Read Online Working on a Full House by Alyssa Kress - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alyssa Kress
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The real Roy was probably somebody far different from the man with whom she'd spent the night. He had to be, right? No one-night stand could be as sweet and caring as Roy had seemed to be.
Valerie gazed down at her General Tsuo Chicken and shrugged. "Oh, sure. I'm back in reality now." She made herself look back up at Cherise with a carefree smile. "Nothing to worry about."
~~~
Yes, it was nothing to worry about. Valerie went back to work after her lunch with Cherise with this thought in mind. True, the memories were still potent, but they would fade. She'd be able to stop second-guessing herself, wondering 'what if.' With time and distance, she'd be able to set Roy into a comfortable drawer labeled, "great one-time experience."
Indeed, by the second week anniversary of her wild night in Vegas, the whole episode seemed almost unreal and Valerie felt...back to normal. Besides, she had other things on her mind. Nicky Gordon was presenting quite a mystery. His blood test had returned normal, but he'd come back to the office that Monday, continuing to complain of fatigue.
She was in her office after examining Nicky and pondering his chart when she pulled forward her calendar, checking the duration of Nicky's mysterious fatigue. Valerie put her pen on the date of the first time she'd seen him, then counted the squares forward to the date today.
"Fourteen days," she murmured. "And he'd been feeling fatigue before he came in for the first appointment, too." She sat a moment, tapping her pen on the day's date. It was a long minute, as her thoughts were deeply on Nicky, before she realized something significant about the date. Her pen stopped, pressed on the calendar. Her stomach sank to her toes.
"No," Valerie muttered. "Oh, no."
Her pen backed up four days. She couldn't be sure, not until she went home and checked her calendar there, but...wasn't she supposed to have gotten her period by now?
Her heart started to pound. "I could be wrong," she suggested. "I have to be wrong." They'd been so careful. That last time he hadn't even — No. Even if her period was late, it had to be for some other, unrelated reason. Early onset menopause. Something.
Valerie wanted to rush home immediately and check her calendar that had her personal notes on it, but she still had five patients to see.
Somehow, she made it through the day. Half of her behaved like a professional, taking in information on her patients, processing it, and reacting appropriately. The other half of her was a taut bow. Four days late. She was never late, not even when she'd wanted to be, certain such a fact would finally bring Peter to think of matrimony.
Valerie arrived home from the office in record time. She went straight from the garage to the kitchen. Still in her jacket, holding her keys and her purse, she stalked over to the calendar hanging on the wall by the telephone. "Please, please, please," she muttered. "I have to be wrong."
She tapped today's date with a key, then flipped the calendar to see the previous month — and saw her characteristic tic mark, discreet, something only she would understand — and realized she had been wrong. Her period wasn't four days late.
It was five days late.
Valerie struggled to keep breathing. "No," she protested. "It's just not possible ." They'd been careful! They'd done everything they were supposed to. And besides, he was the wrong man. Wrong in a thousand different ways.
Not to mention, a baby . A real, live extra person .
"Okay, okay. Calm down." Valerie dropped the page of the calendar she'd been holding up. "Five days late does not necessarily equal pregnancy." But her heart was pounding.
She had a pregnancy test upstairs in a bathroom drawer. She'd bought it when she'd been going out with Peter, hoping she'd need it one day.
Valerie put a hand to her forehead. Yes, she'd once hoped and planned on getting pregnant. She'd looked forward to starting a family. But that was when she'd been seriously involved
Valerie gazed down at her General Tsuo Chicken and shrugged. "Oh, sure. I'm back in reality now." She made herself look back up at Cherise with a carefree smile. "Nothing to worry about."
~~~
Yes, it was nothing to worry about. Valerie went back to work after her lunch with Cherise with this thought in mind. True, the memories were still potent, but they would fade. She'd be able to stop second-guessing herself, wondering 'what if.' With time and distance, she'd be able to set Roy into a comfortable drawer labeled, "great one-time experience."
Indeed, by the second week anniversary of her wild night in Vegas, the whole episode seemed almost unreal and Valerie felt...back to normal. Besides, she had other things on her mind. Nicky Gordon was presenting quite a mystery. His blood test had returned normal, but he'd come back to the office that Monday, continuing to complain of fatigue.
She was in her office after examining Nicky and pondering his chart when she pulled forward her calendar, checking the duration of Nicky's mysterious fatigue. Valerie put her pen on the date of the first time she'd seen him, then counted the squares forward to the date today.
"Fourteen days," she murmured. "And he'd been feeling fatigue before he came in for the first appointment, too." She sat a moment, tapping her pen on the day's date. It was a long minute, as her thoughts were deeply on Nicky, before she realized something significant about the date. Her pen stopped, pressed on the calendar. Her stomach sank to her toes.
"No," Valerie muttered. "Oh, no."
Her pen backed up four days. She couldn't be sure, not until she went home and checked her calendar there, but...wasn't she supposed to have gotten her period by now?
Her heart started to pound. "I could be wrong," she suggested. "I have to be wrong." They'd been so careful. That last time he hadn't even — No. Even if her period was late, it had to be for some other, unrelated reason. Early onset menopause. Something.
Valerie wanted to rush home immediately and check her calendar that had her personal notes on it, but she still had five patients to see.
Somehow, she made it through the day. Half of her behaved like a professional, taking in information on her patients, processing it, and reacting appropriately. The other half of her was a taut bow. Four days late. She was never late, not even when she'd wanted to be, certain such a fact would finally bring Peter to think of matrimony.
Valerie arrived home from the office in record time. She went straight from the garage to the kitchen. Still in her jacket, holding her keys and her purse, she stalked over to the calendar hanging on the wall by the telephone. "Please, please, please," she muttered. "I have to be wrong."
She tapped today's date with a key, then flipped the calendar to see the previous month — and saw her characteristic tic mark, discreet, something only she would understand — and realized she had been wrong. Her period wasn't four days late.
It was five days late.
Valerie struggled to keep breathing. "No," she protested. "It's just not possible ." They'd been careful! They'd done everything they were supposed to. And besides, he was the wrong man. Wrong in a thousand different ways.
Not to mention, a baby . A real, live extra person .
"Okay, okay. Calm down." Valerie dropped the page of the calendar she'd been holding up. "Five days late does not necessarily equal pregnancy." But her heart was pounding.
She had a pregnancy test upstairs in a bathroom drawer. She'd bought it when she'd been going out with Peter, hoping she'd need it one day.
Valerie put a hand to her forehead. Yes, she'd once hoped and planned on getting pregnant. She'd looked forward to starting a family. But that was when she'd been seriously involved
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