Then finally to me sitting cross-legged on the floor in one of his old hoodies. Confusion flickers across his face. “I thought you hated this furniture.”
I glance down at the wooden drawers beside me before shrugging slightly. “I hated that you picked it without me.” Understanding settles across his features immediately. “But . . .” I run my hand lightly over the smooth cream wood. “It’s actually really beautiful.” Something softens in his eyes. “I asked some of your security guys to bring it up from storage earlier,” I admit. “I wanted to see what it looked like in here.”
He leans quietly against the doorway for a second, watching me. And there’s something in his expression that makes my stomach flutter. Like he still hasn’t quite processed the fact I’m building a nursery here with him, and that’s my fault, because I haven’t said the words out loud,I want to stay,but I know he’s hoping it’s what all this means.
Slowly, he shrugs out of his jacket before loosening his tie. “You should’ve made them build it too.”
I gasp dramatically. “Absolutely not.”
His brow furrows as he walks further into the room. “Why not?”
“Because flat-pack furniture is all part of the experience.”
Ray stares at the hundreds of scattered screws and wooden panels covering the floor. Then at me. Then back at the chaos. “You and I have very different definitions of fun.”
I laugh softly.
He crouches beside the drawers, picking up the instruction booklet suspiciously before immediately putting it back down again. “These instructions were clearly designed by psychopaths.”
“Exactly,” I say. “But it’s character building.”
He huffs out a quiet laugh before taking the screwdriver from my hand. “Fine. You read the instructions. I’ll fix things.”
Warmth blooms in my chest as he settles onto the floor beside me in his expensive work trousers like assembling baby furniture at two in the morning is the most normal thing in the world.
And for the next hour, we work side by side. Ray fixes things together while I attempt to decode the diagrams. By the time the drawers are finally standing upright, we both look exhausted.
Ray leans back against the wall beside me with a long sigh while I admire our work proudly.
“See? Fun.”
“I’d rather fight a man with a knife.”
I grin, then I glance sideways at him, taking in the tiredness lining his face. “You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I’m nesting,” I argue.
“You’re seven months pregnant, isn’t that a bit early?”
“I’m emotionally nesting.” Ray snorts quietly beside me. I smile to myself before speaking again. “Dale asked if he could take Sebastian fishing this weekend. I told him you’d call him.”
Ray nods immediately. “Good idea. Seb loves fishing.”
I trace my finger absentmindedly along the edge of the drawers. Then before I can overthink it, I ask, “Would you want to come with me somewhere this weekend?”
Ray turns his head towards me. “Where?”
“I thought we could spend some time with Dad,” I continue softly. “And I know you’ve probably had enough of Lucy, but—”
“Yeah,” he says quietly. I blink, releasing a long breath. “I’d like that.” Warmth spreads slowly through my chest, because there was a time not long ago where I genuinely couldn’t imagine Ray willingly stepping into my world like this. Now, he’s doing it without hesitation.
Ray’s eyes drift over my face for a long moment afterwards. And the look in them makes my stomach tighten unexpectedly.
“What?” I ask quietly.
He shakes his head once, almost to himself. Then slowly, he reaches over and brushes a strand of hair from my cheek with his thumb. The touch sends warmth rushing through me instantly.