After The One (The One Series Duet) Read Online Free PDF

out of town. Without him home, I spent the next two months working nonstop. It’s been a lot of long hours with little sleep. My eating schedule has been completely out of whack. I’ve been running on fumes and completely stressed out.”
    Dr. Nelson held up his hand. “Take a deep breath.”
    I glanced at Julian; he looked as on edge as I felt, but his lips moved into an easy smile and I felt peace coming over me. I took a deep breath.
    “My last cycle ended in mid-September. I’ve been stressed and I know that can affect it, but we wanted to get a pregnancy test done.”
    “Of course. Let me ask you a few questions first.” Dr. Nelson grabbed his tablet. “Do you smoke or drink?”
    “Smoke, no. Drink, socially.”
    “Have you consumed alcohol in the last couple of months?”
    “No, I haven’t had a social life. I haven’t done anything but drink water and coffee. I’ve had a lot of coffee.” I covered my mouth. “I shouldn’t have had coffee.”
    “Well first things first, let’s finish these questions and then you’ll need to provide urine and blood samples.”
    I answered the rest of the doctor’s questions from medical history to sexual history. Julian knew most of the answers I provided so nothing seemed to take him by surprise or change his expression, but I noticed his lip twitched when I was asked about the frequency of our sexual exploits.
    “When we are in the same place at the same time, we can’t keep our hands off each other,” I answered seriously, causing even the doctor to chuckle.
    I provided a urine sample, the nurse came back to take my blood sample, and then I answered more questions.
    “We will have the results in a few minutes. I’ll be back to check on you.”
    Knowing that in a few short minutes, my life could possibly be forever changed was daunting.
    “What are you doing?” Julian asked as I jumped off the table without warning.
    “I’m getting dressed.”
    He looked at his watch. “Aren’t they going to do more tests if…”
    “If they come back and confirm, I’ll make an appointment with my gynecologist on Monday.” I lowered my voice. “The sonogram is…invasive.”
    Julian nodded, his right leg bouncing nervously. “Got it.”
    I grabbed my jeans and pulled them on underneath the gown. I expected him to make a joke about me not stripping for him, but he seemed distracted. I removed my gown completely and hurriedly pulled on my shirt before any of the clinic staff entered the room again.
    “Come here.” I reached out for him.
    He rose to his feet and took the couple steps toward me. Cradling my face with his hands, he stared into my eyes. “You’re doing great, you know that?”
    “It’s a little surreal.” I bit my lip. “But thank you.”
    He shook his head. “Zoe, I’m serious. You’re strong. You handle things well under pressure. You don’t scare easily.” He placed a soft kiss against my lips before resting his forehead against mine. “Not to mention you’re smart, soulful, poetic, fun, and you’re funny. You even had the doctor cracking up.”
    I grinned. “He did think I was pretty funny, didn’t he?”
    He smirked. “And not lawyer funny, but seriously funny.”
    My head fell back and I laughed. “I know! That doesn’t happen regularly.” When my giggles subsided, I brought my forehead back to his and noticed something had changed. I swallowed hard.
    He let out a shaky breath. “My point is that you are an incredible woman in every way possible. Most importantly, you are full of so much light and love. You…you’re going to be an amazing mother. Whether it’s now or a few years from now, our child is going to be so much better off because they will have you as a mom.”
    I didn’t know what he was going to say, but I didn’t expect that. Tears pricked my eyes and blurred my vision. I blinked them back. I took several trembling breaths before I had to pull away from him. I turned around to grab a tissue. It wasn’t as if