“Thanks so much for meeting us on a Saturday,” Sammi says. Her pitch is higher than usual, and she can’t stop fidgeting with her sweater.

I take her hand in mine, curling my fingertips along her palm in an attempt to ease her fraying nerves.

“It’s no problem at all.” The short, middle-aged woman gives us a warm smile. “It’s truly my pleasure. So nice meeting you both.”

She shakes Sammi’s hand before reaching for mine, a small gesture that makes me like her instantly. Most would have bypassed my wife and gone straight for my hand—maybe even asked for a photograph or an autograph.

I adore my fans, but there’s a time and a place for everything, and I appreciate that this woman clearly respects that.

The doctor guides us down a long, dim hall to a cozy room with a leather couch covered in pillows that’s situated across from a massive executive style desk. “I’m just going to get some information before conducting your exam. Are you okay with your husband being present for this?”

“Of course.” Sammi grins up at me, seeming to draw comfort from my presence.

“Great,” Dr. Ruby says, crossing the room to sit herself behind the desk. “Y’all go ahead and have a seat on that couch, and we’ll get started.”

She begins by going over my wife’s medical history, followed by that of her family.

Things grow a tad uncomfortable for my wife when she starts asking about my medical history and Sammi has to inform her that it’s not necessary because while she’s uncertain who the biological father is, she’s positive it isn’t me.

The doctor doesn’t bat an eye at my wife’s confession that has her red in the face and tripping over her words.

“It’s okay,” she assures Li’l Bit. “I’m not here to cast judgment or to spread your business. Believe me, you are not the first and will certainly not be the last woman to find herself in a similar situation. This child will have two loving parents, and that’s all that matters. How that came to be is irrelevant. Please don’t worry yourself over such things. Especially not with me.”

She offers my wife a genuine smile, waiting patiently for her to nod her agreement before panning her eyes back to her chart. “Says here the date of your last period is unknown?”

“Right…” Sammi’s knee starts to bounce. “I’ve never been regular. Sometimes I skip a month, sometimes three or four.” She shrugs. “I was using protection and didn’t really have any reason to think I could be pregnant until I started to feel sick and realized it had been a few months. It dawned on me that I was about to get married and had slept with someone el—”