Chapter 1

At the pre-pregnancy checkup, the doctor asked seriously, "Have you been strictly abstinent for three days?"

I replied with full confidence, "Absolutely. Not a single day missed."

Beside me, my gorgeous wife, Stella, suddenly turned bright red and mumbled, "Honey… um… it was yesterday…"

The entire exam room went dead silent.

The doctor looked at me with a mixture of sympathy and understanding.

I was completely stunned. Yesterday? I was asleep all night.

It wasn't until Stella dragged me out of the office that I realized the truth: the woman I married was basically a walking "can't-keep-her-hands-off-her-husband" treasure.

*****

The smell of hospital disinfectant hit me right in the nose.

I, Brogan Duvall, sat nervously upright on the hard chair in the exam room, my palms sweating a little. Next to me was my gorgeous new bride, Stella Bullock.

Today was our pre-pregnancy checkup.

The doctor was a stern-faced middle-aged guy with gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes sweeping over us like a scanner, back and forth.

He picked up my report, and his brow instantly knotted.

"Brogan, right?" The doctor tapped the report. "Your numbers and quality not looking too great."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Did you strictly follow the three-day abstinence rule?" the doctor asked, fixing me with a sharp look.

I nodded eagerly, like a chicken pecking at grain. "Yes, doctor, exactly three days. No more, no less."

I always played by the rules; doctor's orders were law to me.

The doctor turned to Stella. "When was your last time together?"

I jumped in, my voice loud and clear, just to prove I was innocent. "Four days ago. Definitely more than three days."

Seriously, this was about our future kids. No way I'd slack off. For the past three days, I didn't even dare look at Stella sideways.

But then, Stella tugged at my sleeve, her voice barely above a whisper, her face burning red. "Honey… um… it was yesterday…"

"What?" I almost shot out of my chair, thinking my ears were playing tricks on me. "Yesterday? Stella, are you serious? I swear it was four days ago."

Stella practically buried her face in her chest, her voice barely audible. "Sorry, Brogan. You were sleeping so soundly last night, and I couldn't resist."

The exam room went completely silent.

I could literally hear the doctor suck in a breath. His eyes darted between Stella and me, finally landing on me, his look screaming, 'Kid, if you can't keep up, say so. No need to throw your wife under the bus.'

I was screwed. There was no way I could talk my way out of this now.

The doctor cleared his throat, slid the report across the desk to me, and gave me a knowing look. "Since you didn't stick to the abstinence rule, these results are useless.

"Go home, follow the instructions, and come back for another test."

I held that flimsy report, but it felt like it weighed a ton. My cheeks were on fire, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.

As soon as we stepped out of the exam room, I caught Stella trying to slip away and pulled her into a corner near the fire exit.

There was hardly anyone around, just the faint glow of the green exit sign.

"Stella," I hissed, every word squeezed out through gritted teeth. "Spill it. What happened last night? How come I don't remember a thing?"

This was unbelievable. My wife went for it while I was knocked out cold, and I didn't even notice? This was totally bonkers.

Stella pulled her shoulders in, giving me those puppy eyes, hoping I'd let her off the hook. "Honey, please don't be mad. Just let me explain."

"Explain? Go ahead, explain." I was so angry I could barely breathe. "Do you even know how hard I've been holding back these past three days?

"We were almost in the clear, and you went and did this to me—like this."

Seeing her puppy eyes weren't working, Stella dropped her gaze, fiddling with her fingers, and mumbled, "I thought you looked so cute when you were asleep.

"I couldn't help myself, and I just gave you a little kiss. Then…"

"And then what?" I pressed, a bad feeling creeping up on me.

"And then we kind of got a bit more intimate," Stella replied, her voice barely a whisper.