“Not any time soon. Every morning, I wake up craving their buffalo wings covered in ranch dressing and their Cajun chicken pasta. I don’t know what it is, but this baby likes spicy foods, even if it does give me heartburn.”
I grab our food and then drive us home. I carry in her box and the bags of food she ordered. “My God. How much food did you order?” I ask, walking toward the door with my arms full.
“I ordered wings, nachos, mini burgers, cheese sticks, and then both of our meals. I couldn’t decide on an appetizer, so I ordered them all.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Of course you did.”
We take all the food to the couch, and she has it all spread out across the coffee table when I come back with two plates, forks, and water. Instead of sitting on the couch, she sits on the floor, between the couch and coffee table. She keeps her attention on the TV show she picked and the food she’s eating, but I can’t keep my attention off of her. Even with buffalo sauce smeared across her face, she’s absolutely breathtaking. She makes my heart skip a beat and makes me feel as if I’m floating off into space. I now know what it’s like to be genuinely happy, and it’s all because of her.
I eat the steak she ordered me along with the freshly steamed vegetables and watch as she eats a little of everything. When she finishes, she crawls up onto the couch and lays down.
“I ate way too much.”
I snicker to myself as I clean up the food. When I come back from the kitchen, she’s sound asleep. I bend down and press a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you. I’ll be home from work in a few hours,” I whisper.
She offers up a small smile, but she doesn’t open her eyes or speak. I slip out the door, locking it behind me.
For the next two weeks, I leave her to sleep in while I go to work. Every day, she tells me about spending her days, eating, swimming, and napping. On several occasions, she has dinner on the table when I get home, and she often tells me about how good she’s feeling: no more morning sickness and she has so much more energy with all the extra rest she’s getting. What I don’t tell her is how tired I am from not only doing my job, but hers too since I haven’t replaced her at work yet. I’ve been looking over applications but haven’t yet decided on one. Nobody will do the job like she did, and to be honest, I’m not looking forward to spending all day with another woman in my office. It makes me wonder how in the hell I ever did it before her.
I leave work at lunch and swing by the house to pick up Val. She’s up, dressed, and has her hair and makeup done. She’s glowing. She’s smiling with excitement at the hopes of finding out the sex of our baby. Her blue eyes are shining bright, and now that her belly is rounded, she looks sexy in a whole new way.
I always wondered how men felt when their hot wives gained weight during a pregnancy. My number-one reason to avoid having children before was that I was worried that I’d no longer have any interest in the woman I was with. But with Valerie, seeing her carrying around our growing baby, it makes me want her more. I love being able to put my hand on her stomach and feel the baby kick. I love feeling it move when I put my lips against it and talk to him or her. I love sleeping with one hand on her stomach. It makes me feel like I’m protecting her and our baby all with one hand. And here libido is on high alert, always down for a long fuck or a quick romp. She keeps me worn out but in a good way. I couldn’t ask for more.
“Do you hope it’s a boy or a girl?” she asks, glancing at me from the passenger seat.
I shrug. “It doesn’t matter to me. As long as it’s healthy.”
She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “I hate when people say that. When you think about our future, do you see yourself playing catch in the backyard with a boy or having tea parties and playing dress-up with a little girl?”
I laugh. “I think it’s twenty-nineteen and I can do both of those things with a boy or a girl.” I look over at her and smirk.
She laughs and shakes her head. “I kind of want a girl. I want to dress her up in frilly dresses, paint her nails, fix her hair. I picture going for mommy-daughter mani-pedis, going to Starbucks and getting me a coffee and her a hot chocolate. Watching as she grows from a baby, to a child, to a teenager, and then an adult. Passing on my wisdom, the kind of things only a girl needs to know. Helping her recover from her first broken heart and sharing stories about all the men I left with broken hearts.” She smiles, and her eyes glaze over like she’s picturing everything she’s listing off.
I pick up her hand and press a kiss to the top. “I hope we have a little girl too. It sounds like you have too many plans to cancel now.”
She looks at me with a smile. “Yeah, but it’s the same way with a boy. I picture teaching him to be gentlemen, watching him take his date to prom and not having to worry about raising a grandchild,” she laughs out. “Everything from his first smile to my last.”
I park the car at the ultrasound office. “Well, let’s go inside and find out.”
She nearly jumps from her seat and drags me to the door.
We quickly check in and have a seat in the waiting room. The whole time, her legs are bouncing uncontrollably. She picks at her pink nail polish and nervously bites her lower lip.
I place my hand on her thigh, and her legs settle down. I then place my hands over hers to stop her fidgeting, then I lean forward and kiss the lip she’s biting.
“Calm down. All questions will be answered soon,” I whisper against her lips.
She nods and takes a deep breath.
“I love you, Callan.”
“I love you too,” I reply.
“Ms. Windsor?” a lady says from behind us.
I turn and look over my shoulder at the woman standing with a chart in her hands and an open door behind her. I spin back to Val.
“Are you ready?”
She nods.
