There are times I catch him staring at me before looking away quickly. Or when it feels like his eyes are looking into my soul, seeing every bit of me that I try to hide from the world.
In those moments, I am begging internally for him to kiss me.
The other night, I was standing at the counter, making us dinner, when he came up and placed his hand on my belly.
“I can see the bump starting to appear,” he whispered in awe. “You look sexy as hell with a baby bump. I can’t wait to see it grow.”
I stood like a statue, afraid to even blink, out of fear the moment would end.
This isn’t how I pictured him reacting to the news. You read romance novels, and the guy always has a moment of pure panic, but he hasn’t been like that.
I keep waiting for it to happen. For him to walk in one day and tell me he doesn’t know if this is what he wants.
He walks into the bedroom, where I’m fully clothed and now brushing my hair.
“Walker wants to come over today,” he informs me. “He said his case is at an unexpected standstill and he wants to see the crib.”
I haven’t seen Walker since the day he stopped by after he and Roman talked. I know he still needed some time to process everything.
He’s kept in touch through text. Always asking how I’m feeling and if there’s anything he can do.
I didn’t know he was openly communicating with Roman.
“Really? You guys have been talking?” I ask hopefully.
“Don’t sound so surprised. I gave him a week to get over it, then started texting him until he answered.”
I chuckle. “That sounds like you. I’d love to see him today. What time?”
“He was thinking dinner here. I told him about our nightly poker nights, and now he’s convinced he needs to prove he can take us both down.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, that’s a good way to entice the guy to come over. Competition.”
“Oh, please. I’ve played with you enough times now. You are no better.”
I gasp, feigning offense. “That is not true. Never compare me to my brother. He is the worst when it comes to losing.”
We both walk into the family room together.
“Any ideas of what you want to do today?” he asks.
“Do you want to see some of the concepts I have for the Paris design?”
His eyes light up. “Baby, don’t talk dirty to me.”
“If that gets you going, just wait until you see what I’ve got in store for you downstairs.”
I grab my keys, and we make our way out of his penthouse and down to my much smaller apartment.
The moment we walk in together, it feels like an odd reminder of where we were when we started. It’s only been a month since we found out about the baby, but so much has happened since then.
When we walk into my office, I start to wonder if this is going to be my baby’s nursery eventually. I don’t have a ton of space.
I know I need to face reality and have that conversation with Roman. Tonight. I have to do it tonight. The longer I wait, the harder it will be to move back in here … all alone.
Chapter Forty
Roman