We are so excited to share with you an exclusive excerpt from Mariah Ankenman’s upcoming novel The Best Friend Problem out August 12th!
Exclusive Excerpt
“Okay, Ms. Carlson I’m just going to need weight and a urine sample, then we can head into the room.”
After stepping on the scale and taking a moment in the small bathroom to pee in a cup, Pru followed the nurse into an exam room where she had her temperature and blood pressure taken. Next, she was sent to the phlebotomist to have her blood drawn and finally, back into the exam room to wait for her doctor. All the while her heart raced. It was happening, she was on her way to becoming a
mommy! She knew there might be hurdles and failures ahead, but right now the excitement outweighed any impending disappointment.
She sat on the high exam table, the crinkle of the sterile paper filling the quiet room with each tiny movement she made. Plans and dreams coming to life in her head as she stared at the various posters displaying the female reproductive system, the sharp sting of antiseptic and cleaner assailing her nostrils with each anticipatory breath.
A light tap sounded on the door.
This was it! Her journey was about to begin.
“Come in.”
The door opened and Dr. Richardson stepped through. The middle-aged woman smiled as she stepped into the room.
“How are you today, Ms. Carlson?”
She smiled back at the doctor helping her achieve her dreams. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Great. I understand you’ve chosen a donor.”
“Yes, it was a tough decision, but I think I picked the perfect candidate.” She hoped. The probability of her screwing up as a parent at some point in her child’s life was a guarantee, but she hoped she would at least start out on the right foot with a perfect donor selection.
“Wonderful,” Dr. Richardson smiled. “Let me just have a look at your chart and we can see how everything…”
The doctor’s words fell away, her dark brow furrowing as she glanced at Pru’s chart.
“Huh, there appears to be a slight issue.”
Her heart jumped into her throat, clogging the airway, making it impossible to breathe. Dreams started to crash around her, shattering before they’d even had a chance to actualize.
Calm down, she simply said issue not impossibility. You don’t know what’s going on. Chill out and ask.
Sucking in a deep breath, she listened to her inner self and pushed down her fear. Clearing her throat, trying her best to sound cool and collected as she asked, “Was there a problem with one of my tests?”
Please say no, please say no, please say no.
“No.”
Oh, thank goodness!
“No problem, but it appears from your urine sample and blood work that you don’t need a donor after all.”
What? Of course, she needed a donor. How could she not need a—
“You’re pregnant.”
“I’m what now?”
“Pregnant. Just a few weeks along. When was the start of your last cycle?”
She struggled to think of anything at the moment let alone the first day of her last period. She was pregnant? Somehow, she had the cognitive ability to open up the cycle app on her phone and relay the important information.
“Okay.” The doctor wrote something down on the chart. “So, conception likely would have happened two weeks ago. Have you had any new sexual partners?”
Two weeks ago? Then that meant…oh no. No, no, no, no, no! She didn’t know why she was doing the math, or was surprised by the realization. There was only one person she’d had sex with in the last year. One person she’d celebrated with, gotten drunk with, thrown caution to the wind with. And now she realized, in her inebriated state that night, had forgotten to secure some form of birth control with. There was only one option. Only one answer.
She was pregnant with her best friend’s baby.
About The Best Friend Problem:
Prudence Carlson has been lucky in life. A fulfilling wedding-planning business run with her girlfriends in Colorado, plus the best guy friend ever in her firefighter bestie Finn. All that’s missing from it is a baby. Luckily, it’s the twenty-first century—Pru can take matters into her own hands. She doesn’t need to find true love to create the future love of her life.
Except all this talk of babies and insemination and…Pru and Finn cross a line they never expected to. Sure, one night of passion won’t change their close friendship. Until Pru goes in for a fertility check-up to find… she’s already pregnant.
As best friends, Pru and Finn have survived college, new jobs, and bad breakups, but can they survive crib shopping, birth classes, and late-night cravings? Especially when Finn has never considered himself even remotely Daddy material?
About the Author:
Bestselling author Mariah Ankenman lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious daughters and loving husband who provides ample inspiration for her heart-stopping heroes. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious RWA Golden Heart® and CRW Stiletto awards.
Whether she’s writing hometown heroes or sexy supernaturals, Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. http://mariahankenman.com/
