Page 37 of Oops, My Professor Got Me Pregnant!

“Sure, but there are lots more things you are an expert on.” They strolled to the next painting in the collection, another gorgeous Monet. “French. Literature. Poetry. History. Classical music. Cooking.”

“Cooking?” Nico wrinkled his nose. “You are terribly mistaken. I can cook approximately three meals, all of which are fairly average.”

“I like all three of your meals,” Lauren said loyally. “And you’re an expert at romance. This is a lovely date.”

It really was. Louis was spending the day at a friend’s soccer-themed birthday party, so Nico had invited Lauren to an afternoon of browsing Parisian art museums. Although neither was an expert in art, it was nice to explore the more refined side of Paris and see some of the paintings Lauren had read about in college. And it was nice to have a relaxed afternoon with Nico.

It would have been even nicer if Lauren hadn’t felt a little sick. She’d eaten a slightly sketchy kebab last night after returning home late from an evening with Céline, and her stomach was upset with her this morning. The late night had also left her feeling a little tired. In fact, if Lauren were being honest with herself, her whirlwind schedule of teaching and socializing and time with Nico and Louis had left her feeling tired a lot lately.

It would pass, though. And for now, Lauren was more than content to slip her hand into Nico’s and stroll through the hallowed halls of the museum. Something felt magical about being here in such a beautiful, old building surrounded by art that had lit up the world since before Lauren was born. And something was even more magical about being here with Nico.

“Here we clearly have a picture of a pineapple.” Nico gestured to a piece of abstract art with a yellow swirl in the middle.

“I think that’s a lagoon,” Lauren countered. They both paused and tilted their heads.

“Or an abstract understanding of the concept of hope,” Nico suggested.

“Maybe so. A very expert analysis.”

They moved on. As they approached the next painting, a young girl around Louis’s age passed them. She was hopping from tile to tile, seemingly much more interested in the flooring than in the art. Lauren’s heart tugged as the girl skipped by.

“As nice as it is to have an afternoon just the two of us, I miss Louis a little.” Lauren bit her lip. “I hope that’s not too strange to say.”

“Lauren.” Nico wrapped his arm around her and pulled them both to a stop. Lauren looked up at him and felt a stirring in her chest, a kind of longing for something she couldn’t put into words. “It’s the sweetest thing in the world that you miss Louis when he isn’t here. Although I am enjoying today with you, very much. Actually, I’ve enjoyed every day with you. I…”

The moment stretched. Lauren stood there in Nico’s arms, looking up at him, and the world fell still. It was as intense as when they kissed or made love and it felt like they were the only two people in the world, even though they were doing nothing more right now than looking at each other.

“Lauren,” Nico repeated.

“Yes?”

But he didn’t continue. He just looked at her, and she looked at him. Lauren got the feeling she knew what he wanted to say. She felt it too. She had since that day they’d had a picnic at the river, when Nico had brushed a kiss across her cheek and thanked her for getting them outside. It had been a small moment, nothing special, but Lauren had realized in that moment that she loved Nico. She would do anything for him, or for Louis.

Lauren wanted to hear Nico say the words that were in her heart, but she could be patient. They were taking things slow, after all, and she knew from the way Nico looked at her that he felt the same way she did.

So, she raised onto her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the mouth. She wanted to communicate that it was all right, that there was no rush, but that she loved him too. It seemed to work, because when she pulled back from the kiss, Nico was smiling. She took his hand.

“Let’s look at some more art.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through museums, making increasingly improbable guesses about the paintings — “I think this was done at two in the morning in the parliament,” Nico remarked at one point — and enjoying each other’s company. As evening came on, Nico suggested a coffee, and Lauren agreed. It was the kind of day she’d dreamed of having in Paris, from the museums to the café to the handsome man by her side.

That evening, when Lauren returned to her apartment to grab some sleep before the next day’s classes, she realized that today marked six weeks that she’d been in Paris and about a month that she and Nico had been dating. It was hard to believe that it was only that long. Over the course of less than two months, Nico and Louis had become so important to her that she could no longer imagine life without the two of them. Nor did she want to.

Lauren hadn’t been sure how long she’d spend in Paris, but she’d imagined staying for a few months before returning to “real life” in Nebraska. Yet now, she could no longer think about going back. Her life here felt as real as anything.

As she sank into bed, she saw her future unspool before her. She would stay in Paris. Her teaching abilities would slowly increase under Céline’s expert tutelage. She would date Nico and grow to love him and Louis more each day. Eventually, she and Nico would speak the words she was sure were in their hearts. Maybe, in a year or two, they could move in together. Maybe, someday, there would even be a wedding, more children, the big family Lauren had always dreamed of.

Lauren fell asleep that night wrapped in dreams of her future. So much of her life so far had felt beyond her control, from the loss of her mother when she was young to the choice of college based on financial aid to moving back home to care for her grandfather and taking the only job she could find in her small town. Now, finally, Lauren had the time and space to make her own choices, and she chose this Parisian life with the guys she loved.

Lauren woke the next morning with the previous day’s nausea back in full force. She grumbled to herself as she slid out of bed, then found herself running to the bathroom and kneeling in front of the toilet. Oh, no. Maybe her nausea the day before hadn’t been from a sketchy kebab, but from some kind of twenty-four-hour bug. Hopefully she hadn’t passed it on to Nico yesterday.

Lauren brushed her teeth and made her way into the kitchen, where she forced herself to drink a mug of warm mint tea and eat a few crackers. Surprisingly, once she’d eaten a little, the nausea seemed to subside.

Perhaps she should have taken the day off work, but she was solo teaching her favorite class of adult learners this morning and didn’t want to miss it. She’d spent several days preparing a lesson plan she was excited about. And anyway, she felt better now after eating something.

She showered, then dressed and began her walk to the campus. She nibbled on a few more crackers as she walked. The fresh air seemed to do her good, and by the time she arrived at her classroom she felt almost normal.

The class with the adult learners went better than Lauren could have hoped. They seemed to enjoy the activity she’d created, a Jeopardy-style challenge with the vocabulary and phrases they’d been working on, and participated enthusiastically in the conversation that followed. Lauren left the class on a high and was excited to see Céline waiting for her outside.

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