaments are most likely stretching."

"That's okay, then?"

She nodded. "She didn't seem overly concerned."

"I want to come with you, Fi. To the ultrasound."

She nodded again. "I'll ask Felix if he can watch Brady. His office is a couple blocks away." And then she burst into tears.

"Fi, come here," he said, pulling her back against him.

She returned his embrace, quietly sniffling. "I want this so badly , Cam. I want to have this baby. I don't know what I'll do if something's wrong."

He pressed a long kiss to her forehead. "Let's see what they say at the appointment."

She nodded, wiping at her tears. "I'll text Felix."

"Dad! Fiona! Come see the video I made. Grammy and Grampy are going to love it!"

"We'll be right there," Cam called down the hall as Fiona's thumbs flew over her cell phone screen.

Moments later, she exhaled a quiet breath of relief. "He says he can be here at eleven thirty."

Cam exhaled a sigh of his own. Because this wasn't an appointment he wanted to miss or bring Brady to. "That's good. Now let's see if we can pull off ‘normal' for the next hour for Brady."

She nodded. "We'll give it our best shot."

Ninety minutes later, Fiona lay on a bed in a dim examination room, clutching Cam's hand as he sat by her side. She looked his way with her legs draped in a sheet and her feet resting in stirrups, trying her best to smile.

"Hey," he said, kissing her knuckles. "We've got this."

She nodded, treasuring his support, thanking her lucky stars that she and Cam would get through this experience together. Nothing about the last couple of hours had been easy, but knowing he would be with her every step of the way made the uncertainties a little bit better.

The sonographer with the kind brown eyes smiled. "Are you ready to get started?"

Fiona nodded again, even though she felt like she might vomit from nerves. "We are."

"You'll feel a little pressure," the woman said as she inserted the transvaginal probe. "Let me know if there's any discomfort."

"It feels fine," Fiona said as a tiny figure appeared on the screen to their right.

"There's the fetal pole. Or the embryo."

Fiona couldn't help but smile. "It's so small ."

The woman nodded. "There's the yolk sac and the heartbeat." The sonographer pointed to both.

Fiona snagged her bottom lip with her teeth as she stared at the rhythmic motion in the center of the sweet little blob.

"Do you think we'll be able to hear it yet?" Cam asked as he stroked his thumb along Fiona's skin.

The woman nodded. "By seven weeks, we should. Let's take a listen." She clicked on a button, and a strong heartbeat filled the room as the rhythm played across the screen. "One hundred fifty-three beats."

Fiona laughed, completely in awe, as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Our baby."

Nodding, he grinned as his eyes grew teary. "I love that sound." He kissed her. "I love you."

She touched his cheek. "I love you, too."

The fetal heart sound vanished as the sonographer made dots appear and clicked, creating more images.

Fiona watched carefully. "Do you see anything that we don't want to see? Are there any fibroids?"

The woman shook her head. "The doctor will give you the final word, but I know how agonizing the wait can be. I don't see anything that shouldn't be there."

Fiona closed her eyes, allowing the relief to wash over her before she looked at Cam.

He winked, sending her another grin.

And as quickly as the ultrasound began, it ended. The woman helped Fiona remove her feet from the stirrups and then collapsed the pieces back into the table.

"Let's get you some images," the sonographer said as she printed them out, handing the long sheet to Fiona.

Fiona sat up, staring at their baby's first pictures. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. We'll send the information over to Dr. Miller. She'll get back to you within the next couple of days."

Fiona nodded. "We appreciate it."

The door closed behind the woman, and Fiona beamed at Cam before she started to cry. "We're having a baby ."

Gaining his feet, he chuckled as he wrapped her up in a hug. "This is a good thing, Fi."

She hugged him back. "I know. We just saw him or her, but I still can't make myself believe it."

He tucked her hair behind her ear. "We have picture proof."

She nodded, pushing the medical sheet down, exposing her lower stomach, resting her hand on her skin. "There's a little person in here."

Cam nodded, settling his hand on top of hers. "Our little person."

She wiped at her cheeks. "You're happy?"

He nodded again. " Definitely ."

"A baby, Cam," she said with a sigh, still letting it sink in. "We're really having a baby."

He smiled. "We really are."

She sat up straighter as the fog began to lift and reality started sinking in. "I need to quit my job. I need to sell my condo."

He hesitated before he nodded. "If that's what you want."

She frowned, surprised by his response after their conversation last night—after their life-changing news this morning. "I thought you wanted me to move to Vermont."

"I do. More than anything. But all of this feels like a lot—like I'm asking you to give up so much , Fi."

She shook her head. "I'm gaining so much more."

"I just… I don't want you to wake up five years from now and resent me ."

"Never," she whispered as she cupped his cheeks, staring into his eyes, giving him the beautiful words he'd given her. "Never, ever , Cam."

