Page 76 of Reclaimed

“A few weeks now.” A blush stains his cheeks.

My mind works over the dates. He must have started reading it right after the secret was out. I lick my lips. “Anything interesting?”

“Probably nothing you don’t already know.”

“I actually haven’t been reading them as much as I should have.”

He lays his right arm flat against the bed. “Come here, starshine.”

I release the towel and wiggle my way beneath the blanket and into his arm. His smile sends warmth through me as he rolls me tight against his torso. My breasts smash against his bare chest, and the swell of my growing baby bump presses against his naked side.

“Did you know you’re not supposed to eat lunch meat without heating it up first?”

I wrinkle my nose. “No. But I don’t like the stuff anyway.”

“Good. It can contain a bacteria that’s dangerous to you and the baby.”

The news sends adrenaline into my system. Suddenly invested, I whisper, “What else?”

“It says here…” He draws his finger across the page and then pauses. “Wait. I just put it together. This is why you drink decaf.”

I sigh wistfully. “Yeah. That’s one rule I knew about, and after a quick internet search, it seemed like it’s best to avoid it all together.”

His blue eyes find mine from the corner of his eyes. “You’re going to be such a good mom,” he murmurs.

My heartrate ticks up. “Why?”

“Because you care. You’re already making sacrifices. I can only imagine how attentive you’ll be once the baby is here.”

I slip my hand beneath the duvet and settle it on my bump. “I’m just trying to do my best. We already have some odds stacked against us.”

“How so?”

“I’m not exactly wealthy. And I’m a stripper. I can only imagine what the other preschool moms will think.”

“Babe.” Aiden smiles. “You’re just proving my point.”

“I see nothing wrong with my concerns.”

“You’re about five years too early to be thinking about preschool moms.”

“Well maybe the nurses at the hospital will judge me.”

“Whitney will take care of them.” His soft, kind smile deflates my apprehension some.

“What if the baby doesn’t like having me as a mom?” My lower lip wobbles. “What if I embarrass them?”

Aiden grips my chin in his index finger and thumb. His gaze is serious. “Impossible.”

I study his lips, the thought of kissing him filling me with so much warmth that I lean forward and do just that. The feel of his tender kiss erases some of my irrational fears.

“What was that for?” he murmurs, eyes still closed.

“You’re being too nice.”

“I could be nicer, if that’s what it gets me.” One half of his lips tip up.

I scoot my pillow closer and lie back down with my head on his shoulder. “No, no. This is nice enough.”

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