It wasn’t the whole truth, not even close, but it was a start. Maybe that was enough.
“Okay.” Bella’s voice was soft. “I think we did well here. We can take a break, right?”
She looked worried, her green eyes pinched and her hands clasped. Luke realized it must be just as hard for her to share personal things as it was for him.
“Of course we can take a break,” he said gently. “I don’t mean to force you to talk about things you don’t want to share.”
“It’s okay.” Bella bit her lip. “You’re right; it’s good for us to know each other, at least a little, so we can be ready for the baby.”
“Exactly.”
“But for now, let’s have dessert. I have a tub of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer that I plan to eat most of myself, since I’m pregnant.”
Luke chuckled and got to his feet, holding out his hands to help Bella up. “That sounds good to me.”
“And we can finish our game,” Bella added. “You’re going to lose.”
She already looked a little more cheerful now that the personal conversation was over for the evening. Luke was relieved, too. He hadn’t told Bella much about himself, but he’d made a start. That was important. Soon, they were going to be parents, and by the time that happened, they couldn’t be strangers anymore.
That evening, though, he didn’t try to push them to talk. He just ate ice cream and played Ticket to Ride, which he won by a hair. Then he washed up the dishes Bella hadn’t gotten to while cooking, and they both headed upstairs.
After he got ready for bed, he stopped by Bella’s room, as he did every night, to ask if she needed anything. As usual, he opened the door only a little and didn’t set foot in the room, wanting to respect her privacy.
“Need anything?” he asked.
“No, thanks, Doc.”
He was about to leave again when she cleared her throat.
“Um… about today. Thanks for telling me about your ex-wife and your parents.”
“Thanks for telling me about your family.”
Bella smiled. “Yeah. It wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Luke agreed. “Goodnight, Bella.”
“Goodnight, Luke.”
And with that, he closed the door softly and went back down the hallway to his room.
Feeling that baby kick his palm had changed everything. Playing it safe wasn’t enough anymore, and Luke was certain he’d made the right call, but that didn’t mean it was easy. He would need to be careful in the next few months to share enough — but not too much.
CHAPTER 16
BELLA
With a sigh, Bella hung up the phone. After almost a month of calls and emails and frantic web searches, Bella had hired a pair of chefs to take over her upcoming events and rescheduled the few they were not able to do. In the end, she’d even make a profit from those events, though the margins would be narrow once she’d paid for the food, the chefs, and the servers.
For now, though, her business was secure. Once her maternity leave was finished, she could return to her work, perhaps even keeping on one or both chefs to help. It was hard to leave her business in the hands of strangers, but it was the right call for her and, more importantly, her baby.
Feeling a strange mix of happiness and anxiety, Bella put her phone aside and reached for her laptop. She opened a website where she’d been spending a little too much time lately — the website of a local baby store. There, she’d bookmarked a crib, a changing table, tiny onesies, a stroller, and a baby carrier. She hadn’t actually purchased anything yet, though. It was all so expensive, and she really couldn’t afford more than a few packsof diapers. Luke had told her repeatedly that he would pay for all baby-related expenses, but Bella was hesitant to ask him to spend that much.
Still, she opened the page with the crib she liked. It had an adjustable cot, which she’d read was important, and a cute little ruffle at the top. It was all too easy to imagine their baby inside, smiling a gummy smile up at her and kicking his tiny legs, like he did all day in her stomach.
“Oof, we shouldn’t get that one.”
Bella twisted back to see Luke standing behind her. “When did you sneak up on me?”
