Page 53 of Can We Try?

If I thought she was ready to hear it, to accept it, I’d tell her, but we’re not there yet.

“Just keep it, Maggie.”

“Okay,” she quietly agrees and slips the key into her purse. “A juicy cheeseburger,” she says.

“What?”

“I want a big juicy cheeseburger, some onion rings, and a chocolate shake.”

“You hate onions,” I remind her.

She shrugs. “Order me fries, too, then, just in case I change my mind, but the breading on the onion rings sounds so good right now. I love the breading. Not the onion.”

“You got it.” I drive to the nearest fast-food joint and order our food.

“You got four orders of onion rings, and two fries. I can’t eat all that.”

“Well, one order of fries and a burger is for me. The second order of fries is yours just in case, and if you only plan to eat the breading, you’re going to need more than one order.”

“I can’t eat all of that. I know I’m eating for two, but not that much,” she rushes to explain.

“Then you don’t eat it. We’ll toss it or take them home and put them in the air fryer to warm them up later. I just want to make sure you get enough to eat.”

“And you're worried about your mom spoiling him.” She laughs, rubbing her belly. “Your daddy is going to take the prize on that one, huh, little man?”

That tightness in my chest is back. I’m beginning to think it’s a feeling that will always be there as long as Maggie is in my life.

Once we have our food, I head off to my new place. I help Maggie out of the truck, then grab our food and drinks while she uses her new key to let us inside. “Shit, we don’t have chairs. I didn’t think this through.” I set the bag and our drinks on the counter, then turn to face her. “Come here.”

She does as I ask. I grip her hips and lift her to sit on the island. “There, at least you can sit and enjoy your meal. I’m sorry I didn’t think about having somewhere to eat.”

“We could have just sat on the floor,” she tells me with a shrug.

“No. I’m not letting my—the mother of my child eat dinner on the hard floor.”

“So moody,” she teases.

I reach into the bag and hand her a burger and a napkin before setting out the onion rings and fries for her to reach, then I dig into my own meal. “I should have asked the guys to meet me after closing and I could have at least moved my bed here so we could stay here tonight.”

“You mean you.”

“No, I mean we. It’s my first night here. You have to be here for that.” What I don’t say is that she has to be here for every night from tonight on.

“Are you afraid to be in this big ole house all alone?” she teases.

“No, I just like my bed better when you’re in it.” I lean over and kiss the corner of her mouth. “Eat your dinner. Our boy is growing.” I wink and take my own advice and go back to my own dinner.

“So, how do you want to tell people that we’re having a boy?”

“Can I not just scream it from the rooftops?”

This makes her smile. “You can, but we can also think of a cool way to tell everyone.”

“How about we have our friends over here tomorrow night? Legend and Maddox are coming to help me start moving a few things. Roman and Forrest are at the shop until five, I think. We can have food, and maybe lawn chairs for enough seating, and we can tell them then.”

“I like that plan. How about my grandma and your parents?”

“Um, we tell them first, obviously. Why don’t we tell them tonight? Can we take them cupcakes with blue icing or something?”

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