Sighing, he rested his forehead against hers. "Thank you for saying that."

She kissed him. "I mean it."

He nodded as he eased back. "So, we're doing this, then? You're officially coming home with me and Brady?"

She beamed. "We're doing this."

He grinned. "I love you, Fiona. Or maybe I should start calling you mama."

Her heart melted as she laughed. "I love you, too." Then she gasped. "We need to tell our parents . They're going to be so excited , Cam. But maybe we should wait until I talk to Dr. Miller again."

He shrugged. "It probably doesn't hurt to wait."

"Okay."

He grabbed her panties and jeans. "Do you want to get dressed and get out of here?"

She nodded, taking them. "Let's grab a snack and bring Brady down to the park that's not too far away from my place. The view of the bay is amazing."

"Sure."

She nibbled her lip. "Then I should go to work for a while. Leo's undoubtedly losing his mind at this point."

He nodded. "Just promise me you'll take it easy."

"I promise." She kissed him again before she stood. "I already have a feeling Leo's going to be a mother hen."

Fiona gave a quick knock on Leo's open door as she walked into his office.

He turned with his phone at his ear, wearing slim-fit plaid pants, a short-sleeve white button-down that accentuated his solid build, and a pair of black loafers. He held up his finger as he stood by the wall of windows, signaling for one minute. "That sounds good," he said to whoever he was speaking to. "I'll check in with you again tomorrow. Okay. Bye."

He rolled his eyes as he hung up. "Remind me that I'm never saying yes to an event like this again."

She grinned. "I'm not promising you that because this is going to do amazing things for your career."

He nodded as he leaned his butt against his desk. "You may have a point there. But I'm taking a week off after we finish this."

Fiona winced, feeling a swift wave of guilt for leaving Leo to deal with the matrimonial madness alone. "I'm sorry I've been gone for most of the day."

He waved away her apology. "Just tell me you're okay."

She nodded, closing the distance between them, handing him the sonogram pictures. "I'm fibroid-free."

Leo's eyes grew huge as he looked at the first image. "This couldn't possibly be what I think it is."

She nodded again, blinking back tears as Leo did. "We heard the heartbeat , Leo. I'm seven weeks."

Leo stood, pulling her into a hug. "Fi, this is amazing ! You're going to be the best mom, and Felix and I are going to be insanely great uncles."

"I know you will be," she said, holding on to him.

He drew away, looking at the pictures again. "This is the cutest little blob I've ever seen, which makes sense because this kid is coming from one hell of a gene pool."

She laughed as she rolled her eyes. "I'm well aware you think Cam is a major hottie."

Leo waggled his brow. "You're not half-bad yourself."

She chuckled as she shook her head.

His grin faded as he leaned against the desk again. "I couldn't be happier for you, Fi, but I'm also sad because I know this means you're leaving me."

She sighed as she nodded. Because leaving Leo and Felix was the only part of moving that hurt her heart. She and Leo had been fast friends from the moment she landed in London. He'd taken her under his wing and helped her thrive. "They need me. Even before we found out about the baby, Cam asked me to go back to Vermont with him. He wants us to raise Brady together."

Leo captured her hand. "Your own family, Fi. With the man of your dreams. Everything you've always wanted."

She nodded again. "It's hard to believe all of this is happening."

"I'm sure Simone will understand."

She raised her brow because they both knew that wasn't true. Simone expected one hundred percent dedication from her associates and staff. Distractions were not permitted. "I'm sure she won't . But it doesn't matter."

"She'll make you sign the non-compete."

Fiona nodded. "I can live without event planning for the next six months."

"What will you do?"

She shrugged because she had yet to think past the immediate. Everything was happening so fast. "I have plenty to keep me busy. Brady will be settling into school, and we'll need to get the baby's room ready. Ellie can always use a hand at the office. Then we'll see what we see."

"It'll be great."

She beamed. "It will be."

"Go talk to our boss. Then let's talk about this wedding we need to pull off in less than forty-eight hours." But Leo pulled her into another hug. "Congratulations, Fiona. No one deserves this more than you."

She closed her eyes, holding on to her friend. "Vermont's beautiful, especially in the fall. We have plenty of room at the house if you and Felix want to visit."

"You better believe we'll be regular guests."

"Good," she said, tearing up again as she eased away. "Because I'm going to miss you both."

Leo shook his head. "We can bawl later. Go talk to Simone."

She nodded. "I'll be quick."

"Okay."

She left Leo's office, walking down the hall, settling her hand on her belly, waiting to feel some wave of regret for giving up her prestigious position at Laurier Group. She'd worked so hard for her professional success. But she found herself smiling, more than ready to say goodbye. Because her family needed her in Vermont.