Page 23 of Her Shifter Babe

“Go for it,” Nancy said, waving at me as I waddled away. “Are you here for dinner?” she called after me.

“Ah, no,” I said, holding my belly as it grew heavier with each step, “Tommy’s taking me to David’s restaurant.”

Nancy grinned at me. “It’s really nice there. You’ll enjoy it!”

I took my world-weary body and trundled up the stairs, taking her word for it. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow and didn’t wake up until the sun had gone down.

***

MY ACHING BACK WOKE me up, and although I was tempted to just roll over, resettle and go back to sleep, a niggling need to get up and check my phone stole over me. I managed to get up out of bed and saw that it was past six o’clock in the evening. “Shit.”

Tommy had already messaged me twice, but he hadn’t called, probably not wanting to wake me in case I was still sleeping.

I quickly messaged him back to say that I’d just woken up and if he could give me half an hour to shower and change, I’d be ready for dinner.

He messaged straight back to say he hadn’t called because he was afraid to wake me and that he’d see me in thirty minutes.

I chuckled as I waddled to the bathroom in all my six-month-pregnant glory. I didn’t doubt that when he said thirty minutes, he meant to the second, so I couldn’t dawdle. I undressed as fast as my burgeoning form would allow and stepped into the shower.

It hadn’t escaped my attention that I didn’t deserve a man like Tommy. An accomplished, gorgeous man.

A freaking doctor of all things! What girl doesn’t dream of landing a doctor?

And there was a huge part of me that hated the fact that I’d fallen pregnant and now he had to deal with me forever. I felt guilty as hell if I was being honest. I’d just lobbed into his life, and he was expected by one and all to be a gentleman and take me in like a stray kitten. I sighed as the hot water ran over my aching muscles.

The horrible feelings of doubt and insecurity kept coming as I washed my expanding body and got dressed into one of the three outfits I owned that still fit me. A simple black maternity dress I’d found at a thrift shop. It was definitely the nicest thing I had. Running a comb through my long locks, and adding a quick lick of lip gloss, I’d just managed to get my sandals on and walk downstairs to find Wade chatting with Tommy in the living room.

“Hey,” I said, smiling at the man who was practically beaming at me.

“Tommy says you guys are having a girl. Congrats!” Wade said.

“Thanks,” I answered, holding my belly protectively as I so often did. “It’s nice to know, actually. I wasn’t sure I wanted to initially, but now...” I shrugged. “I’m happy.”

Little girls’ names had occupied my thoughts since early on in the pregnancy, pretty, traditional ones like Maragaret and Daphne. But for months now I’d been forced to focus on surviving, and I hadn’t really cared what gender the baby turned out to be. It had only mattered ultimately that they were healthy when they arrived.

“Are you ready to go?” Tommy asked. “You look great.”

“Thanks,” I said. “You do, too.” My gaze roamed over the beauty that was the father of my child. He was wearing a casual white linen shirt and a pair of perfectly fitted blue jeans that made me want to take a photo and put it on a bulletin board for everyone to admire. He was literally front cover magazine material.

“Let’s go then,” he said, opening the front door and holding out his hand for me to take.

I waved goodbye to Wade and took hold of Tommy’s hand. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course,” he said, not letting go of my hand as we walked down the sidewalk to the curb.

I stared at the huge black SUV, much like the one Nancy had. “Is this your car?” I asked.

“It is now,” he replied with a grin, opening the passenger side door as he did so. “After I dropped you off, I went car shopping this afternoon. I figured we needed something a little more family friendly.” His smile was so genuine and beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. He was already changing and adapting to being a father without complaint or having been asked.

He is so amazing.

I gulped back the emotions that wanted to unravel me into a blithering, hormonal mess and managed an answer. “But it’s Sunday. Who was open today?”

Tommy shrugged casually. “A patient of mine owns the car dealership in town. He did me a favor. Hop in.”

I slid into the car, breathing in the new car scent while Tommy shut the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. My eyes were hot and filling with tears, and I had to focus on calming down so I didn’t ruin the evening.

“Are you all right?” Tommy asked as he turned on the ignition.

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