The Bachelor's Little Bonus (Proposals & Promises 3)

* * *

The first Sunday in April was Easter, and the day dawned clear and pleasantly moderate. Stevie dressed for church in a shades-of-purple graphic print dress, then checked her reflection. She was quite obviously pregnant now and made no effort to hide it. Actually, it was a relief that she was blossoming so quickly, as it meant her little Peanut was growing and thriving. The baby’s movements were more frequent and noticeable now and she looked forward to Cole feeling the baby kick for the first time.

Everything seemed to be going so well that she was almost afraid she’d do something to jinx her good fortune. She wasn’t used to feeling so relaxed in a relationship. She didn’t have to walk on eggshells around Cole’s ego, didn’t have to second-guess her decisions or worry about plans being canceled last-minute or agreements being carelessly broken. When Cole said he’d do something or be somewhere, she could place a sizable bet on it.

She slid her feet into low-heeled shoes, her thoughts still focused on her marriage. She had to admit that so far it was going even better than she’d imagined it would the day they’d exchanged their vows. She wouldn’t change a thing about their relationship. Except, perhaps...

No. Stop this, Stevie, before you jinx it, after all.

Ironically enough, she was aware that her biggest concern about her marriage was that it was too pleasant. And that Cole seemed to be trying too hard to keep it that way.

She’d never seen Cole come even close to losing control of his emotions, she thought, twisting a strand of hair. Her own had always been so close to the surface that she couldn’t imagine how he managed. He was certainly passionate here in the bedroom, but even then his lovemaking always focused as much on her pleasure as his. She’d seen irritation—with his father, with annoying business associates—but never temper. Was it because he didn’t feel things as intensely as she did, or had his childhood with a critical and emotionally distant father convinced Cole that a “real man” didn’t acknowledge vulnerability?

Wouldn’t it be only natural for him to get mad once in a while? Was it healthy, either emotionally or physically, for him to suppress anger if he felt it? Jenny and Tess certainly spatted occasionally with their guys, yet there was no doubt they were deeply in love and blissfully happy.

In love. She winced at the phrase. She wasn’t comparing her relationship with those of her friends, of course. She and Cole had come at this with different needs than theirs. She simply wanted to make sure all his needs were being fulfilled. He was certainly taking care of hers.

“Stevie?”

In response to his voice from the doorway, she roused from her thoughts and turned toward him with a bright smile. “I’m ready.”

Something about his expression made her stop and tilt her head to study him more closely. He looked great in the jacket and tie he’d donned for the holiday. But one hand was hidden behind his back and his face was as close to sheepish as she’d ever seen it.

“What is it?” she asked curiously. “Have you changed your mind about going to church with me? Because that’s certainly—”

“No, I want to go. I just—” Shaking his head a little, he brought his hand around. “I know it’s a little silly, but I thought you might like this.”

A little green wicker basket decorated with a green-and-white gingham bow dangled from his big fingers. Within the basket, a white stuffed bunny with floppy ears, big feet and an adorably sweet face sat on top of an assortment of her favorite specialty chocolates.

Stevie found it suddenly difficult to talk around a hard lump in her throat. Still, she managed to ask, “You brought me an Easter basket?”

“Yes. With your house all torn up and your schedule disrupted, I thought you’d like a little treat for Easter. I know you like these chocolates, so...”

His uncharacteristically self-conscious words faded into silence, leaving him looking almost shy as he held out the little basket to her. Stevie blinked back a film of tears when she accepted it from him. If she burst into sobs over his gesture, she was sure he would blame it on pregnancy hormones, and he would probably be right, for the most part. But it really was so sweet that her heart ached a bit.

* * *

“Can you see it?” Holding a cold metal wand pressed to Stevie’s tummy, the sonographer looked with an indulgent smile from Stevie on the bed to Cole standing beside her. “Do you need me to show you?”

As curious as Cole was about what he’d see on the monitor, he was unable for a moment to tear his gaze away from Stevie’s face. Her eyes looked bigger and bluer than ever, her beautiful mouth was curved into a smile of such joy he felt his throat tighten in response. She was beautiful. And she was his, he thought with a surge of utterly male satisfaction.

She looked quickly from the screen to him and then back again. Her voice was breathy with excitement when she asked, “That’s— It’s a boy, right? That’s a boy?”

The sonographer laughed, obviously enjoying her job no matter how many times she’d watched this reveal. “Yes, it’s a boy. And he looks very healthy. Congratulations.”

Stevie looked at Cole again with an expression radiant with wonder. “A boy, Cole. We’re having a boy!”

He squeezed her hand, then impulsively raised it to his lips. Her fingers curled tightly around his. A hard knot formed in his throat when he looked back at the monitor with a knot in his throat.

A boy. For some reason, he’d been absolutely certain that Stevie was having a girl. As the past few weeks had swept by in a daze of work, construction, plans and commitments, the image had grown stronger in his mind of a little blonde girl with big blue eyes and a dimpled smile, a tiny clone of Stevie. He was very comfortable picturing himself as the father of that little girl. Helping her learn to walk. Holding her steady as she rode her first bike. Showing her constellations and planets, bugs and microbes. Teaching her how to drive, scowling off would-be suitors, maybe someday walking her down the aisle as no one had been there to do fo

r Stevie. But a boy...

He studied the face in the ultrasound image, wondering if this little guy would have Stevie’s curly hair and blue eyes. Looks didn’t matter so much to him. He was more concerned with overcoming his own complex father-son issues and forming a bond with this boy. And for the first time in weeks, he was beset by doubts of his qualifications for the job.

“So now we’re going to have to decide on a boy’s name,” Stevie announced happily when they were buckled into the car and he drove out of the clinic parking lot. “I’ve got a list started, but it has like fifty names on it already and every time I think I’ve narrowed it down a little I hear another name that’s interesting enough to add to the list, so it’s just getting longer instead of shorter. I’ve been keeping the nursery as neutral as possible with the classic children’s tales artwork and the sage-and-cream color scheme, so nothing changes there, but now we can buy a few outfits because as much as I believe in equality, I just can’t put a little boy in a lacy dress. I think in some ways I always knew he was a boy, even back when I first started calling him Peanut, which of course I won’t do after we choose a name because heaven knows he wouldn’t want that nickname to stick.”

“No, he probably—”