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scary. It’s a little life we’re trying to protect.”
    I pulled on my skirt and let him help put me to rights. This was his version of taking an active
    role. I loved it. It was the Hunter I always craved. The one he still hid from strangers behind his
    distanced, unfeeling business mask. The guy he no longer hid from me.
    “One last test.” I smiled when I felt his hand on the small of my back, directing me through the
    door and to the doctor.
    “All set?” The doctor smiled at me again and led the way. She didn’t comment on the fact that
    Hunter let me walk this time. The fear had mostly passed.
    The next room was larger, with a big machine, screens, and room for a few people. There was
    only one woman in there, though, tapping something into a computer resting on the machine. She
    glanced up when we walked in.
    “This is Dr. Lund,” Dr. Cheung said as she stopped near the door. “She’ll be performing the
    ultrasound. I’ll leave you in her very capable hands. Just call me, anytime, if you’re worried about anything else. Okay?”
    “Hello, Mr. Carlisle,” said Dr. Lund, a woman with frizzy blond hair. “Mrs. Carlisle, go ahead
    and put this on for me. Just disrobe from the bottom down.”
    “Oh, I’m not—”
    “Here, Livy,” Hunter said, his eyes soft. He handed me the sheet.
    I stared at him for a second as a thrill of warm tingles seeped through my body. He’d stopped me
    from correcting her!
    Oh my God, did he want to marry me? Obviously he’d tied himself to me forever with the baby
    situation, but… did he want to marry me?
    My thrill was short-lived. The stirrups came out a moment later. Apparently this test would be a
    bit more invasive than on the TV.
    Glancing at Hunter, I went through the same rigmarole before settling onto the bed and waiting for
    the instruction to scoot my butt to the end and throw my knees in the air. It came as expected, leaving me in another precarious position.
    “All right.” Dr. Lund wheeled her chair closer to my knees while still on the side of the bed. She
    didn’t plan to take up the normal gynecologist position, it seemed. She held up a thick plastic thing that looked like a wand. I knew exactly where that sucker was going.
    I glanced at Hunter again. Now that the danger was largely gone, this was damned uncomfortable.
    “There is some small risk in performing an ultrasound this way,” Dr. Lund explained, lubing up
    the end of the wand. “However, Dr. Cheung has given the go-ahead. It looks like your cervix is fine to handle it, and you’re young.”
    “Dr. Cheung expressed some concern about her cervix being fragile,” Hunter said, stepping
    closer. He put his hand on my shin protectively.
    I was clearly the only one thinking this situation was awkward.
    “The exterior of the cervix, yes. The wall. That doesn’t mean she has a weak cervix, however.
    Meaning it doesn’t have any bearing on her ability to hold a baby in the uterus. Since the fetus isn’t large enough for us to get a reading with the fetal Doppler, we’ll need to get a reading this way. The assurance greatly outweighs the risk.”
    Hunter nodded and stepped away a little. That explanation passed muster.
    I was glad he was pulling police duty. All I could focus on was that large probe and my spread
    legs. I was not having fun…
    “Okay…” Dr. Lund let the word trail away as she directed the probe into a personal place. She
    put a hand on my knee as she looked at the scene, jockeying the wand into position. It jabbed me in a way that made me wince.
    Hunter stepped forward again, eyes on me.
    The doctor noticed. “It might be a little uncomfortable for a moment—I just need to find a good
    spot to hopefully…” I winced again before she paused. “There.”
    Before I could look over at the screen, I saw a look of pure wonder pass over Hunter’s face. A
    smile lit up his features, turning him from merely handsome into the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen.
    “That’s