Page 20 of Quid Pro Beau

My chest squeezes tight. I don’t look at him, I can’t.

Cool gel smears across my skin, making me shiver. The wand presses down, and suddenly the screen flickers to life with grainy gray movement.

“There’s baby,” the tech says. She clicks and scans, clicks and scans again. “So far, everything is measuring just right.”

Beau leans forward, his eyes wide. “That’s… that’s the baby? That little thing’s moving so much already? No wonder you can’t sleep at night.”

The tech chuckles. “That’s your baby kicking up a storm.” She moves the wand and Nugget does some kind of ninja move. The tech laughs again. “Somebody’s got a lot of energy.”

Beau lets out a low, astonished laugh, and I feel it rumble through his chest, where our arms are brushing. “She’s doing somersaults in there,” he murmurs, his voice clearly in awe.

“She?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “She feels like a she.”

“So you’re not seeing something on there that I’m not, right?” I ask, searching the gray static-filled screen again.

The tech moves the wand, narrating as she goes. “Here’s the spine. Look at that beautiful alignment. And the heart—all four chambers looking good, Mom. Definitely a strong, fast heartbeat.”

She hits a button and suddenly the room fills with the whoosh-whoosh of my baby’s heartbeat. Tears prick at my eyes.

“Whoa. That is fast,” Beau whispers.

“Perfectly normal,” the tech says. “Strong and steady. That’s what we like to see. And here’s the profile—look at that nose! Dad, she’s got your chin.”

Beau blinks, startled. “Mine?” His eyes are locked on the screen as he looks at my baby’s sweet profile.

The tech keeps going, naming off femurs, stomach, kidneys, a perfectly curved skull. Beau never looks away. His mouth parts slightly, and he’s got this expression—like he’s witnessing something sacred.

“Do we want to know the sex? Because I think we’re in a perfect position to see,” the tech says.

“Yes, please,” I say.

The screen shifts again, the tech clicks and the image freezes. It’s like looking up at the baby from below. “See these two lines that look like an equal sign?” the tech asks.

I nod.

“Well, it looks like Dad was right. You’re definitely having a girl.”

Beau makes this sound, half laugh, half choke. He scrapes his hat off his head and runs a hand through his hair, then puts the hat back on.

“A girl,” I echo.

“Is that what you wanted?” Beau asks.

Before I can answer though, the tech has printed out a series of pictures for us and is clicking away on the machine. “Congratulations,” she says. “Your daughter looks absolutely perfect.”

My daughter.

The tech hands me a towel to clean off my belly and then tells me I’m done. She closes the door as she leaves the room.

Beau looks over at me, and I can’t even describe what’s in his eyes—something reverent, like I’m holy and terrifying all at once. He lifts my hand and presses his lips to my knuckles.

“You made a girl,” he murmurs. “A whole little girl.”

I shake my head, overwhelmed. It’s on my tongue to remind him that my baby is half of Timothy’s, but I don’t even want to mention his name in this moment.

“She’s yours,” he says fiercely. “She’s gonna be the best damn thing that ever happened to this world.”