I stand up and hold out my hand. She takes it, and I lead her to the door, where we follow behind the nurse. She takes us into a private room. The lights are dimmed low.
“Please have a seat and the technician will be with you soon.” She closes the door behind her, leaving us alone.
Val sits on the edge of the bed and looks around while I stand at her side.
“We haven’t talked much about this moment. Are we going to tell everyone, or are we going to have some cheesy gender reveal party?”
She rolls her eyes. “I think we should just send out a group text.” She laughs.
“We need to plan your bridal shower too,” I state.
Again, her eyes roll. “I hate things like that.”
“What? Every woman looks forward to her bridal shower.”
“I hate being the center of attention.” She turns and lays back on the bed. “Plus, those things are for people that can’t afford to buy everything on their own. I think we have everything we need, don’t you?”
“Of course, but it’s a way to celebrate this new life we’re starting.”
“Fine, call Maddie and have her plan my shower,” she agrees reluctantly.
I laugh and kiss her forehead just as the door opens.
“Ms. Windsor?” the woman asks as she sits down behind the machine.
“Yes. I’m Valerie. How are you?”
The nurse smiles. “Great. Are you ready to find out what you’re having today?”
“So ready,” she says, pulling up her shirt and pushing down her pants to her hip bones.
“Now, before we get started, I just want to warn you that you may leave here without knowing. It all depends on how the baby is developing and how it’s laying.”
Val nods. “I understand.”
“Okay, let’s get started.” The nurse squirts some clear jelly on her stomach and smears it around with a paddle. Finally, the wall in front of us lights up, and the baby’s image is projected.
It feels like the breath has been stolen from my lungs. I can see the outline of the baby’s head, it’s torso, arms, legs, hands, and feet. I can hear the heartbeat; it’s the mos
t beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Finally, she moves the paddle, and the baby rolls over.
“I know the sex of the baby,” the technician says. “Are you ready?”
Valerie looks up at me and places her hand in mine; with a gentle squeeze, she looks back and the nurse and nods her head.
23
Valerie
“Is it a girl?” I ask.
The nurse smiles and nods. “It’s a girl!”
We both cheer and quickly kiss as a way to celebrate. The nurse says a few things that I completely ignore because I’m so happy and blinded by the image of my baby on the wall. The machine gets shut off and then she’s handing me a couple pictures she snapped of today’s session.
“You can leave when you’re ready,” she says, wiping my stomach clean and leaving the room.
I fix my pants and my shirt and sit up, dangling my legs over the edge of the bed. I show Callan the pictures.
“Can you believe how beautiful she is already?”
He flips through them, nodding. “I can. She takes after her mommy.”
He pulls me up into his arms and kisses me, long, slow, and deep.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here so we can tell the rest of the family the good news.” He takes my hand and leads me from the room. The whole walk to the car, I can’t look at anything other than the pictures of our daughter in my hand.
It’s going on ten at night, and we’re both lying in bed. The pictures of the baby are still in my hands. I can’t do anything but flip through them over and over. I don’t know how I can tell from this crappy black and white picture, but I can see a little bit of both Callan and me in her. She looks like she will have my eye shape, but his strong jaw and chin. She looks long too; maybe she’ll be tall like her daddy. I can’t do anything but smile. Is it possible to be this in love with someone that hasn’t even been born yet? Already, I’m so proud of her and know that she’s going to be an amazing person. All I can think about is the remarkable things she’ll do and the good person she’s going to become.
Callan leans over and takes the pictures from my hands. “Come on. Enough of this for tonight. Let’s get some rest.”
I allow him to take the pictures, and I curl into his side. “How’s work been going?” I ask, laying my hand on his chest.
“My new assistant starts tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to it.”
“You replaced me already?” I ask, looking up at him.
He laughs. “I didn’t want to, but Bennet made me when things started piling up. He hired someone on a temporary basis in case you want your job back after the baby is born. But I’ve been thinking, why don’t you go back to the gallery you love so much?”
I scoff. “Because that was a dead-end job that didn’t pay anything.”
“So? I make enough money for the both of us, and you loved it so much. I mean, you almost didn’t want to give it up.”
“I don’t want you supporting me, Callan,” I breathe out as I turn my head upward to see his blue eyes shining.
His hand covers mine, and he squeezes it gently. “Val, I want you to be happy. Sitting at a desk in an office won’t do that. And eventually, you’ll need to escape this house. I’m just trying to think ahead. I don’t want you feeling like you need to escape. I want this house to be your refuge. I want you to want to be here, run here when things out there get too crazy. Not the other way around.”
“I have been here a lot lately,” I agree.
He nods. “You have been. You need to get out and enjoy your free time until the baby comes.”
I smile. “I’ll swing by there tomorrow.”
He laughs and hugs me. “Good.”
I wake in the morning and Callan has already left for work. I’m so used to sleeping in now that I don’t wake when he kisses me goodbye. I yawn and stretch before climbing out of bed. I walk directly to the bathroom for a shower. When I get out, I pull on my robe and head downstairs to get a cup of coffee and find something for breakfast while I look over my schedule for today. Most days, I have nothing, but I’ve been trying to get myself to do things more often now that I’m starting to feel better. Some days, I schedule a mani or pedi, others I’ll tell myself to shop for baby clothes or diapers. Really, just anything to get out of the house for a little while.
