“Maddie…” I start, but he cuts me off.
“No, it’s fine.” Hunter looks down at me. “If it’s okay with you, I mean?”
My throat tightens, knowing this isn’t easy for him. Pretending to my husband is one thing, but pretending to be the father of my baby has to be fucking torture.
“Sure,” I croak, sucking in a sharp breath. Instead of resting his hand over my bump like I expect him to, he kneels and wraps both arms around me with his head on my belly.
“Oh my God!” Maddie gushes, and I know she’s losing her cool. “Freakin’ adorbs.” She takes a million more pictures. Some with Hunter kissing my stomach, with us looking at each other, and others us laughing at Maddie’s lack of a filter, saying whatever comes to her mind.
Then Hunter reaches for my face.
“For the ’gram,” he whispers with a wink. Then he cups my cheeks and kisses me.
I melt into him, forgetting we’re in public and that this kiss isn’t supposed to be real. So softly, his mouth brushes against mine, and his tongue slides in just enough to part my lips. I fight the urge to moan as I hear the camera clicking. I know Maddie is getting all the pictures—ones I probably won’t be able to look at.
We’re startled apart when a tech calls out my name. Quickly clearing my throat, I blink and look around Hunter.
“Right here,” I say, grabbing her attention, then glance up at Hunter. “Thanks.”
He licks his lips, his gaze intense as it burns into me. “You’re welcome.”
“I think I just got pregnant,” I hear Maddie mutter to Sophie, and I give her a scowl to shut her mouth before Hunter overhears.
He follows me and my sisters down the hallway. The tech introduces herself and makes small talk with me as we walk into an ultrasound room. After her instructions, I lie down on the exam table with a cloth tucked into my pants. My shirt is folded all the way up to my chest, and when the tech puts the gel on the wand, I know we’re close to seeing my baby again.
“Do you want to find out the gender today?” she finally asks ten minutes later after taking all kinds of measurements. When she says the heartbeat is strong and everything looks healthy, I smile so wide.
“Yes!” a resounding wave of voices echo. Sophie and Maddie are just as excited as I am.
Hunter stands next to my head, and I look up and see that his eyes aren’t glued to the screen like my sisters; rather, they’re laser focused on me. He shoots me a wink and a classic Hunter smirk.
Damn the guy’s swoon-worthy looks.
“Alright, time to find out, Mama…”
My eyes snap back to the screen as she lowers the wand to find the legs. “Any guesses before the big reveal?” she asks with a little tease in her tone.
“Girl!” Maddie immediately blurts out.
“I actually think it’s a boy,” Sophie says.
“What about you, Hunter?” Maddie asks, drawing our attention to him, and I immediately want to interrupt and protect him. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for him knowing his secret, which is why I was so surprised he came today. He’ll never get to experience this with his own child.
“Oh, um…I have no idea.” He shrugs. “I’m excited either way.”
Ugh. Fuck up my heart.
“I have a feeling it’s a girl,” I say.
“Well, let’s find out for sure…” An image appears, and I see the cute little butt on the screen and then…
“There’s no penis!”
“Maddie!” Sophie and I both scold.
“How would she even know what one looks like?” Sophie snorts, making Hunter and me laugh.
Maddie only rolls her eyes.
“Well, she’s right,” the tech announces. “It’s a girl!”
Hunter arrives at the apartment a few minutes before me. I lug my bag and purse in and am ready to sit on my ass after today’s activities.
“Hey, wait…” Hunter says as I walk toward my room. “I have a surprise for you in there.”
I cock my head and narrow my eyes at him. “You do? What kind of surprise?”
“C’mon, you know I’m not gonna tell you.” He comes up behind me and wraps a hand over my eyes. “Okay, you can walk now.”
“Oh, okay sure,” I reply dramatically. “I can’t see a damn thing.”
“I’ll lead you.”
I hear a door open, and the click of the light switch flicking on. “Okay.” He removes his hand, and I blink a few times before I see it.
“What’s that?” I walk toward it, shocked. “Oh my God. You got me a rocking chair?”
“Yep, figured you’d need one.”
I look over my shoulder at him, and he’s grinning.
“I can’t believe you did this.” I close the gap between us and wrap my arms around him. “Thank you, Hunter.”
“You’re welcome.” He kisses my forehead, making those damn goose bumps appear again. “Go take it out for a test drive.”