Page 56 of Strictly Business

He took her by the shoulders, gently turned her to face him and he let his gaze travel over her. ‘Wow, it’s happening so quickly, isn’t it? You’re really starting to look pregnant.’

‘Yes.’ Shyly she used both hands to flatten her pale green top to show off the new curve of her tummy. ‘See what you’ve been missing out on?’

She felt a rush of goosebumps when she saw the sudden sheen in his eyes and the way his throat worked.

‘It’s happened all of a sudden,’ she hurried to explain. ‘Just this past week I’ve had to buy looser clothes.’

‘So, how big would the baby be now?’

‘Ooh, about fourteen centimetres.’

He held his hands out in front of him, trying to calculate the distance. ‘That’s still pretty tiny.’

‘Yes, but it has eyelashes and eyebrows. And it even has tastebuds on its tongue.’

‘Tastebuds? No kidding?’ He grinned again. ‘So you’re keeping close tabs on what’s going on in there.’

‘Of course. I have a whole shelf of books that give me week by week progress notes. The trouble is I get impatient. I keep wanting to rush on to the next stage.’

She turned back to the coffee machine and Liam made himself at home, with his hips settled against her kitchen cupboards, his arms folded across his chest and one foot crossed casually in front of the other. ‘I wonder if it’s a boy or a girl.’

‘I’ll be having an ultra-sound next week.’ She flicked the switch on her electric kettle to boil water for a cup of herbal tea, because she wasn’t drinking coffee these days. ‘They might be able to tell me the baby’s sex.’ Her eyes met his. ‘They give you a choice – whether or not you want to know. Would you like to?’

His eyebrows shot high as he thought about this. ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘Do you want to?’

Right at that moment all Alice could think was how wonderful it was to have Liam here, to be able to see him while she had this conversation.

Afraid that her feelings might be shining too obviously, she turned quickly to the fridge and reached for the milk. ‘I can’t decide.’ She set the milk on the counter. ‘Maybe not.’

‘The suspense of not knowing is kind of fun,’ he suggested.

She nodded. ‘Part of me desperately wants to know, but I like the idea of getting a surprise at the end, too.’

She looked at him again and he smiled such a gorgeous, knee-weakening smile that it took all her willpower not to throw herself at him.

‘Do you have a preference? Boy or girl?’ he asked.

‘Not really.’ The kettle boiled and she poured water into a small tea pot. ‘Actually, that’s a lie,’ she said, smiling shyly. ‘I want a boy.’A boy just like you, Liam. ‘What about you?’

‘Well...’ The skin around his eyes crinkled. ‘I’m rather hoping it’s a little girl.’

Alice laughed. ‘Then maybe it would be best if I ask them not to tell me, so we can both keep hoping.’

She glanced at the counter where she’d set the picnic basket last night, ready to be packed this morning. ‘While you’re here, I should make the most of your height. Could you put this basket back up on top of that cupboard?’

‘Sure.’ As Liam picked it up, he frowned at her. ‘How did you get it down?’

‘I have a little step ladder.’

‘For crying out loud, Alice, you shouldn’t be climbing ladders.’

‘It was only a couple of steps. I’m pregnant, Liam, not porcelain.’ Just the same, she was happy to let him stow the basket away, especially as it gave her a chance to watch the waythe muscles in his arms rippled and the way his jeans hugged his behind as he reached up.

‘You wouldn’t like to do that five or six times would you?’ she asked.

He turned back to her, his eyes signalling amusement. ‘You were taking a good look, were you?’

She gave an offhand shrug, but she couldn’t suppress a dimpling smile. ‘Maybe.’

---