The Next Best Thing: Part II

Thirty-Six

Min

I met him in the downstairs foyer, pacing around the floor impatiently, typing furiously on his phone. Occasionally, someone interrupted him, recognising him instantly, and asking for a selfie for their "Instamatic", as Carla used to say.

"When will you include me in your selfies for your Instamatic page? I like to think Charlie flirts with me not out of pity."

Nori, out of breath and in awe of Lyle, hissed at me over the phone to get my ass downstairs. It seems he couldn't bear to listen to Lyle making polite conversation without gaping at him and mentally cheating on his long time partner.

He's so hot, he mouthed my way, when I signed out of the building, coupled with feigned fanning of himself. He is, I mouthed back with a naughty smile. Nori was obviously itching to know the nature of our relationship, unaware that Lyle Hemsworth was my baby daddy/ex-boyfriend.

"Have a nice day, Ms. Min, Mr. Lyle," he said politely as we left. Translation: I want a lowdown on everything that happens today.

"Thank you, Nori," Lyle smiled. If I swooned over the way his dimpled smile made me feel on the inside, Nori must have died an excruciating death hearing the way his name was said.

That's one of the reasons I loved Lyle: his voice. It always made everything he said that much more beautiful. It made me blush even when I was so annoyed by his presence and his need to act like my boyfriend when he was only my constant hookup friend.

At the time, he was highly unappreciated, a liability in my life. The physical attraction was there, a strong sexual connection between us, but, emotionally, I despised him. His unwarranted affection, attempts at getting to know me on a deeper, friendly level and wanting to mean something in my life frustrated me.

I knew that he was the One before he ever spoke a word to me and gave me the time of day. I loved him for much longer than I chose to admit to myself, to him, because the idea of love wasn't something I understood.

My parents loved each other, sure, but they weren't exactly the best role models. I didn't want to turn into my mother, making my dad miserable and incapable of loving another human being.

Carla was widowed at a young age and refused to date in memory of her only love, the man of her dreams. Her daughter was her happiness, her pride and joy. Her soulmate.

I had let the man of my dreams slip through my fingers and I had to live with that.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, bringing me back into the present, now, where he sat next to me, doting over me and caring about me.

"Are you?" I asked genuinely. "I could still postpone. I'm sure Andy wouldn't mind."

"Min, I want to meet my baby. I'm not going to let you have all the fun. We're in this together, okay?" he said, rubbing my belly. "Daddy's so excited to hear you for the first time. I hope you're a strong girl like your mama and you have her beautiful eyes."

I couldn't reminisce about what could have been anymore. But I had now.

We were taken to a waiting room in the private wing of the hospital. A nurse joined us shortly afterwards to get us settled and check my vitals.

"Is this your first time here together?" Sally, the name on her lapel, asked us.

"Yes," Lyle answered. "I'm really nervous, obviously. But you figured that out."

"You have the expectant father jitters. It's normal with first time dads, especially the young ones. It's normal to be scared but your girlfriend is fine. She looks very healthy so I'm sure your baby is great, too," she explained with motherly concern. "Dr. Young will be with you soon."

"We're okay, Lyle. Just take a few deep breaths and relax. Everything's alright," I reassured him in a calm voice.

"You're going to make a really good mother, Min," he smiled. "And I'll be the world's greatest dad, of course."

"Of course," I smiled back.

Andy walked in moments later, introducing himself to Lyle and asking after me. "I'm glad you could join us today, Lyle. I'm personally excited to find out what you two are having because somebody owes me a lot of money," he told him, smearing the cold gel on my belly before performing the ultrasound.

Soon, we could hear the baby's heartbeat reverberating in the dark room, my little surprise bundle of joy appearing on the screen. Lyle's hand reached out for mine, his fingers clutching my hand tightly and very close to him.

"This is really happening, Min," he whispered in my ear.

"This is really happening, Lyle," I whispered back, sniffling a few good tears. That could wait for later.

"I guess I better call Trent's and place that order," Andy frowned, a small smile on his face. Congratulations babe, he mouthed to me.

"We're having a girl?" Lyle practically yelled, his glossy blue eyes widened in excitement.

"A healthy, kick ass girl by the sound of things. Congrats, man," he replied, shaking Lyle's hand. He kissed my cheek when he finished wrapping up, getting back to his work.

"Aid's going to be thrilled, my mom as well. I think I better call them now and share the news. God Min, you and me, a baby?" He ran his fingers through his hair, throwing me a shaky grin as he walked out into the hallway.

I heard him excitedly passing on the information, in an elated state, over the moon with happiness. If he could dance to save his life, I'd be twirled around the hospital's lobby.

The nurses were smiling in amusement at him, a few chatting amongst themselves about how adorable our baby would be.

"Her eyes, his smile. That kid is going to be the cutest little bugger," Sally gossiped to one of her fellow nurse buddies.

We rode the elevator back to the car in an amazing silence, his hand holding my waist. A few reporters were waiting in the basement, eager to take as many pictures of us exiting through the back entrance to grace the pages of their magazines.

I shielded my face with my hat, my emerging belly hidden by a wide coat and large handbag. It was nobody's business why Lyle was escorting me to a waiting car from the hospital and I wanted to keep it that way.

The press was constantly hounding my family, interested in our normal and very typical Upper East Sider fashion. Now that I was no longer affiliated with them, I didn't need my surname making headline news, further embarrassing my parents' legacies. My mother had made herself clear.

"STD scare, Lyle?" one overzealous pap asked, snapping away at us. "Too much fun, not enough protection?"

The only reason why I didn't want to have a baby, especially with Lyle, was the constant pair of eyes watching us, waiting for anything to spin into a scandal.

"Can we raise her in the suburbs?" he asked me when we were safely driving out of the basement parking lot, reading my mind.

"Right now, I'm considering moving to Australia to live with your family. Far away from all this drama." And the reach of my cruel mother who would surely make my life a living hell if word got out. That was the last thing I needed.