Claim My Baby (Crescent Cove 2)

I managed to wait until we’d finished the insanely delicious meal and moved on to the thick pieces of strawberry shortcake, drizzled with the berries’ sweet syrup and mounded with whipped cream. Decadent didn’t begin to cover it. As much as I wanted to dive in and lose myself in sheer caloric hedonism, I had to have clarification. We couldn’t just treat this like any other night and boink like bunnies since hey, no more need for latex! Booyah!

And jeez, people called me irresponsible.

“You’re not eating your dessert. Don’t you like it?”

Even without looking up, I knew he was watching me far too intently. “It’s wonderful. The shortcake part is so much better than actual biscuits. Not that I mind a good old-fashioned flaky biscuit, slathered in butter.”

Lookee there, I was babbling yet again.

I speared a strawberry half, chewed, and swallowed. My idea of fortification since liquid courage was out and not my drug of choice anyway. I usually leaned heavily on sweets. “I truly had no idea how you would react. I wasn’t going to bind you in any way.”

The tines of his fork scraped over the china. Oh yes, because we’d had to eat our late dinner on some family heirloom rather than Fiestaware. Or paper plates. They worked too.

“That so?”

“Yes. In case you feel hemmed in, I just wanted you to know that everything is voluntary. I’m not expecting anything. Not money, not…anything.”

He steeped his hands over his plate, just waiting.

“This isn’t a Seth and Marj situation,” I said, feeling behooved to fill the silence. Yet another one of my downfalls. “The right thing is what works for us. I’m ready to tackle this situation however you’d like. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” I dabbed at my chin with my napkin. Freaking strawberry juice. “Okay?”

“What makes you feel comfortable then? If you could script a scenario for having your first baby, what would it be?”

“A scenario? I don’t know. What’s every woman’s scenario? Or most anyway?”

He spread his hands wide. “You tell me.”

“Well, ideally, marriage. A secure environment for the baby. No drama. No fights. No rush to get back to work so I could have lots of time with him or her. I’d like to take cooking lessons and would enjoy fiddling with my house. You know, staging it, but not for others. For my family. Making it warm and homey. A safe, nurturing place.” Hearing myself, I laughed quietly, shaking my head. “I sound like a fifties housewife.”

“You sound like you’ll be an incredible mother.”

“It’s all I ever wanted.” I shut my eyes. “Not that I got pregnant on purpose. Even though I didn’t take that morning-after pill, and despite what seemed like my indiscriminate process to lose my V-card, I wasn’t hoping for an accident. I wanted a fling. Something fun and casual. I wasn’t asking for more.”

“I know you didn’t get pregnant on purpose. I was there, remember?”

“But I mean in general. I wasn’t trying to hook up with someone so I could start squeezing out kids. No way. I’m still figuring out how to take care of myself, never mind a baby.”

“Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

“John Lennon was right.” I toyed with the pile of whipped cream, finally taking a few bites. I was full, but I just couldn’t stop. It was so good.

Also stress eating was definitely a factor in my life. Especially now.

“My father adores you,” he said after a moment. “When we tell him about this baby, he’s probably going to move you into the main house, so he can make sure you’re taken care of in every possible way until the baby comes.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.”

“You think so? Tonight, he asked if we were dating, and told me I’d better treat you right or I’d answer to him.”

It made me genuinely smile in a way I hadn’t in hours. “You should have seen him in the hospital room with Ally and Seth. He was beaming ear to ear. Couldn’t stop bragging about his new grandson.”

“As he will about this baby.”

Twice now he’d referred to our child as “this baby”. He’d said our before, but the word definitely didn’t trip off his tongue. I couldn’t blame him for that. This was all so new. For me too.

“So, what are your thoughts?” I cocked my head. “Surely, you can’t possibly be this well-adjusted about all of this. Didn’t Seth flip out with Laurie? Ally mentioned he went into fix-it mode.”

“Yes, well, Seth was much younger.”