I pour a cup of coffee and take a sip, scrunching my nose when I taste the decaf coffee Callan switched us to. While I try talking my taste buds into accepting the gross coffee, I open the fridge and find something to eat. I warm up a waffle and top it with whipped cream and strawberries. Taking everything to the breakfast table, I have a seat and open my calendar. I skim through the month until I find today’s date. It looks like I have an appointment with an interior decorator for the nursery. Excitement washes over me. The appointment is at two, so I’ll have plenty of time to swing by the gallery beforehand.
I’m climbing into my car an hour later. I hit the interstate, and of course, I’m stuck in lunchtime traffic. I turn the radio up louder and sing along as I move forward inch by inch. It takes me almost thirty minutes to hit my exit, but when it’s in my sight, I stomp the gas and shoot across two lanes, until I’m free of the traffic jam. I glance down at the dash, finding that it’s going on one already. The interior decorator is only a few blocks away from the gallery, so I will swing by the gallery and then walk to my meeting down the road, so I don’t have to worry about traffic and finding parking again.
Stepping out of the car, I pull my purse up over my shoulder as I glance around at everyone busy walking and riding bikes through the city. I breathe in deep, remembering the feeling of being young and broke but living what was then my dream life. I worked around beautiful art all day. I had the most intellectual conversations with people that had the same interests as me. It’s something that I didn’t even realize that I missed this much.
I push through the door, and a small bell above it rings.
“Be right there,” someone calls out from the back. I know that voice. It’s Krista.
She comes rushing out, and her eyes grow wide as her mouth drops open. “Val? Look at you,” she says, motioning toward my expanding belly.
I laugh. “I know. How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.” I lean in and give her a hug.
“Good. Keeping busy around here. What are you doing here?” She takes my hand and pulls me over to the counter and nearly pushes me to sit down.
I wiggle myself up onto the stool and place my purse on the countertop. “I’m doing good. I no longer work at the office.”
“What? Why? Are you and Callan still together?” Worry paints her face.
I laugh. “Oh, yeah. We’re great. I was just having a lot of morning sickness. But that’s mostly passed now, and I was thinking about coming back to work here. I mean, it’s not like I need the money, just something to do.”
“I’m sure Jack would love to have you back, but he’s not in right now. He just ran out to deliver a piece and to pick us up some lunch.”
“Mention it to him, would you?”
She nods. “Of course. Gina just quit last week, so I’m sure he’s wanting to fill her spot.”
“What? Why did she quit? I never thought she’d leave this place. Did they break up?” Gina and Jack had been together for nearly ten years, and they’ve run this place together since they opened it.
Her eyes grow wide as she nods her head up and down. “It was a big mess. I guess Gina walked in on Jack. He was in the backroom, showing a customer a piece. Well, he was showing her more than a piece… more like the piece. And she was down on her knees admiring it, if you know what I mean.” Her lips turn upward at the corners.
“What?” I feel my eyes stretch wide as my mouth drops open.
She nods. “I know. So crazy.”
“I always thought they were so in love. How could he do that?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. I think they must have been having problems at home. She wanted to grow up, get married, and ha
ve children. But you know Jack. He didn’t want to conform to social standards. He wanted to live off the land, make art all day, all that hippie-dippie crap. Apparently, he also wanted an open relationship, and Gina wasn’t having it.”
I shake my head, feeling a little let down. I’d always thought they were perfect for each other.
I look down at my watch and see that it’s nearing two. I stand and pull my purse back over my shoulder. “I’m sorry to rush off, Kris, but I have an appointment down the street, and it will probably take me an hour to walk there with this waddle I have going on. Talk to Jack for me?”
She smiles and nods. “Of course. I’ll call you later.”
I wave as I push myself forward out the door.
I’m walking into the building at two on the dot. I’m shown to a back room where a woman is already sitting at a black glass-top table with pictures scattered around.
She looks up with a smile. “Hi, I’m Simone. You must be Valerie.”
I shake her hand before sitting. “I am. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Are you ready to design your new baby’s room?”
Excitement washes over me as she beings showing me pictures and ideas of how we can design it.
I’m walking back into the house two hours later, and Callan is already home and in his office. I stick my head in to make sure he’s not with a client.
“Hey,” I say, walking in deeper. “Why are you home so early?”
He looks up at me, and I can see the seriousness on his face, but it falls quickly as he stands to give me a kiss. “I just decided to work from home today. Where have you been?” he asks, sitting down and pulling me onto his lap.
“I went by the gallery and found out that they’re needing to fill a position, but Jack wasn’t there for me to talk to. Kris is going to talk to him and give me call later. And then I went to the meeting I had with the interior decorator for the baby’s room. She had some really good ideas, and I think I’m going to hire her, if that’s okay.”
His Every Desire (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 35
