Once Upon a Pregnancy. Judy Duarte

much as he wanted to hold her close, to cling to the citrusy scent of her bath soap and shampoo, he gently laid her down and knelt beside her. He might be medically trained and competent in an emergency, but he wasn’t at all prepared for Simone’s collapse.

      “Oh my gosh,” Millie said, hurrying around the counter to see what was going on. “Is she okay? What happened?”

      Mike didn’t know for sure. “I think she fainted.”

      Simone’s vulnerability damn near sent him reeling, and he took her hand, checking her pulse while assessing her respiration. He placed a hand on her forehead to gauge her temperature and found it cool, so she didn’t have a fever.

      Her lashes, dark and lush against the skin that had gone pale, fluttered ever so slightly.

      “Fred!” Millie called. “Come quick!”

      Simone lifted her lids, blinking them a couple of times until her eyes searched Mike’s face, as though she was trying to focus.

      When she tried to sit up, he stopped her. “Just lie still for a minute or two.”

      “Okay.” She drew in a shaky breath, then slowly blew it out.

      “How are you feeling?” Mike ran his knuckles along her cheek—God, he’d missed touching her.

      “A little light-headed and buzzy, but nothing hurts.”

      Again, she began to fold up into a sit. And this time, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently held her down. “I’m calling the shots, and you need to lie still a little longer.”

      She offered him a wry smile. “I thought paramedics were supposed to yield to the nursing staff.”

      “Yeah, well, not when the nurse is incapacitated.” He tried to shrug off his concern, but couldn’t. What the hell had happened? And why?

      Damn. He wanted to do so much more than tell her to stay put and to remain quiet, but she was conscious. And he couldn’t find any of her vitals out of whack. So he relied on his training to tell him she was okay when his heart was telling him to call 911 and ask for backup.

      Deciding upon a compromise, he said, “As soon as you feel up to moving, I’ll take you to the hospital and get you checked out.”

      “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll be okay.” She closed her eyes, but only for a moment. “This isn’t serious, Mike. Besides, it was my own fault.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday at lunch, and I really should have grabbed a snack on our way out the door.”

      He hoped she wasn’t dieting; she didn’t need to lose weight. She was in great shape. And even if she could stand to lose a couple of pounds, she ought to know that starvation wasn’t the way to go.

      “I got a little light-headed and—” she shrugged her shoulders “—I passed out.”

      She could say that again.

      He watched the color slowly creep back into her face. “Why haven’t you been eating?”

      “I was tired when I got home from work last night and decided to stretch out on the sofa and watch a little television before fixing dinner. The next thing I knew, it was morning.” She slowly sat up and leaned her back against the counter. “And when I woke up, I… Well, I just got busy. That’s all.”

      And then he’d dragged her shopping for pet supplies. Great.

      By this time, Fred Baxter came running to their side, his breathing heavy and more labored than a short, indoor jog should have caused. “Oh my goodness! Simone. What happened?”

      “I fainted,” she said. “I’m sure it was caused by low blood sugar.”

      “I’ve got some orange juice in the back room,” Millie said. “And a granola bar.”

      “That would help.” Simone slowly sat up, then ran a hand through her hair. “Thank you.”

      As Millie hurried through the store, Mike said, “You’re going to need to eat more than juice and a snack. I’ll take you across the street to the deli so you can order lunch.”

      And for once, when it came to Simone, he wasn’t going to sit back and let her call the shots.

      Minutes after Fred had loaded their purchases into Mike’s Jeep and returned the key, Simone allowed Mike to lead her across the street to Prudy’s Menu. The small bakery/deli specialized in scrumptious desserts, gourmet coffees and teas, as well as homemade breads, soups and sandwiches.

      They sat at one of the green bistro tables that graced the street-front patio of the eatery. An umbrella shaded them and their place settings from the dappled sunlight that filtered through the leaves of several old maples that grew along Lexington Avenue.

      The waitress had just given them water and taken their orders.

      “Are you feeling better now?” Mike asked.

      “I’m still a little shaky, but it’s passing.” Simone offered him a smile she hoped was convincing.

      She wasn’t used to being coddled or taken care of. Even as a kid, when she’d actually been sick, she’d had to fend for herself. So she’d gotten accustomed to being alone when she was under the weather and, to be honest, actually preferred it that way. For a woman who dispensed endless doses of TLC for a living, she was uneasy being on the receiving end.

      Of course, now that she’d had a granola bar to eat and some juice to sip, she was almost back to normal—at least, physically. Emotionally, not so much. The news of her pregnancy was still a little unsettling.

      Giving the baby up might not be easy, but it would be for the best.

      “Are you too cold?” he asked. “Or too warm? We can go back inside if you’d be more comfortable.”

      She reached across the table and placed her hand over the top of his. “I’m fine. And I’ll be even better when the waitress brings my soup. Besides, we have to sit outside because of Wags.”

      “You’re right, but I’ll bet Millie and Fred would have watched the puppy for us.”

      Simone peered under the table, where Wags was tethered to a chair leg by a new red collar and leash. He was so content to be greedily chomping on a little rawhide bone that he didn’t even glance up at her. “Look how happy he is.”

      Mike’s gaze remained on her. “If it gets too warm for you out here, if the sun is too bright, let me know and I’ll take him across the street so we can go inside.”

      “The temperature is perfect. And besides, the fresh air will help clear my head.” She offered him another don’t-worry-about-me smile, then scanned the small patio, where only one other group of diners—an elderly man and two women—sat.

      There hadn’t been many people wanting to eat outdoors during the winter months, so it was nice to see the weather changing. And while she knew a cold spell could still strike at any time, she preferred to think that spring was here to stay.

      Apparently, Belle, Prudy’s daughter who was now running the eatery, agreed, because there were several pots of red geraniums gracing the patio that hadn’t been there the last time Simone had stopped in for a bite to eat.

      When the waitress brought their lunch—a turkey sandwich and vegetable soup for her and a pastrami on rye for Mike—Simone dug in.

      The fainting spell was probably a combination of pregnancy hormones as well as a low blood sugar level from not eating, but she would talk to the doctor to make sure. There was no reason to take any unnecessary chances or to jeopardize the baby’s health. From now on, she would put the child’s best interests above her own.

      Simone didn’t need a psychiatric evaluation to tell