A moment later, when he’d finally stopped laughing, he leaned back over and whispered, “Might be easier to read this way.”
His big, strong body was too close to hers in the small waiting room for her brain to figure out what he was talking about until he turned the magazine around in her hands.
Oh my God. How embarrassing. She didn’t normally care what a bunch of strangers thought of her, but then again, she’d always blended into the background, so no one had ever really noticed her.
Being with Jake, she was slowly realizing, was the opposite of being invisible. He had too much presence, was far too charismatic and charming—not to mention gorgeous—for her to stay hidden when she was with him.
It should have been easier to get lost behind him. But he wouldn’t allow that, she realized, as he put his hand back on her thigh and held it there, no matter what she did to try to shake him off. For all his arrogance, he didn’t seem interested in hogging the limelight. Instead, she got the strange sense that he was proud to be sitting there with her.
Even when she was doing dumb things like pretending to read a magazine upside down.
“When are you due?”
Sophie couldn’t believe the woman in the corner asked Jake the question instead of her, like they had some special bond just because he’d smiled at her and said she was pretty.
Of course, it stung even more that Sophie hadn’t needed much more of a reason than his smile to fall in love with him so many years ago.
“In the fall.”
No one could miss the possessive note in his voice, or his clear joy at the prospect of having a baby. Sophie felt her heart soften despite herself.
Darn it, why couldn’t he be more of a jerk all the time? Why did he have to keep having these moments when he seemed like the perfect guy? It would make it so much easier to hate him if he would just behave like a self-absorbed imbecile, rather than a sweetly concerned, uber-sexy father-to-be.
Then again, at least it helped her remember that the only thing he was really interested in was the baby. Not her. After all, he’d walked out on her without a second glance, but as soon as he’d heard about a child, he’d become the most possessive person on the planet.
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” the woman exclaimed. “Congratulations.”
Jake squeezed Sophie’s thigh just above her knee and thrill bumps immediately ran up and down her legs at the intimate touch.
“Thanks,” he replied. “We’re really excited about it.”
Amazingly, it was true. Despite the fact that she’d gotten pregnant by accident and the status of their relationship was completely up in the air, amazingly, both of them really were excited about having a child. Even if the whole co-parenting thing was going to be sticky from different households—especially if there was one of his playthings over when she went to pick up her kid at his house.
At some point after she had the baby, they’d have to have a talk about what was and wasn’t appropriate for children to see. Yes, she’d be sure to let him know she expected him to keep all future dates and sexual partners away from their child, simply so he didn’t confuse their son or daughter. If it put a damper on his sex life, he’d just have to deal with that, wouldn’t he?
A nurse popped her head out of the door that led back to the examination rooms. “Sophie Sullivan?”
Sophie stood up and Jake moved with her, his hand on her lower back. The nurse looked between them, a question in her eyes.
How many times, she wondered, would she see those same silent questions? This is the man you’re with? How did you possibly pull that off? And how can I get one just like him?
At least, she thought with a small measure of gratitude, rather than barging in and taking over absolutely everything, Jake was waiting patiently for her to explain why he was there.
Only, Sophie wasn’t sure she could explain any of it at all, not without using words like in love with him forever and never going to love me back...and, of course, crazy accident.
Which was why all she said was, “He’ll be coming in with me.”
Without missing a beat, he held out his hand. “Jake McCann.”
The nurse’s eyes got big as she shook his hand. “I thought you looked familiar. You’re on those great ads for McCann’s Irish Pubs. Are you the owner?”
He nodded, but amazingly, didn’t prolong the conversation about himself. Most of the guys Sophie had dated loved nothing better than to talk about themselves. Jake couldn’t possibly be the exception, could he?
The nurse ushered them into the room and looked down at her chart. “Let’s see, you’re here to see the doctor about a possible pregnancy?” When Sophie nodded, the nurse asked, “When was the date of your last period?”
Feeling more than a little embarrassed about discussing this kind of stuff in front of Jake, she quickly calculated the date and told the nurse.
“Let’s get your weight.”
Great, just what every woman wanted, for the man she was sleeping with to see the number on the scale. She worked to keep her chin up as she slipped off her shoes and got on the scale.
“Looks like you’ve put on about ten pounds already.”
Considering her stomach was still fairly flat, Sophie was pretty sure those extra pounds were all in her br**sts and hips so far.
Obviously seeing her disgruntled expression, the nurse said, “Eight to twelve pounds is really normal for this stage of the first trimester. Especially with the first pregnancy, when you’re not used to the changes in your body.” She handed Sophie a plastic cup. “We’ll need you to give us a urine sample and then go ahead and put this gown on so you’re ready for the doctor.”