chapter 32
1172 Words
Titus
We spend a couple of hours sitting in the sunshine, talking to Carrie and John, looking out over the river while we nibble from Heidi’s fruit platter.
Despite the mostly serious topic of conversation, it’s an enjoyable afternoon, maybe because of the setting, or the weather, as the beautiful summer sun continues to shine. Or maybe it’s because I’m partly working, so I can shed myself of the guilt that always hovers whenever I’m taking time off. Most likely it also has something to do with Heidi, who sits by my side, joining in the conversation, refreshing our drinks, and catching my eye from time to time, at which point she smiles shyly before looking away.
Whatever the reason, it’s a pleasant way to spend my time. Carrie and John are interesting to talk to—John’s a GP, so he knows a fair amount about fertility issues and IVF, and Carrie is a chemist and works with her father at Acheron, so she’s also interested in the scientific side of things. But they also bring their personal experience, and as they tell me about their journey toward having a family, it becomes obvious it’s taken an emotional toll.
“I’m sorry,” Carrie whispers at one point, fighting with her tears.
“Don’t be,” I say. “It’s moments like this that make me so determined to help.”
“Titus was telling me about his cousins,” Heidi adds, reaching out to squeeze Carrie’s hand. “One of them is opening a branch of Titus’s company in Wellington.” She glances at me, obviously not sure how much she’s supposed to reveal, but I nod and smile, and she continues, “He’s run the first tests of the new AI program Titus has told you about, predicting which embryos will lead to a live birth, and they’ve had an eighty-five percent success rate.”
“That’s just an initial test,” I say firmly, “it’ll improve as we tweak the parameters and run successive tests.”
“Whether or not it helps us, it sounds promising,” John says. “It sucks to be one of the one-in-four couples for whom a cause can’t be identified.”
“Well, the important thing is that it’s not being caused by some mysterious supernatural force. There’s a scientific reason for it. We just haven’t found it yet.”
Carrie blows out a breath, long and slow. “Do you know,” she says, “that’s the first time someone has phrased it like that.”
“I don’t want to give you false hope,” I tell her gently. “You’ve been through some tough times, and you know there are no guarantees. But chromosomal abnormalities are definitely a factor in IVF cycle failure, and determining which embryos have that greater chance of success could be helpful for you.”
John sighs. “It’s difficult to know at what point to call it a day, you know? I’m thirty-seven now, and Carrie’s thirty-five. We all know that your fertility begins to drop as you move through your thirties, and the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth increases. There’s also a higher risk of gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. We haven’t quite reached that point where we’ve given up, but we’re close.”
“We’re going to give it one more go,” Carrie says. “One more round of IVF. And if it doesn’t happen, I think we’re going to try to accept it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Would you want to be a part of the first trial run at Acheron?” I ask.
They exchange a glance, and then turn their hopeful gazes on me. “Dad said we shouldn’t ask,” Carrie says. “He says you have enough on your plate getting it all organized. But yes, of course, we would love to be a part of it. You can’t know how amazing it would be to increase the success rates of IVF. Well, you probably can. I know you’ve spoken to a lot of couples who’ve been in our position.”
“I have, but I haven’t experienced it myself, so I can’t pretend to know what you’ve been through.”
She smiles at Heidi. “He’s so wonderful. You’re a lucky girl, Heidi.”
I meet Heidi’s gaze and smirk.
“I am,” she says. “Lord Lawrence is a real catch.”
That makes us all laugh. “Yeah, we’d better head back so we can start getting ready,” John says, and they stand to leave.
We see them to the front door, and Carrie stops to give me a hug. “It’s been so great to meet you,” she says.
“Likewise. I just hope we can help.”
She smiles, and they go out to their car.
Heidi closes the door, comes over to me, and slides her arms around me. “All right, Lord Lawrence?”
“Yeah.” I kiss her nose. “I suppose we should start getting ready.”
“We have time for a kiss though, right?”
“Mmm. Definitely.” I lower my lips to hers, moving her back to the wall, enjoying the way her lips part to let me brush my tongue into her mouth. She lifts her arms around my neck, and we indulge in a long, luscious kiss that leaves us both sighing.
“Later,” she murmurs. “When we get back…”
“Yeah…” I kiss up her jaw to her ear.
“You gonna f**k me till my teeth rattle, Titus?”
I stop, lift my head, and raise my eyebrows at her. She gives me an innocent look. “What?”
I lean on the wall above her head, and my lips curve up. “You’re a bad girl.”
She giggles. “I like you.”
I chuckle. “I like you too.”
“A lot,” she clarifies, and blushes.
I look into her beautiful blue eyes, lift a hand, and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Her blush deepens. “I’m just saying.”
“Yeah, I know.” I kiss her gently. “There’s a conversation coming. I think we both know it. Not yet. Maybe on the plane.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
I kiss her again. “But tonight, yes, Your Royal Highness, I do intend to f**k you senseless, so I hope you’re prepared.”
“Ooh. Now I’m going to think about it all evening.”
“That was my dastardly plan.”
Her eyes sparkle. “I see. Well, two can play at that game.”
“So how do you intend to take your revenge?”
She kisses my cheek. “I’ll tell you later.” Then she ducks under my arm and heads for the bedroom.
I sigh and follow her. She seems to enjoy torturing me.
Luckily, I don’t mind one bit.
- Writer
