The Texan's Baby (Texas Rodeo Barons)

She shrugged. “I’ve mentioned it a few times, but not since Dad got hurt. For now at least we don’t need any more ammunition for stock prices to drop.”

She put the dishes in the sink and turned around, giving a stretch. When she lowered her arms, they automatically went to her tummy and Chris’s gaze followed along. “Can you feel anything yet?” he asked softly. “It’s probably too early, isn’t it?”

“Not yet. Probably not until I’m sixteen, seventeen weeks. I’m kind of looking forward to it. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s even real. And then it does, because I know he or she is in there.”

Chris got up from the bar stool and went into the kitchen. “I know this is kind of forward...”

She lifted her eyes, questioning.

He lifted his hand, moved it slowly towards her belly, giving her lots of time to refuse. But she didn’t. She saw where his hand was going and stood very still until he pressed his wide palm against the warmth of her stomach. It was firm, but she was slim enough that he could feel the slight bubble there and his heart did something strange. “He’s in there. Or she. What do you think it is?”

He wished he could feel movement but he supposed that would come later and he hoped that by that point they would still be open enough that she’d let him feel that, too.

“I don’t know. I’ve been referring to it as she. But I noticed today you said both at different times. What do you think?”

“I said that?” He didn’t remember doing that, and he left his hand against her middle. It felt good there. Good to have the connection...

“You did. I suppose all guys want a son, though, don’t they?”

Did he? He supposed he did. He could picture ball gloves and bats, tools in the garage, horseback riding out at his parents’ place....

But he could just as easily picture that ball player having a ponytail and the whisper of Lizzie’s freckles on the crests of her cheeks, holding out a wrench while he fixed something, or riding one of the quarter horses with ease.

“I don’t think it’ll matter one bit, as long as it’s healthy and happy.”

“Me, too.”

And still his hand rested against her, their voices fell silent and the air in the kitchen hummed around them.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know why.”

“Because you’ve had to turn your life upside down?” she suggested shakily, but he shook his head.

“I thought about you even before you showed up. Wishing I knew how to find you.”

“Christopher...” It was a warning, but the long version of his name told him that she was nervous.

She slid out from his touch and skirted around him, making her way out of the kitchen to the living room. “It’s late,” she suggested, her eyes wide. “I have to be up early in the morning.”

“And you need your rest. Of course.” He offered a knowing smile and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. She was scared and off balance and he understood completely. Didn’t mean he agreed. She wanted to take their relationship and make sure it checked certain boxes and stayed there. He wanted to see where it would lead. If it was nowhere, they’d figure that out before the baby came. But if it was somewhere, they should know that ahead of time, too.

“Thanks for dinner.”

“Thanks for including me in the appointment. It was pretty special.”

“I can’t wait for the ultrasound,” she confessed, smiling. “Pictures, not just sound.”

“Can I come to that, too?”

“Of course you can.”

Damn it, but why did she have to look so beautiful, so...natural? There wasn’t a bit of artifice about her. Sure, she could be cool sometimes, and a bit remote. But there was not an artificial bone in her body. He liked that about her. Liked it almost as much as he liked thawing that icy demeanor that he understood she wore like armor.

He took a few steps toward her, saw her pupils widen more and dropped his jacket on the floor. Two more steps and he’d gathered her up in his arms. His mouth crashed down on hers and after the first millisecond of surprise, she responded.

Lips, tongues, teeth, hands. All were busy as Chris held her firmly against his body. This was the woman he remembered. Alive, vibrant. On fire. She made a sound against his lips and his body kicked into overdrive. It wouldn’t take much to prompt him to sweep her into his arms and carry her to the bedroom.

There was a perfectly good couch and so instead he shifted his weight, nudging her backwards until they were at the edge. Another shift and his arm was braced on the back of the couch, pushing her down into the cushions. Her mouth left his and she stared up at him, her eyes shocked and aroused and her lips swollen from kissing. “Christopher,” she whispered uncertainly.