“She has a strong heartbeat,” the doctor says.
“She?” Jace whispers, his eyes light up.
“Yes, that’s right. It appears you’re having a baby girl. Congratulations.”
A huge grin spreads across Jace’s face. I want to wipe the smile from his lips for humiliating me with the physician, but he’s happy, and I don’t want to take that moment away, either.
“A girl,” I whisper, smiling weakly. I’m truly happy for him.
And by the looks of it, he’s excited too.
* * *
“Can you believe it’s a girl?” Jace asks, as he escorts me back to the car.
“Well, it was fifty-fifty,” I say with a smirk.
Sitting beside Jace, there’s a calmness that envelopes the car. Silence.
It’s getting late, and rather than return to work, he’s heading us back toward his mansion in the city. I’ve gotten used to the new house. It’s roomier, not that I need a ton of space. The garden is lovely when the weather cooperates, and there’s always someone around. I never feel lonely, even when Jace is working late.
Although most of the guards aren’t overly friendly, Markus is always at my side, accompanying me on walks whenever I travel away from the mansion.
While Markus is quiet, he doesn’t ignore me. If I speak to him, he answers. Unlike Matteo and Vincent, who spend more time staring into oblivion, making sure we’re not being followed.
Are that many people after billionaires?
Did Jace steal their blueprints or something to create his company? I swear there’s a bigger secret, but I can’t quite figure it out, and snooping around the office or the mansion is not an option.
I’ve already been caught once, and I wasn’t sure Jace would ever trust me again. And I can’t just come out and ask him. He wouldn’t tell me about a secret like that unless I liquor him up. Tempting but unrealistic. I rarely see him drink.
“Can we stop on the way home for ice cream?” I ask. Suggesting a bar is out of the question. But I want to get out, celebrate the good news.
“Won’t that spoil your dinner?” Jace asks.
Already he sounds like a parent.
“No, I’m eating for two,” I say. In case he’s forgotten. I doubt he has. My belly is already growing, and I’ve been moody lately. “Satisfy a pregnant woman’s cravings.”
Jace raises an eyebrow.
Shit.
I didn’t mean sex. Well, sure, I’d be agreeable with him scratching that itch, but I don’t expect him to follow through with it.
“Which cravings are we talking about?” Jace asks with a smirk.
He loves torturing me.