Page 42 of Baby Bombshell for the Boss

Elliot burst out laughing. Now that she’d said it, he could see that she was right, but even so… “How on earth did you figure that out? You need to go on this show if you’re this good at it.”

She looked up at him. “Is that a garment bag? Why do you have a garment bag?”

“It’s for you.” He held it out.

She blushed. “Elliot, nothing fits me right now.”

“This will. I have a good feeling about it.” Actually, he knew that it would because he had swiped the flannel pants she’d been wearing around the house and taken them to the dressmaker for comparison. Ivy hadn’t noticed they were missing. Elliot knew he could thank pregnancy brain for that. If things weren’t right in front of her these days, they tended to slip her mind, a fact she found frustrating and he found adorable.

“I’m telling you, there’s no way I’m going to fit—” She unzipped the bag and saw the champagne gold gown he’d had made for her. “Oh my God.”

“Just go try it on,” he told her. “If it doesn’t fit right, you don’t have to show it to me. You can just change back into your pajamas and come back out here.”

She took the gown hesitantly. He could see she was nervous about fitting into it, but he had also been confident that she’d give it a try. She’d complained many times recently about the fact that she couldn’t wear anything nice and had talked about how much she would have liked to have the chance to dress up. She would be too tempted by this gown to pass it up, even though she knew it might not be a fit.

She disappeared into the bathroom. Elliot went to the kitchen and took the bottle of sparkling cider out from its hiding place behind the juices. It was a nicer bottle than the ones they usually drank, a more expensive one. He’d brought it home two days ago and left it there to chill for tonight.

Her voice called out from the bathroom. “I can’t zip it.”

His heart sank. Had he made a mistake? “It doesn’t fit?”

“No, I think it is going to fit.” There was wonder in her tone. “I can’t reach the zipper, that’s all.”

“Oh,” he said, relieved. “Come out. I’ll zip it for you.”

She walked out of the bathroom and turned around. Elliot zipped up the gown, his knuckles grazing against her spine as he did so. He let himself linger for a moment. This was the most intimate touch they’d shared in months. Her skin was so soft. He felt breathless, suddenly, and wondered if this had been such a good idea after all. How was he going to get through this night? He was desperately attracted to her in sweats and messy hair. But this?

This was on another level.

The dress fit her perfectly, like a glove. He indulged himself by allowing his hands to skate down the sides of her body as he finished zipping it up. He felt her breathe in sharply and knew that she was just as affected by this moment as he was.

We’re going to have to be very careful tonight.

She turned to face him. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous,” he murmured. He’d brought the dress home to give her the chance to dress up and feel pretty, but it hadn’t occurred to him that it would have such a powerful effect on him. He ached to put his arms around her. He took a big step back instead, enforcing the distance between him, trying to break the spell even though he very much did not want it to be broken.

Ivy rested her hands on her belly. There was something regal about it. “I didn’t know they made maternity formalwear this nice. What is it for? The ribbon-cutting?”

“No,” he said. “I mean, you can wear it that day if you want to, of course, but I bought it for today.”

“For today? What’s today?”

Did she really not remember? “It’s your birthday, Ivy.”

“I never told you that. How did you know that?”

“Your sister told me.”

“Janelle? When did you talk to Janelle?!”

“Let’s just say she sought me out. We’ve spoken a few times now, and she didn’t want me to overlook your big day. Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait. Are we going out? I’m not wearing any shoes.”

“You don’t need any,” he assured her. He knew how uncomfortable shoes were for her at the moment — that was a part of the reason he’d made the plans he had. “You’ll be fine in bare feet.”

“You want me to go out barefoot in New York?”

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