“Yup.” I saw no reason to deny it. “I have a whole stack of books, and I’m going to read them all.”
“What’s nice about it is that she highlights portions and then sends them to me to read,” Rex volunteered. “She does all the hard work, and I reap the rewards.” He pressed my hand to his chest. I hadn’t even realized he was still holding it. “I won’t let her get too worked up.”
“Try to keep her as relaxed as possible.” Miles rested his hands on his knees. “Any other questions?”
I nodded at the same time Rex shook his head.
“What now?” Rex asked, his brow furrowing. “I thought we hit everything on your list.”
“There’s one other thing.” I touched my tongue to my top lip before continuing. “I’ve been feeling these little…flutters for the past few days. I didn’t want to panic or anything because everybody will think I’m neurotic, but it’s like angel wings beating across my stomach occasionally. That’s nothing to worry about, right? That’s just my brain getting ahead of me.”
Miles relaxed into an amused grin. “How long has it been going on?”
“About three days.” I shot a worried look toward Rex, who was scowling. “I didn’t want you to freak out. That’s the only reason I didn’t say anything.”
“I thought we agreed we were going to talk about everything.” Rex’s lower lip came out to play.
“There’s nothing you could have done.” I lowered my eyes. “It only happened twice.”
“Well, expect it to happen much more frequently,” Miles said. “You asked about kicking? That’s what that is.”
I froze, dumbfounded. “I thought it would feel like a foot going into my bladder or something.”
“Your baby is currently the size of a mango and weighs about eight ounces. At this point your baby is starting to hear things and developing tastebuds. It’s not a full foot yet really.”
“Huh.” My hands immediately went to my stomach. It was as if the baby had heard him because the fluttering had started. “It’s happening now.”
Miles grinned and pressed his hand to my stomach, nodding before reaching for Rex’s hand. “Feel,” he instructed. He didn’t ask, he just took charge. That was probably best when dealing with two individuals who were as clueless as Rex and me. “Do you feel it?”
A look of wonder had taken over Rex’s face. “I … is that Rex Jr.?”
I glared at him. “It’s a girl.”
“If you’re not going with Rexanne, then you’re stuck with Rex. Jr. I’m sorry. That’s just the way it’s going to be.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes, sucking in a calming breath. “So … I was worrying for nothing,” I realized.
“It’s normal,” Miles assured me. “When you have questions, call. Don’t drive yourself crazy because you don’t want to bug me. Anybody in this office could’ve put your mind at ease over the flutters.”
“I guess I just didn’t want to be a pain.”
“It’s fine to be a pain.” Miles’s eyes moved to Rex. “Make sure she calls if something else pops up, huh?”
Rex still looked as if he was down a rabbit hole and about to have tea with a six-foot bunny. “I’ll make sure,” he promised. “This is just … amazing. There really is a little person in there.”
I made a face. “Did you think I was making it up?”
“No. I just … this is tangible.” He shrugged. “She’s definitely not dating until she’s thirty. Also … I’m thinking an all-girls school is the way to go.”
“That’s not happening.” I was firm.
“I’ll do some research and get back to you.”
13
THIRTEEN
Feeling my baby kick changed me. I knew it the second it happened, and yet I was determined to convince myself that nothing was different. I mean, sure, some things were out of the ordinary. Once my daughter—I was having a daughter … just wow—arrived on the scene, my whole life would be about her. For now, though, I was grappling with a case of too much change being a bad thing.
