Page 82 of Before You Go
“Yes.”
“Oh,” He seems surprised by my honesty. “Is it serious?”
“Very.” I take a step in his direction. “Is that the check?”
Dropping his eyes to it he looks at it for a long moment then shakes his head. “Yeah, sorry.” He holds it out to me.
“Thanks.” I place it in my purse without even looking at it. “Well.” I take a step back out of his space. “It was good seeing you.”
“You too,” he mutters while staring at me like he’s never seen me before.
“Have a good night.” I turn on my heels, hurry to the door, and then out it.
When I get to the front desk, I say goodbye to Terry, then get on the elevator and type out a message to Dayton, letting him know that I’ll be home soon. His reply of ‘good’ is almost immediate; his next message of ‘Did it go okay?’ comes a second after that. I text back that it was fine, he doesn’t need to know that Matthew didn’t meet me like he said he would. I just want to focus on the positives, and one of those positives is that Matthew and I are well and truly done. Sure, we will always be connected through our families, but after today, there is nothing else tying us together, so unless we happen to be at the same function, I won’t need to see or talk to him again. That feels good, really good.
Leaving Dayton in the bathroom, still brushing his teeth, I walk to the bed and pick up one of the books he purchased for me after I mentioned to him in passing that I hadn’t had time to make it to the bookstore to pick up a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
Not only did he get me that book, but he also got a few other basics along with my current read, which was written by a first-time mom who was nervous about motherhood.
Getting comfortable with my legs stretched out in front of me, I open the book to where I left off and feel my nose scrunch as I read that while I’m pregnant, I might get hairier. I’m sure it’s not as bad as the image in my head, but all I can picture is me all of a sudden becoming a sasquatch. That, on top of the accidentally peeing all the time, should be fun.
When the mattress moves, I set my book aside and watch Dayton crawl up from the foot of the bed towards me while I smile.
“I think that you should have this tattooed after the baby gets here.” He says wrapping his arms around my thighs pressing a kiss to my skin.
“I’m not getting the word mine tattooed on my thigh.” I thread my fingers through his hair as I laugh.
“You’re right, you should just get my name.” He licks over the ink that is still staining my skin even after our shower.
“You’re crazy.”
“Or am I a genius?” He sucks on my skin, and my hips lift off the bed. Smiling, his hand travels slowly up my thigh to my stomach. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” I cover one of his hands with my own. “Happy.”
“You’re getting bigger by the day.”
“I read that he or she is the size of an avocado right now.”
“Oh yeah?” He says softly.
“In just a couple of weeks, we have the appointment where we will find out what we are having.”
“What do you want, a boy or a girl?”
“I don’t know.” I roam my eyes over his face and try to picture what our baby might look like. I wonder if it’s a boy if he will have his eyes and hair or if it’s a girl if she will be blessed with his long, thick lashes. “What do you want?”
“As long as they are healthy, I don’t care.”
“Me either.” I reach out and slide his hair off his forehead where it’s fallen. “I hope that they are as adorable as Rowen,” I tell him, and his face gets soft.
Having never babysat before, I was a little nervous about watching Rowen this evening, but from the moment Clay and Willow left to go to dinner, Dayton and I just kind of fell in sync. We fed him dinner, played with him, and then got him ready for bed before Dayton put him to sleep. I’m sure doing that every day will be exhausting and that no two days will ever be the same. But it gave me a tiny glimpse of what it will be like when we are parents, and I have no doubt that he’s going to be not just a great dad but a great partner.
“I’m going to have my brothers come over in the next few weeks and help me clean out the guest room so that we can start setting it up and getting it ready for the baby.” My heart starts to pound. “I figured we can get the crib and stuff now, then decorate when we know if it’s a boy or a girl.” Oh god, I feel lightheaded. “What’s wrong?” I focus on him and not the sound of blood rushing to my ears and find his brows drawn together.
“I don’t know. I mean, I love that idea, but I don’t live here and…”
“But they will be here.” He says softly cutting me off then continues gently. “And as their dad, I want them to have a space here.”
