Page 57 of By the Letter

Speechless, I nodded, and his huge hand engulfed my belly. His palm was almost bigger than my bump, and the warmth of it seeped through my shirt.

“I thought it would be soft,” he murmured. “I remember you being soft here.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. Before now, we hadn’t done much talking about what we’d done in room ten.

“He’s the size of a mango.” Roman’s gaze trailed up my body to meet mine. “Have you felt him move yet?”

I shook my head. “Sometimes I think I might feel a flutter, but I’m not sure.”

“I bet you’ll feel him soon. Will you let me know?”

His hand hadn’t left my belly. He was moving it in small, slow circles, his fingers occasionally pressing into me. And I liked it. Ifhe’d asked, I would have let him pull up my shirt so he could be skin to skin with me. But he didn’t, and I would never,everoffer.

“I’ll tell you,” I promised.

“Thank you.” He exhaled and settled back on his cushion, his hand still on me. “I’m not mentally prepared to drive across town yet. Mind if I hang out for a while?”

“I don’t mind.” It would be nice to have some company for a change. “Should we watch a movie?”

Roman’s head was back, his feet were kicked up on the ottoman in front of him, and his breathing had slowed, more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.

“Anything you want, Shira.” His fingers drummed on my stomach. “I’m good here.”

He stayed just like that through an entire movie. I got up once to use the bathroom, and when I returned, so did his hand to my belly. When he got up to leave, it was late, and Mary was meowing for me to come to bed. He stopped at my front door, locking eyes with me.

“Set the alarm after you lock up.”

“I always do,” I assured him.

With a deep sigh, he hooked an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. My cheek hit his chest, settling into the spot that alarmingly felt like mine. “Thanks for having me over. And for everything else. It was a good night.”

“Anytime.”

He let me go and grinned down at me. “I’ll hold you to that, Goldie. See you soon.”

The next week went by in a flash. Kit and I had been working like madwomen to get ready for the silent auction. I’d had my anatomy scan—Beanie was still big and his organs weredeveloping just like they were supposed to—and I’d continued my foray into learning to cook. Roman had dinner with me several evenings, scarfing down my experiments just as enthusiastically as he had the lasagna. When I knew he was coming, I made sure to add extra garlic and pepper to the dishes. It didn’t taste good to me, but judging by his continued scraped-clean plates, he seemed to love it.

The first hitch in the week came when I got home from work Wednesday afternoon to discover a moving truck in front of Bev and Donnie’s house.

“We had no plans of moving, my dear, but we got an offer we simply couldn’t refuse,” Bev explained.

“I’ll miss you.” My heart plummeted, and my brain whirred. I wasn’t the best with change, and I’d just gotten used to having Bev and Donnie living next door. “I hope my new neighbor is as nice as you.”

She patted my shoulder. “There won’t ever be another Bev, but I’m sure you and Beatrice will be just fine without me.”

So much for her promises to babysit.

The following day, things went even more haywire. Bea and I had gone out to dinner with Clara, and when we returned, there was another moving truck in front of Bev and Donnie’s former home.

“Someone’s moving in,” Bea remarked as we stopped on the sidewalk to watch the movers going in and out of the house. “They better be as cool as my girl Bev, or they might wake up to their house TP’d.”

“You can’t toilet paper someone’s house just because they’re uncool.” I held up a finger. “Actually, you can’t do it because you’re not a teenager and it would be sad.”

Bea folded her arms and hmphed. “Fine. Eggs it is.”

Bea had to get ready for her waitressing job, so she left me sitting on the swing on my front porch. If the new neighbors sawme, hopefully they’d be convinced I was an innocent pregnant woman enjoying an evening swing and not the Nosy Nellie I was.

The movers left the house one final time, closed their truck, and drove off. A massive, silver SUV pulled up to the curb in their place, and two men got out. My breath caught in my throat when I spotted the wild, curly hair, followed by an even wilder smile. The second man wasn’t as big in stature or smile, but their resemblance was undeniable.

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