He covered his mouth and turned his back to her. His shoulders shook, and she could tell he was still laughing at her. Part of her wanted to smack him, and the other part wanted to join in.
Things were good between them... until they got home.
♥♥♥
Sitting on the couch later with a window behind her overlooking the lake, Katie thumbed through an old scrapbook. Pictures of her life in London stared back at her. She held the first photo of her baby and looked from it to the ones of Phillip. It didn’t seem right, putting her baby in an album with her deceased husband. She needed to buy a new scrapbook and start fresh.
Chase cleared his throat from the doorway and made her jump.
She closed the book and set it aside, feeling sort of guilty like she’d been caught doing something wrong.
“Sorry,” Chase said. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I was just trying to find a safe place for the sonogram picture.”
A grim expression captured his face. “You were wishing you were going through this with Phillip, weren’t you?”
“No. I—”
“He was the love of your life, and you wanted to share this experience with him. I get it.”
She wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Phillip had been her first and only boyfriend before she met Chase. At sixteen, she’d believed he was the love of her life, her soulmate, and being away from him had physically hurt. But now as an adult looking back at the relationship, she saw it in a new light. Puppy love. If Phillip hadn’t gotten ill, hadn’t died, they probably wouldn’t have made it past their second anniversary. As much as it hurt to admit, she hadn’t known what love was back then. She hadn’t known what real love was until she found it with Chase.
Gazing up at him, her husband, the father of her child, everything became clear. If she lost him, she didn’t think she could survive it. He had her whole heart, and there was no turning back for her. They still had a few months before the baby was due. She’d have to make the most of it.
“Phillip will always have a place in my heart, but he’s gone. This is your baby I’m carrying, and I am focused on the future, not the past.”
That seemed to soothe Chase. His features relaxed, and he crossed the room to sit next to her. Without asking for permission, he leafed through her scrapbook and stopped at her wedding photo. “White looks good on you. You were a beautiful bride. Of course, nothing compares to that sexy little black dress you wore for me.”
Heat warmed her cheeks.
He looked at a few more pictures of her and Phillip.
Wanting to distract him from her previous marriage, she asked, “When are we going to talk about names? For the baby?”
He took a mouthful of wine and swallowed slowly, making her think he was stalling. The tip of his tongue licked his lips, and her eyes were drawn to them. Full and sexy, she remembered how they felt on hers. A sudden urge to straddle him and kiss him silly caught her off guard. She choked on her own saliva.
“You okay?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and thumped her gently on the back.
She shrugged. “We can each make a list of girl names on paper, or we can throw some of our favorites out there and see if we can agree.”
“I choose door number two.”
“You start then. Are there any girl names you absolutely adore?”
He shook his head. “No. You start. What do you like?”
She rested her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes so she could think. “What do you think of Melissa?”
“Ex-girlfriend.”
“Emma?”
“Dated one in high school, and she was just awful.”
Katie sighed. “Maybe it would be easier if you told me the names of girls you haven’t been with.”
“Not funny.” He pulled her onto his lap. “Why don’t you just pick a name that you like, and I will learn to live with it.”