After a moment of heavy silence, Nick cleared his throat. “We’ll need to go shopping for baby furniture and equipment.”
She dug into her handbag for her cell and brought up a screen before handing it to him. “I made a list.”
He raised an eyebrow as he took the phone. “Already?”
“I like to be prepared.”
As she waited, she watched him scroll through the list. He had no expression while he was reading—he wasn’t giving anything away. She fidgeted with her fingernails. Past boyfriends, and even friends, had chided her for being too obsessive with planning and lists. One had called her regimental. She hadn’t taken it personally—mostly—because being organized had been a huge advantage in her career. But suddenly she was gripped with an unfamiliar bout of nerves. It seemed that it mattered what Nick thought. A lot.
“What do you think?” she asked brightly when she couldn’t wait another second. “You’re the experienced one.”
He looked up with wide eyes and a lopsided grin. “This is amazing. We weren’t this organized for Ellie. We should start getting the stuff on this list soon.”
She let out a long breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. He hadn’t been put off by her detailed list. In fact, he seemed to see it as a positive. She smiled. “That would be great.”
He handed the cell back. “Any thoughts about names?”
“I looked at a few websites, but I was overwhelmed.” Most of the time, she was still having trouble imagining herself with two children, let alone what their names would be.
“That’s okay,” he said, digging a hand into his pocket. “There’s plenty of time.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve always liked old-fashioned names—Eloise was my contribution to the name list—but we can decide together when you’ve had a chance to think about it.”
She wandered over to the armchairs and trailed her fingers along the soft fabric.
“What about work?” Nick asked. “Do you see yourself working through the pregnancy?”
She turned back to him and wrapped her hand around the nape of her neck. “Good question. I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, because my original plan had been leaving Tate Armor and heading home to Connecticut. I thought I’d look for some consulting work there that I could do from home.”
“And now that you’re staying?” he said, leaning back against the wall and digging his hands into his pockets.
“I guess I’d like to keep working while I can. I’m not sure how I’ll feel during the pregnancy, so it’s hard to know.” There were so many unknowns at the moment that could overwhelm her if she let them. She was definitely in favor of not letting them.
“One thing Tate Armor has given me is a very healthy bank balan
ce. So if you decide you want to take a year off, or whatever, we have the financial freedom to do that.”
Without warning, her throat constricted with emotion, and she couldn’t speak. It wasn’t about the money—though that was nice. It was him talking about them as a team. We have the financial freedom. It had been so long since someone other than her mother had said they had her back, or was willing to make contingency plans around her needs. It felt so very nice.
Nick must have noticed her expression change, because he pushed off the wall and crossed to take her hand. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good.” She smiled at him. “I just like the idea of us being a team and facing the world together.”
“I like that, too,” he said and rubbed his thumb against her palm.
She opened her mouth to say more, but hesitated. There was a danger here. They’d made this plan and committed to it, but she couldn’t allow herself the luxury of coming to depend on him. Real partnerships were the ones that were built on a foundation of trust and knowing each other. Those had the potential to stand the test of time. Her relationship with Nick was too new to know anything for sure.
And she couldn’t risk being lulled into a false sense of security.
Five
Nick switched off the engine, and they sat in his ex-wife’s driveway for a moment in silence.
“Do you want me to wait here?” Harper asked.
Given that Melissa always seemed to be on the offensive, having Harper wait in the car would be the path of least resistance. But that wouldn’t achieve the effect he wanted. He needed the appearance of a family unit. It was the first step in his new campaign for shared custody of Ellie.