“So this is where I live,” she murmurs. “I know it’s not as impressive as your place, but it’s where I call home.”
“You’ve done an amazing job with your apartment,” I rumble. “It looks beautiful.” Then, I hand her the flowers. “I believe these are your favorite, sweetheart?”
The girl’s big brown eyes light up as she inhales the flowers’ fragrant scent. “Oh yes, thank you. I love them! Sunflowers are just the happiest blooms, don’t you think?” Then she lifts onto tiptoe to plant a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for being so kind to me, Rick. You didn’t have to.”
I feel my heart swell with emotion, and my knees literally feel weak for a second. But I can’t lose myself. Not yet, the voice in my head warns.
Meanwhile, Hannah pads into the kitchen, presumably to grab a vase and my gaze follows her gravid form, loving the way her bottom sways.
“So I see you like yellow,” I growl, my hand resting on the sunny tablecloth that covers her kitchen table.
Hannah smiles. “It’s a cheerful color,” is all she offers by way of an answer. Then, she smiles over her shoulder before depositing the sunflowers into a bright blue vase and setting them in the center of the table.
“That’s lovely, don’t you think?” she decides with a quick smile. “Thank you again, Rick.” Then, she turns to me and rubs her tummy with mock hunger. “So me and the baby are absolutely starving. Where are we going for our meal?”
I smile at her candor and take her hand in mine. “Grab a coat, sweetheart, because it’s getting cold. Actually, I made reservations at a Vietnamese spot. Do you like pho?”
She giggles while pulling a blue coat off a hook by the door.
“I love pho, and especially if it has tripe in it!”
I laugh while pulling her out into the hallway, and then leading her down the stairs.
“You must be a foodie if you like tripe because to be honest, I just like slices of regular beef and not intestines.”
“Oh yes, definitely,” she nods while carefully navigating the stairs. “I’m absolutely a huge foodie and especially fond of hole in the wall places because the flavors are just so authentic, don’t you think? Vietnamese is one of my favorites, as well as Ethiopian and also Yemeni. Mmm, injera bread is delightful.”
I nod with appreciation as we make our way downstairs because Hannah’s so different from the women I’ve dated in the past. Those ladies only liked fancy European food, as if every other cuisine in the world was below them. Even more, it wasn’t the food itself. It was the fact that they wanted to see and be seen by the society set, and part of that meant being at all the “right” places. Clearly, Hannah’s not like that at all, and I appreciate my date for it.
With that, we’re finally all the way down the stairs and into the waiting car. Within fifteen minutes, we’re settled into a small booth at one of my favorites places in the city, Lemongrass Delight, sipping on fresh jasmine lemonade while perusing the menu.
“Mhmm, beef pho, spring rolls, and oh, they have chili crab legs! Yum,” my date exclaims with excitement.
“Baby, get whatever you want,” I assure her. “You and the child need to eat.”
She giggles a bit.
“Yeah, he or she has a huge appetite,” Hannah murmurs. “I’ve been getting hungrier and hungrier every day, and it’s absolutely insane. Pretty soon, I’ll be eating everything at the grocery store.”
“That’s fine,” I nod with approval. “I’m happy to buy the grocery store for you if need be. All it means is that you’re healthy, and so is the child.”
She giggles once more, and a few minutes later, we’re laden down with appetizers. With a sigh, Hannah bites into a crispy egg roll and moans with pleasure, her lashes floating closed before opening once more with a sassy smile.
“I heard that the third trimester you stop being so hungry all the time, but I don’t think that’s true,” she explains through mouthfuls of spring roll. “Because to be honest, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night to eat,” she confesses. “It’s crazy. It’s like I’m eating a fourth meal at two in the morning.”
I laugh. “I know, because I hear you get up every night,” I tease her gently. “The mattress shifts, and I know you’re out in the kitchen doing something.”
“Oh no,” my date’s pretty face falls. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. It’s just hard to get in and out of bed without making a lot of noise because I’m so huge these days.” She looks so upset, her sweet lips set to a frown, and I reach across the table and lift her chin with my hand. “No sweetheart, eat all you want. Ransack my cupboards because I really don’t care. Again, I’ll buy the grocery store if I have to.”