Page 60 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

I held back a laugh, "No, not that much."

"So, what are you going to do?"

I clicked my tongue a few times, and looked around my apartment. It wasn't exactly what someone would call large. It was big enough to spread out, but it was still a one-bedroom.

"Well, I've heard some people turn a large enough closet into a nursery for a baby." I pointed at the doorway leading to my bedroom, "That could easily have a jumping toy too."

I started pointing at different places and imagining baby items scattered throughout. It would destroy the few decorations I had put up and I’d have to rearrange all the carefully placed furniture, maybe even get rid of them. But it would be worth it. I turned back to Jared to see if he had any thoughts. Instead, he was watching me with a sly smile as if laughing at me.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "My question was more about which option you were going to choose, but I enjoyed hearing the designer version of you come out too. It's adorable."

I turned away. My face warmed at the thought of him finding me adorable. He was probably concerned about my mental health and capacity to pay attention if my focus was already on baby furniture and not the present.

"I'm sorry... I guess we could try option..." I wasn't sure if I was making the right choice. I closed my eyes and made my decision. "Option two."

"Then you've made your choice," he pulled out his phone and started calling someone.

"Don't you dare tell my dad yet!"

He furrowed his brow, "You think I'd ruin that announcement with a basic call?" He snorted. "No. I'm ordering pizza, remember? Or did you want it to be something else? I can cook dinner for us if you want instead."

I glanced at the kitchen. There wasn't much in there to make a meal out of. I wasn't going to admit that either. If he knew I didn't have much food in the apartment he'd start lecturing me. I didn’t want him to know that I was struggling financially right now. I wanted to take care of myself and the baby on my own. If that meant getting a side job while I was pregnant to cover expenses after the baby was born, I was willing to do that.

"I'll get just pepperoni."

20

JARED

Iturned the TV on while Kim set the table for us. She stopped putting plates down and started examining different corners of the room and writing something on her phone.

"What are you doing? You should be relaxing."

She shook her head and peeked into her bedroom, "I only have nine months to figure this out. If I don't start now, then I'll never get it done in time."

I sighed and walked over to her, placing a hand on the small of her back, “Kim, you can’t stress your body out today. You can start tomorrow on this.” I tried to lead her back into the living room, but she stopped me.

“If I relax, then I’ll keep relaxing. At least let me do this. All I’m doing is noting things I need to order to baby-proof the place.”

“That’s not going to change tomorrow.” I forced her to walk to the couch and sit down. “Why not just surf on your phone for things people recommend to baby-proof the place and other stuff that will help you? You can even make a wish list of everything you find, and send it to me."

She puffed out her cheeks but sat down, "I can buy some of this stuff you know."

"And I can buy a higher quality for you that might be out of your budget. You chose an option, and that includes me supporting you and the baby financially."

I sat back in my chair and watched as she scrolled through Amazon to look at baby things. I imagined her mentally gushing over reusable diapers and other random things, now that she had an unlimited budget. Seeing the color returning to her face made me feel better too.

She was like a ray of sunshine after a stormy day. Not even the clouds that overcast my mind could form when she was around. I couldn't deny any of her beauty either. No one could hold a candle to her looks. It wasn't just her outer beauty either. How she behaved and interacted with me was so genuine. From the first time we had met at the club until now, there had never been anything fake about her.

"Kim?"

"Yeah?" she replied distractedly, still buried in her phone.

"This kid..."

She lowered her phone and stared at me.

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