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“What? You made me say mine. You have to tell me yours.”

“Yeah…not happening, baby.”

God, he was so tricky! “Well I want that too. I want to ask for whatever I want when I win. It’s only fair.”

He grabbed my ankle and pulled me down, dragging me across our sheets until he was looking down at me. “Fine…I’ll allow it. If I get something right now in return.”

“What do you want?”

He looked down at my stomach. “I was thinking it might be fun…over the next few months…” He looked a little embarrassed.

“What are you thinking?”

“I thought we could read Harry Potter to her. While she’s still cooking in there. So she comes out loving it too.”

I had no idea why, but my eyes started watering again. “I freaking love that idea.”

“Yeah?”

“Let me go grab it.” I was about to climb out of bed when he put his hand back on my stomach.

“I’ve got it.” He reached over and pulled his old copy out of his nightstand.

I smiled. How long had he been waiting to ask me this? Because I definitely remembered that copy being in the library downstairs.

He pulled out a sheet of paper that was marking a page and crumpled it in his fist before tossing it to the side.

“We won’t be needing that, will we?” he said and kissed my stomach.

Tears pooled in my eyes. I knew what was on that paper. It was an emancipation letter to his parents. He’d felt trapped. Lost. I put my hand on top of his on my stomach. No, our son or daughter would never feel that way. I already loved our baby with all my heart. And I knew James did too.

He smiled at me and then cleared his throat and started reading.

It was probably the most adorable thing I’d ever seen him do. Lying in bed on his stomach, his feet in the air, reading.

And I suddenly got the strangest image in my head of our son doing exactly that one day. Because we were having a boy. And he was going to come out loving Harry Potter. And looking just like James.

I picked my watermelon bowl back up and started eating as I listened to the familiar words. I didn’t know it was possible, but I fell even more in love with James. Especially when he started doing different voices for the characters. And extra especially when he’d stop every now and then and kiss my baby bump.

Tonight it was easy not to be afraid of change. Because things were already changing and I was happier than ever. Plus, now I knew exactly what I wanted to be for Halloween this year. I couldn’t wait for the Caldwell Halloween party.

Seduction - Chapter 19

Saturday

“Interesting choice,” I said to Mason as I sat down next to him in the crowded pub.

“Me?” He laughed. “Rob chose the place.”

Honestly that made a lot more sense. It wasn’t Rob’s favorite restaurant with the busty waitresses, but the barmaids definitely screamed Rob. So did the fact that he’d chosen a pub. With high top tables that were super uncomfortable to sit at. My feet dangled off the edge of my stool. “But he chose last week.”

“Yeah, he called us and asked us to switch with him,” Bee said. She looked over at one of the barmaids. “Figures.”

I laughed. “When Rob called you guys to switch, did he mention anything else at all?”

Mason took a sip of his beer. “And by anything else at all do you mean…”

“Yes, I mean did he ask you to be a groomsman?” James and I hadn’t heard from Rob or Daphne since we’d dropped off their surprise dinner. And I couldn’t help it…it was seriously bugging me.