Beneath Your Beautiful: A Neighbors to Lovers Romance [COMPLETED]

33 - I want you to stay

Jaya was due for another prenatal checkup that week. It was the one they'd been waiting for since her stint in the hospital—the one where she might get the all-clear to resume her pre-bed rest life—which, to her, meant finally going back to renovating her house. Well, as long as she didn't lift anything heavy.

"Nervous?" she asked Noah on their way into Gus's practice.

He held the door open for her. "Yeah. You?"

Nodding, she took a big breath and walked across the threshold.

Please, let it be okay.

Once she was checked in, the nurse sent Jaya to the restroom, so they could test for urinary protein—one of the diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia. Good thing she needed to pee half the day anyway.

After that, the nurse led them into the exam room to take Jaya's weight and blood pressure. Because hypertension would put her right back on bed rest, regardless of the other results, Jaya tried to relax as best as she could by doing the breathing exercises Emma taught her when she was a kid.

Breathe in for a count of four... hold it for four... breathe out for four...

If only they didn't have to stick another needle in her. She was sure Gus was overdoing it with all those tests because he felt guilty he hadn't caught the anemia in time.

Less than a minute after the nurse had left the room, Gus and Felicity joined them. Being the doctor's little sister had its perks: low costs, no wait times, and an Ivy League care team that went above and beyond—what every pregnant person should have.

Noah pushed a chair up to the exam table, sat next to her, and reached for her hand the same time she reached for his. At this point, Jaya couldn't tell who was holding on tighter. They needed some good news for a change.

"You look anxious," Felicity said with a compassionate smile, as she prepared to take Jaya's blood. "It's going to be fine."

Jaya closed her eyes, anticipating the prick of the needle, but felt Noah's lips against hers instead. Her stomach did a little flip, and she opened her eyes when Felicity said, "All done."

"Wow, I didn't even feel the needle. You're a miracle worker, Feli. From now on, you're the only one who's allowed to poke me with a sharp object."

Grinning, Felicity pointed at Noah. "He deserves all the credit."

Jaya looped her arm around Noah's. "He sure is great with his mouth," she said, biting her lip.

Gus and Noah shook their heads.

"TMI, sis." Gus set up the ultrasound. It was the same procedure as last time but still mind-boggling to see the baby floating around inside her.

"Do you want to know the baby's sex?" Gus asked them once he'd determined everything looked normal. She and Noah answered at the same time—with contradictory opinions. "I'm glad you're on the same page. Not that I expected any different. So, where does that leave us? I tell one of you but not the other?"

"No," she said, "I don't want you to tell him either."

"Please. I'm so curious." Noah tried to reason with her. "We'll fight less about a name if we know what we're looking for."

"Why would we fight about the name?"

He looked at her like she'd grown a third eye. "Because we disagree about everything except food and how we spend our free time."

She shrugged. If they fought anyway, what difference did it make?

Gus handed her a towel so that she could clean herself up. "How about you tell him why you don't want to know the baby's sex?"