“Don’t be judgy.” He jabbed a fry in my direction. “Showgirls are people too.”
A ribbon of unease wrapped itself around my stomach. “Are you dating Athena? Because—and this is probably the hormones talking, so forgive me—I’m not sure I want to name our daughter after someone you’re in a relationship with. That sends mixed messages.”
His nose wrinkled. “First of all, I’m not dating anybody.”
I had to force myself to keep from smiling. I didn’t want him getting suspicious.
“Second of all, I have zero interest in dating a showgirl,” he continued. “I think, until the baby comes and we’re settled, I’m going to take a break with … all that.”
“Dating?” There was no containing my surprise. “You’re going to take a break from dating?” That sounded nothing like the Rex I knew.
He shrugged. “It feels unimportant given the stuff we’re dealing with.”
“But … won’t you get bored?”
“I haven’t so far. Did you see all the things I bought for our daughter when I was out today?” He gestured toward the other bags.
“Yeah, what is all of this?”
“Clothes.” He shrugged when I gave him a weird look. “I found a Little Las Vegas shop when I was picking up my new suit. It was right next door. The outfits are adorable. I even got a little Elvis onesie.”
“We’re having a girl.”
“Girls like Elvis too.” He gave me a pointed look. “Little Rexanne is going to love Elvis.”
“Seriously, I will choke you the next time you mention that name.” I shook my head. “What about Chloe?”
“Too French. What about Lilith? Lily for short.”
“I like Lily, but Lilith is way too demon.”
“Good point.” He nodded. “Do you have any other names you want to throw at me?”
I shrugged. “It’s hard to pick a name before we meet her. How are we going to know it’s the right name? I mean … I need a feeling for who she is going to be before I can pick a name.”
“I’m okay if you want to wait until we meet her. I do want to talk about nurseries, though. We’re going to need two of them, right? One for you and one for me.”
The idea of my child having two nurseries bothered me. It was the path we’d chosen to take, though, so I nodded. “Yes. Why?”
“How do you feel about decorating in ghost Elvis?”
“You can decorate your nursery however you want. My nursery is going to be done with bears.”
“Like Grizzly bears?”
I shook my head. “Charlie Bears.”
“What’s a Charlie Bear?”
“Well, they’re ridiculously expensive for stuffed bears. They’re adorable, though. They’re jointed. They didn’t come out until like twenty years ago, so I was a teenager when I saw my first one. I wanted it so bad. It was purple, with long hair. It was just gorgeous.”
My stomach tightened at the memory. “My father said I was too old for a bear and I should stop looking at frivolous things and start looking toward the future, and what I could do for the company,” I continued. “I was brokenhearted when I had to leave that bear behind.”
I dusted off my hands as I finished off my prawns. “I guess that sounds stupid in hindsight. I was too old to want the bear.”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all,” Rex countered. “I’m mad at your dad for not getting it for you. He always was a jerk, though.”
“He was,” I agreed. “He still is. As for the bears, though, now I have a chance to buy as many of them as I want. I figure a nursery is as good of a place to put them as anywhere else.”
