“It’s cool. It’s cool,” I assured her. “My friend’s had her for six months at this point. If it’s okay with you, we’ll adopt Mocha. Tell me what I need to do. This is a problem with an easy solution.”
When Ryann showed up at my house later that day, I positioned Mocha at the front door, so she would be the first thing Ryann saw. Mocha saw Ryann first and went to barking hysterically until Ryann noticed her.
“Oh my word! Oh my goodness.” Ryann dropped to her knees in my foyer, which I didn’t think was good for her or the baby. Her mind wasn’t on that. It was on having a reunion with the puppy she’d come to love and cherish. “Mocha mommy. Mocha, my baby.”
I stood back and watched the excitement exuding from both of them at being back together.
Finally, Ryann looked up at me. “What is she doing here? I thought you were taking her to the agency early this morning.”
“I did. Her owners flaked on picking her up. They told Tiffany they probably won’t be back to reclaim her and that she should find a home for her. I told Tiffany that you would probably take her, but if you don’t?—”
“I want her.” Ryann had Mocha wrapped in her arms like she dared somebody to try to take the dog from her. “I’ll call her in the morning and find out what I need to do to make her officially mine.”
I helped Ryann from the floor while she still clung to Mocha. “You want me to snap the pictures while you get reacquainted with your first born daughter?”
She laughed. “I’ll take the pictures.” She gave Mocha one last loving squeeze, then put the small dog back down on the floor. “What room have you picked out as the nursery for our little princess?”
“Come on.” My home was a single story ranch. The main living spaces were on one side of the house—the living room, dining room, kitchen, office, family room, primary bedroom, one guest room, the sitting room… all that type of stuff was on one side. Off behind the kitchen was where the other two guest bedrooms and the flex room were located.
“Do you have any ideas for girl names?” she asked as we walked. “Transparency moment, if it was a boy, I was gonna suggest Brixton.”
I chuckled. “So now that it’s a girl, are you thinking Brixtonia?” I joked.
“Absolutely not!”
“Brixtonisha? Brixta? Brixtiana? Britta?”
“Britta is the only name you’ve said that I would even consider.”
“I don’t know. My mind is still blown on the fact that I have a baby girl on the way.”
“Same.”
“Do you have any ideas for names?”
She shrugged. “Some people put both parents’ names together. So maybe, Ryton or Brixann.”
My only response was a laugh.
“Let’s keep thinking about it,” she suggested as we walked into the empty bedroom.
The room was a box, perfectly square—11x11. One wall was solid drywall from floor to ceiling. Two walls offered windows, and one wall held the small walk-in closet.
“Oh, this is perfect.” She snapped pictures and took video of the room. “This is perfect.”
“Have you decided what you’re doing at your house?”
“Uhm, I thought part of the contractual agreement stated that I had to move closer to you. I wasn’t doing anything to my house except getting it ready to put on the market.”
I sighed. “If our families wouldn’t freak the fuck out and if it wouldn’t jam you up for meeting your future husband, I would suggest that you just move in here. It would make things so much easier.”
“It would,” she said thoughtfully. “But you’re right about the Uptons and the Coles having something to say. They already think we’re crazy for doing this as friends. They’d really crash out if we lived together. But truth be told, now that I’m gettingmy child and a reliable baby’s daddy, a relationship with some imaginary man isn’t what I’m on.”
“Right now, Ry. Because you just got out of the throes of morning sickness. In a couple of weeks, with the next hormone spike, you might get horny as hell and a relationship will be at the forefront of your mind.” I had to cut myself off from talking before I offered to be the dude scratching that itch for her and digging all up in what I knew was probably a juicy ass pussy. Ryann looked like she had good pussy. And her lips? She definitely gave good head and looked pretty as hell while doing it.
I shook those thoughts away.
“Yeah.” I heard what I thought was defeat in her tone. “I have a lot of ideas for this room. Show me the next one, please.”
