“Sadie’s waving at me. Holy crap, how many pairs did she buy?” Aiden muttered.
“Listen, I’m not sure how to tell everyone yet, so keep this to yourself, okay, Aid?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ll tell Sadie, but she’s Fort Knox.”
“What am I Fort Knox about?” he heard Sadie ask.
“I’ll let you go. Thanks,” Landon said in a hurry. He hung up the phone, more confused than he was before. He’d called Aiden because he’d needed someone to talk to, and instead had reached a conclusion he hadn’t expected.
This whole thing with Kimber wasn’t nearly as casual and easy to organize as he’d thought. He was navigating through relationship territory and that was dicey. He had no idea what he was doing.
He swept his eyes down the legal pad under his hand. Everything a baby needed in a tidy, neat list. Crib, blankets, onesies, pacifier, diapers, rocking chair, and about a hundred other things he’d found online. He’d checked off each item after he purchased it. The page was full of checkmarks from top to bottom and would have run his American Express card up to the limit if it had one.
He’d gone on an Internet shopping spree in a blaze of jealousy over Mick and Kimber’s mother… and to prove to Kimber that she needed him. Because, quite frankly, he was afraid that she didn’t.
In his hustling to make himself look important, he’d neglected to consider what Kimber needed. What their child might really need. He’d handled this situation the way he handled everything else. Going through the motions. Arranging. Because that’s what he did.
No wonder she’s pissed.
What he should’ve done was let her know how he felt. All he had to do was figure out what he was thinking first.
No, you don’t.
No. He didn’t. He knew. He may not have relationship experience, but he’d had enough non-relationship experience to recognize what he and Kimber had was different from anything in his past. He hadn’t had this with anyone—not even Rachel, and that had been the deepest relationship he’d had.
Until Kimber. She’d raised the bar so high, it was in orbit.
He chucked the list into the trash. He’d tell her tonight. Make her understand how he felt… how much she meant to him. How much he…
A lump formed in his throat.
How much I love her.
* * *
“Well?” Gloria asked when Kimber exited the doctor’s office.
Kimber looped her arm in her friend’s as they walked to the door. “It’s official. I’m pregnant.” As if there’d been any doubt. Her rogue craving for olives and bone-draining fatigue was proof enough. She cast a glance around the waiting room. Several women eyed them with interest. “And I’m pretty sure everyone here thinks we’re a couple,” she mumbled to Glo.
They left the doctor’s office and headed to the mall to eat junk food and buy things they didn’t need. She filled Glo in on her mother’s concerns, on Mick and Landon’s pissing contest, on Landon’s corporate takeover of her life.
Glo handed over one of two Häagan-Dazs bars she’d just purchased at a stall in the food court and directed her to a small table with two chairs.
“Mmm. Nothing could be better than this,” Kimber said, chocolate melting on her tongue. Sun streamed in through the glass ceiling overhead, and water splashed onto tall, tropical plants arranged around the decorative fountain next to them.
“Want to know what I think?”
She wasn’t sure she did want to know what Glo thought. Actually, she was pretty sure she already knew what Glo thought. “About the ice cream?” she hedged.
Gloria slow-blinked.
“I’m kidding. Of course I want to know what you think.”
“I love you. I just want you to know the truth. The way I see it, anyway. You are capable of making decisions without my jaded input, you know.”
Kimber smiled wholeheartedly. “I respect your opinion, Glo. No need to warn me. Come on, I count on you for zero sugar coating.” Especially now when she didn’t want to hear the one thing she needed to hear most.
Glo lowered her ice cream bar and met Kimber’s eyes. “You and Landon are going to have a hard enough time raising a child together.”
Kimber quirked her lips. Tell her something she didn’t know.
“You’re from two different worlds,” Glo continued. “He can’t expect you to live in his worry-free world any more than you can expect him to be happy amongst boxes of frayed clothing and retro furniture.”