“What did he say?” Cayla turned suddenly interested.
“On Nick’s birthday, when Dex pulled me in his office to confirm that I delivered the good good. I’d joked with him about having an influence on Nick because he kept pouncing. Dex laughed and said I needed to be happy I was dealing with Nick because he would have me walking funny for weeks.” Kalilah laughed at Cayla’s bemused expression. “In that moment, I said a small prayer for the next girl’s coochie. You’re welcome.”
Cayla shook her head at the craziness that was Dex and Kalilah’s friendship. Those two had no boundaries. “I get it,” Kalilah continued. “It’s not just about the size, Nick has the size, it’s the actions. Dex seems like the all rough and rugged flip-your-ass-during-sex kind of guy.”
Cayla was pink in the face. “Kalilah! His mother is almost in earshot!”
“Girl, please,” Kalilah dismissed, waving her off. “Amelia Sinclair knows all about it. She’s the originator. Why you think they have three kids?”
“Why do we have three kids?” Amelia challenged.
“Because you two are both wonderful people who are crazy in love.” Kalilah winked.
Amelia laughed and swatted at her daughter-in-law. “I bet that’s what you meant.” However, the way she sauntered off told them Kalilah was right on the money.
“I told you girl. Andrew be like come here gurl…”
Their peals of laughter ended the chance for Kalilah to get any confirmation of the mind-bending sex she had when she was supposed to be making the desserts. Part of the reason Cayla was keeping it to herself was the glaringly obvious need to have a sit down with Dex. He had said a lot during sex but still returned to the noncommittal version of himself. He opted to finish the dessert alone while she showered and changed for the baby shower.
The tension still lingered between them when she thanked him and left. The flow of guests entering the massive baby shower placed Cayla’s thoughts on the back burner. She’d made it through games, meals, prizes, presents, and treats perfectly happy until her dad showed up with the Sinclair men in tow.
Kalilah had been holding the baby’s sex close to the vest, and while this was not a coed baby shower, she wanted to reveal the gender and with both families present. The OBGYN sealed it in an envelope and kept it at the office until the baby shower. Kalilah didn’t know the sex either, and her eyes were pooling with excited tears as she ripped open the envelope.
She cried immediately making it impossible for anyone to hear the gender. Nick wrapped his arm around his emotional wife and read the card in her head.
“It’s a boy!”
he yelled with his dimples set to one-thousand.
The overwhelming joy on the men’s faces was endearing. The mothers maintained they were happy no matter the sex. Andrew whooped about continuing the Sinclair name while Nick hugged Dex and immediately started arguing which sports teams baby Sinclair would support. DD and Cayla looked at each other and shrugged. Cayla would love her nephew to pieces, but she was sad she couldn’t go pink crazy.
There was a moment, one brief exchange, a possible millisecond when her eyes locked with Dex, and a tenderness she’d never seen shone in his eyes. It was gone with a blink, but it didn’t matter because that one second stuck with her for the rest of the day.
Chapter 28
Dex had no fucking idea why his phone was ringing. It had nothing to do with his popularity. He was plenty popular, being called is expected. It had nothing to do with business, he’d fielded thousands of business calls. No, Dex’s confusion was stuck on time. Why in the hell was his phone ringing at two o’clock in the morning after he’d fought to steal the little moments of rest that were now slipping through his fucking fingers?
He’d been so caught up in the excitement of learning that they’d soon have another male Sinclair, his subconscious brain immediately started trying to imagine his children with Cayla. Once the rest of him caught up, he’d realized he was staring lovingly at Cayla in public. He’d quickly adverted his gaze and ignored the inquisitive look from his mother. Her extra perceptive ass caught everything. Another ring of his phone pulled him out of his memory.
An angry glare at his display yielded Kalilah’s name. Instantly awake, Dex popped up, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed prepared to get dressed at warped speed.
“Hey. Is it the baby?” he asked with his heart at the back of his throat.
“Well, yes and no. I would love to be asleep right now, but the baby would love Uncle Dex’s Bananas Foster on top of some vanilla ice cream…”
“Kalilah! You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry! I debated it for at least thirty minutes, but it’s not like you gave me keys to The Food Lab or anything.”
“Darling, even if you had the keys, you shouldn’t be letting your pregnant self in a restaurant in the middle of the night. That’s not safe at all.”
“What’s a girl to do? Remember she has the world’s best chef on speed dial…”
“You’re such a damn suck up. Do you have bananas, brown sugar, vanilla, and rum?”
The elation in her voice was high when she spoke. “I have bananas and rum, but I’m positive a certain super sexy chef has everything else in his pantry.”
She was right. No lies were told. It didn’t stop Dex from bitching. “Dammit Kalilah, be very happy that I love you and Benjamin.”