“What did my mother want?”
I tuck the edges of the blanket around me tighter, feeling a draft from somewhere. “She wants to have a family dinner tomorrow night. She even got me out of work tomorrow.”
“Mmmm, you back at the house?” He nuzzles my hair, breathing in. “I love my mother even more right now.”
I tip my head back and look into his dark eyes. His smile makes them crease along the edges. His stubble is the perfect length, and my fingers twitch as I reach up to steal a quick feel. He leans in, kissing my hand. He shifts so we’re lying down, his body flat along the back cushions, with me staring up at him. His hand sneaks up my shirt and runs along my side.
“Hard to believe there’s a little something inside this tiny belly of yours.” He stares at my stomach, fascinated. “Did you get to see Sim when you had your appointment?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I laugh. “Sim?”
“Yes, she and him, therefore, ‘Sim,’” he says, deadpan, circling my belly button with his finger. I hiccup, trying to contain my giggle fit. “Hey, now, stop. You’re going to make Sim sick with all that shaking.”
“Oh, Cole.” I full-out laugh and bring up my legs to stop the hurt. “Stop, I can’t breathe.” I roll onto my side and take slow breaths.
“Finished?” He pokes at me. “Well?”
I roll back over, and he resumes his circles. “No, I haven’t. I’ve just had the urine test so far. I have an appointment in a week.”
“First,wehave an appointment. And how do they know? You may not be.”
“Oh, trust me, baby, that stick had two neon strips that could light these mountains right up.”
He grins, making me confused. “You called me ‘baby.’”
“Is that bad?”
“No, I liked it.”
“Baby,” I joke, biting my lip playfully.
He swoops down and nips at my lip, freeing it momentarily before he draws it into his mouth and sucks softly. He pulls back, eyes dark as night, and checks the time on the phone. “What if I called Dr. Brown tomorrow and ask her to do an ultrasound?”
“You can’t just call—” The look on his face tells me otherwise. “If you can make it happen, Sim and I are on board.”
His face breaks out in his ‘she gave in without a fight’ smile. I yawn, turning into his chest, and he pulls the covers over us and holds me close.
“What do you think we’re having?” I ask as sleep begins to creep over me. Cole tucks me under his chin.
“Girl,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. “The world really needs two of you.”
My heart swells to the point of pain. I move to give him a kiss on his chest. This man has made me feel more love in just a few months than I’ve ever felt from another man in my whole life.
Cole looks completely at ease in the sea of pregnant women. He worked his magic and got us an early afternoon appointment at the hospital with Dr. Brown. How he did it is beyond me, but I don’t care. I just want to see our little baby.
“Here,” Cole pulls out a bottle of water from my bag, “you should drink this.”
“I’m all right,” I say, scanning a magazine on breastfeeding versus formula. He takes off the cap and nudges it in my hand.
“You need to drink more water. You should be on your second one of these by now.”
I chuckle and take the water and finish off the bottle. “Someone’s been doing their homework,” I tease, loving that he has been.
His hand falls on my thigh and gives it a light pat. “I want to know everything so I can take care of you two.”
“Ms. Miller,” the nurse calls, glancing around the room. Cole mumbles something as he takes my hand and leads me into the hallway.
“Hi, Savannah. My name is Lane. I’ll be helping you today. First, I need you to give a urine sample, then you can meet me and…” She looks at Cole.