Putting her feet down, I go into the kitchen to load the dishwasher, but she follows me there.

“I can do that.” She lingers in the doorway.

“No, let me.” I don’t look at her. “You cooked an amazing dinner. I want to clean up.”

“But—”

“Let me.” Irritation washes through me, but I’m not annoyed at her.

I’m angry at this whole situation. I’m angry at myself. I took things too far tonight, and I probably look like such a desperate loser.

As I stack the dishes carefully, I feel her presence behind me. I brace myself for the inevitable rejection.

“Thank you,” she says softly.

I turn to face her. “For what?”

“For being here. For helping me relax.” She takes a step closer, and I can feel the heat radiating off her body. “For being a good friend.”

I study her eyes. Is it possible she wants more from me? Is there some way we can make this work?

I swallow hard. How do I broach the topic? Especially when all of this feels so new?

I know I want Leah in my life. And now I also know I want to see these babies. I still don’t want to settle down. Marriage isn’t for me, and being a typical dad isn’t either.

But maybe there’s something else, another option I haven’t considered.

“What are you doing this weekend?” I ask.

She looks surprised. “Oh. Uh, some shopping for nursery things. And planning my baby shower with Taylor.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “Do you want some help with that? With the shopping or the planning? And maybe we could grab lunch afterwards?”

She looks shocked, and I’m about to tell her never mind and make up some lie about how I forgot I’m out of town this weekend, when she speaks.

“I would like that.” She smiles softly.

My heart leaps. “Good. Great. I’ll pick you up at, say, ten on Saturday?”

“Sure,” she agrees with a nod.

As I finish loading the dishwasher, I can’t help but wonder where this thing between us will go. Maybe there’s a chance for something more, but I’m not going to rush it. All I know is that I want to be here for Leah, and I want to know her better.

As far as what the details look like, I have no fucking clue, but I’ll be diving in headfirst anyway.

CHAPTER25

LEAH

“What do you think of this one?” Taylor holds up a color swatch. “It’s called sunrise yellow.”

“It’s cute.” I compare it with the other swatches we’ve already picked out. “It might be a bit too much for the nursery. Maybe for the living room, though.”

She puts it back. “Hey, so I know you’re going to say this is too fancy, but I want us to do a cake testing for your baby shower. There’s this amazing spot downtown that does allergy-friendly cakes.”

I laugh. “It is a bit much, but for all I know this will be the only time I’ve ever pregnant, so why not go all out? Let’s do it.”

Resting my hands on my belly, I walk down the hardware store aisle, inspecting light fixtures.