Page 48 of Vegas Baby

“As long as she doesn’t chase me off her property with a shotgun, I think I can handle it.”

He flashed a crooked smile, eyes twinkling. “No, shotgun but I can almost guarantee she’ll be pissed about missing the wedding.”

“Great, I’m already starting at a disadvantage.” She snapped off the edge of one cracker and thumbed the salted top. Her stomach twisting and not from morning sickness. This entire life-changing series of events was still a bit overwhelming and surreal.

“You’re not the one she’ll be mad at.” He popped a kernel of popcorn into his mouth, the muscles of his jaw working while he chewed.

“What about the baby? I don’t know about Grams, but neither of my self-absorbed parents is going to be thrilled about being grandparents.”

“Oh, she’ll be thrilled about the baby, Grams loves kids. She went from fostering one or two kids to six at once. Since I built the extension on their house, she can now foster up to an even dozen.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of kids.”

“They have fifty acres that abuts a national forest, so they have plenty of room for the kids to run around. Once she’s over the shock of the wedding, she’ll be thrilled about all of it.”

“You do realize the first thing she’s going to ask is what we are going to name the child. Have you thought about it?” It had been flitting across her mind ever since Dr. Lopez confirmed her pregnancy and she was curious to hear his answer.

He groaned, running his finger through his hair, his hand settling on the back of his shaved neck. “No, I haven’t. I’m going to suck at this dad thing.”

“Then we’ll suck at it together. We haven’t exactly had ideal role models. I can promise you one thing; I will try to be the best parent around.” Tears pushed at the back of her eyes and she cleared her throat. “I like Olivia for a girl. It was my grandmother’s name. If it’s a boy, I wouldn’t be adverse if he had your name. We could call him by his middle name, David.”

His entire body tensed, a tick forming in his jaw. “No.”

“Oh okay.” She fiddled with the fringe on the blanket, frowning. He definitely didn’t like that idea.

He settled his hand over hers and squeezed. She glanced up and read the apology in his eyes. “David is my father’s name and I don’t want my son named after him or Miller.”

She wanted to question him about this father but mention of the man upset him and she didn’t want to spend her first night under the same roof fighting. Cowardly, yes, but there would be plenty of time to question him in the months ahead. “We are definitely not naming him after Miller. Do you know what his real name is?” she asked, tilting her head.

“No, do tell.” His hand still resting on hers, he brushed his thumb along the skin of her wrist, each stroke a soft caress.

“Mildred Arbuckle Miller.”

Howler threw back his head, laughing, the popcorn in the container tipped, spilling on the couch. “What the fuck?”

“Yes, his mother was a huge fan of Fatty Arbuckle, some old-time comedian. Mildred is a family name from back in the day.” She picked up one of the pieces of popcorn, giggling at his continued laughter. “When he was growing up, they called him Bucky and he hates it.”

“No, we’re definitely not naming him after Miller.” Howler retrieved a fallen piece of popcorn from between the cushions, the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth deep. Kissable. She nodded and averted her gaze from his amused one.

“No, but we do have to give it some thought. As well as what theme we’ll be having for the baby’s room. And they’ll want to throw us a shower, which means my family and your family will all want to be involved.” Suddenly, it all started to become overwhelming again.

His thumb stilled; eyes wide. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Yes, we do. Having a baby is a big thing.”

“Yes, it is. I’ll warn you right now, I have no clue about any of that. Leo usually takes care of everything.”

“Well, you can’t pawn this off on Leo. Your baby, your decision.”

He rolled his eyes, lips tilting at the corner. “Fine, if it’s a boy, we’ll name him Hamilton Hamilton and if it’s a girl, we’ll name her Darling.”

She laughed at the absurd names, hugging the pillow to her chest at his teasing. “Hamilton Hamilton, hmm, I don’t think so. Why Darling?”

“Because no matter what anyone says to her, it’ll always sound like an endearment. Like, come over here, Darling.”

“Or fuck you, Darling?”

“If anyone ever said that to her, I’d kick their ass. But yes, like that.”

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