He laughed. “I would never.”
I set my hot chocolate down on the coffee table and straddled him. “Never huh? You only want to dance with me for the rest of your life?”
“Us against the world, Brooklyn.”
I leaned down and kissed him. I kept thinking that one day he might push me away as my belly swelled more. That he might be repulsed by the sight of me. But that never happened. If anything, he loved me more.
Runaway - Chapter 45
3 Months Later - Sunday
Miller rowed the boat out slowly as if he was worried I might burst.
“He’s not coming today,” I said. I propped my bare feet up on one of the benches. Everything hurt. Miller was not at all excited about the idea of bare feet on the wooden rowboat. But I swore if I tried to put on shoes I’d cry. Besides, the summer heat was finally here. I was unbearably hot. And my stomach was unbearably large, despite the fact that my son wasn’t due for another month.
“You keep saying ‘he.’ I swear we’re having a girl.”
“I don’t think so.” I put my hand over the edge of the boat, letting my fingertips glide over the water.
Miller rowed a little farther until we were in the middle of our small lake. I loved coming out here. When all I could really hear was the water. I closed my eyes. It reminded me of the beach house. It reminded me of falling in love with Miller.
I put my hand on my stomach when I felt a kick. “Henry’s kicking again.”
Miller groaned. “We’re not naming our kid after a tomato plant.”
“But…”
“You’ve named every single one of your plants Henry. Or Henry Junior. Or Henry VIII, which I’m not fond of at all. It’s not happening.”
“Henry is a really good name. Our Henry won’t kill all his wives. Besides, all my Henrys live now.”
“The baby is healthy. You have nothing to worry about.” He reached over and placed his hand on my stomach. Henry kicked him immediately.
“He’s trying to tell you to stop trying to rename him,” I said.
Miller smiled and removed his hand from my stomach. “You really want to name our kid after a tomato plant?”
“Yes. Like I said…all my plants live now. I want Henry to have a long and healthy life.” Despite what Miller always told me, sometimes I still worried I was bad luck. I didn’t want that to extend to my child. I needed him alive and healthy. I couldn’t wait to meet him. I already protected him fiercely. Especially his rightful name.
“Not all of your plants live,” Miller said. “How would you feel if a deer bit Henry’s head off?”
I put my arm protectively around my stomach. “Nunca.”
Miller raised his eyebrow at me. “He’s not a plant. He’s a baby.”
I looked down at my stomach. Of course Miller had a point. But I’d been calling the baby Henry in my mind for months now. He felt like a Henry to me. And I liked watching him grow justlike I liked watching my plants grow. “Wait.” I looked back up at Miller. “You just saidhe. Does that mean you finally agree we’re having a boy?”
Miller laughed. “No. It’s definitely a girl. Which makes this conversation moot. What do you think about Chloe?”
I’d already vetoed a bunch of Miller’s names. But I actually liked that one. I looked down at my stomach. “There’s just one problem with that suggestion. Henry is a boy. Not a girl.”
“You’re impossible.”
I laughed. “Henry is the stubborn one, not me.”
“Sure.” He smiled back at me. The same smile he always gave me. He still looked at me like I was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Even when I was as big as a whale.
I felt my cheeks flush as I looked out over the water. “I really do like the name Chloe.”
