"Yes!" She laughed. "That's the spirit. Now, you can start eating for two.
"Ha," I said. "Leif is only a couple of inches long. He doesn't need much extra at this point."
"Just enjoy yourself, babe."
"I will. Thanks, Candace. You always set me straight when I go off course."
"That's my job. Now, kiss your handsome husband for me and I'll see you the next time you come into town."
"I know I said you shouldn’t spend any time with me for your own safety, but why not come out some weekend and help me fix up the nursery? It needs paint and wallpaper and everything. You could be my Baby Room Interior Designer.”
"Oh, my God, you are an angel. I'm at your disposal and frankly, I don’t care about Blaine. We have to live our lives, right? Name the weekend and I'll be there, paint brush in hand."
We made plans for Candace to come out the following weekend. I'd go into town on the Thursday, we'd do some shopping with a bodyguard along for protection, order furniture and then on the weekend, we'd do the painting.
I sighed happily after we ended the call and turned to Luke.
"So, what do you think?"
He smiled. "I think you two have this well in hand – as long as you have a guard with you. I'll leave it up to you to fix up the room since you seem to be really into it."
"I'll take suggestions and feedback, so you can have your say," I said, wanting Luke to feel a part of the whole process.
"Hey, I've never been a designer and never claimed to be one on TV, so I'm happy with anything you and Candace choose. Seriously."
"Okay," I said and watched out the window as we finally arrived in Westhampton. "I'll show you pictures before we buy anything, and you can approve."
"Don't feel like you have to have my approval. I trust you completely. I know you won't do the room in pink velvet and blacklight with dayglo bunnies or anything."
I smiled and leaned over to kiss him when the limo arrived at a stoplight and we turned on Dune Road and approached the beach house.
"No dayglo bunnies? Seriously? How about Peter Rabbit of Beatrix Potter fame? That's more what I was thinking."
"Yes, please," He said and squeezed my hand as we drove into the courtyard and parked in front of the entrance. "I loved Peter Rabbit when I was a kid."
"Good, because that's going to be my theme for the nursery."
The limo driver opened our door and Luke turned to me.
"Well, here we are, home again."
"I like the thought that Leif, and if we're lucky, Brenna, will grow up out here. It's so much better than in the city."
"Me, too," Luke said and we got out of the limo and went inside, thanking our driver before checking in with Mark, who was on shift.
We spent the rest of the night posting images on Facebook to let our family know how happy we were that we were having a baby and that everything seemed good so far.
The next Thursday, I went into town with Luke in the morning and spent the day with Candace and Jan looking at baby furniture and checking out paint stores for design ideas. There were a number of stores with baby furniture, clothes and toys near our apartment and so the three of us were excited to be able to check them all out. I took photos of my favorites.
"I want to pass everything by Luke before we buy," I said, sending
them to Luke via text. "Luke said we could go ahead, but I want him to feel part of the process. So, let's get brochures and paint chip samples so we can give him an idea. We can order the furniture and buy the paint before we go back to the beach house."
"Sounds like a plan."
It was a choice between French Provincial with ornate white or something simple, like Shaker furniture. I wanted Luke to be the one to choose at least the overall style.
He texted me back while we were on our way to the hardware store down the street to check out paint.