Page 120 of Dr. Bad Boy
Stay with me. I frown. “I want you tomove inwith me. I don’t care if you keep this place as a backup, either because packing is daunting or you just want that autonomy, but I want you tolivewith me.”
“Oh.”
Jesus. My frown deepens. “Isn’t that a good thing? I’ve never done this kind of thing before, kitten. Feel free to help me out if I’m stumbling down the wrong path.”
She sighs and crosses the room to me, walking right into my body and wrapping her arms tightly around my waist. “No,” she whispers into my chest. “It’s not the wrong path. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Jesus, I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear.” I think back over the last few days. I’d suggested we get her stuff and she’d waved me off, because I had to work and she had Christmas shopping to do. “I’ll arrange for movers to help you after the holidays.”
“I don’t have that much stuff.”
“But you’re growing my child, so let me handle it.”
She smiles against my chest, I can feel her cheek move, and I gently lift her chin so I can see that beautiful face of hers.
“Violet, I want to be with you every step of the way here. Christmas and baby growing and the whole thing. I want to lighten your load.” I lean in and brush my lips against hers. “Because Iloveyou. Got it?”
“Got it,” she whispers back.
“Now I think we’re going to be late for your neighbour’s Christmas party, aren’t we?”
“Maybe.” She kisses me again, this time licking along my bottom lip. I’m going to think about that all night, and then put that tongue to work when we’re alone again.
46
Violet
Ellie callsme right after Max leaves for work. They’re back from B.C., but Gavin is off again doing something official and Sasha wants to go shopping. Do I want to go with them?
I look around the empty house. I could go back to my place and pack, but…I don’t know.
Yes is the short answer. Yes, I want to go shopping. Yes, I want a distraction. It’s two days after Christmas and I’m a bit of a hormonal mess. Morning sickness has started, and I feel weird about the whole moving in with Max thing—because it’s great, but it’s also…I don’t know…weird, too, like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop or something.
So we hit the insane zoo that is a suburban mall. Even though I’m not showing yet, the post-holiday sales are too good to pass up, and I’m going to need an entire maternity wardrobe. Yoga pants don’t cut it in the courtroom. Ellie swears we can loop Sasha in on my secret, and Max admitted he told his friend Tate, who helped him bring the bear home. Sometime soon I’m going to have to hire an employment attorney and officially tell my firm.
My stomach flips. Maybe I’ll wait until the morning sickness phase has passed.
I force myself to concentrate on just today, just shopping. Ellie takes no small amount of glee in the fact that someone recognizes her going into a maternity clothing store. “How long before that rumour starts?” she asks Sasha, and her friend just rolls her eyes.
“I think you want it to start.”
“Babies are adorable.”
Right now I feel like babies are parasites intent on stealing their mother’s energy and appetite. But when mini Max arrives, I’m going to love him or her and think they’re truly adorable.
And Ellie will be there to assure me he or she is.
I press my hand to my belly. Well, I already love Littlebit. I’d just prefer if she stopped making me want to throw up every thirty minutes. That came on hard and fast in the last two days, and I don’t care for it at all.
“What do you need?” Sasha asks, trailing her fingers over a rack of flowing blouses.
Not those. Not yet. “Black dress pants. And some longer shirts, maybe, but none that will make me look like a circus tent. But only stuff on sale, everything else can wait.”
“Got it.” She whirls away.
I look at Ellie. “She should be a personal shopper.”
“It would be a good use of her PhD in business management,” Ellie says dryly.
