I smile back and wink. “Are you kidding? That’s a huge turn-on for me. If you think I’m insatiable now, just wait until you get that bump. Just knowing that you’ve got my baby inside you … You won’t be able to keep me off you.”
“You’d take me and Cleo?”
“Hey, it would solve your housing problem in one fell swoop, and I’d have the bonus of waking up next to you every day. Plus, we could use Cleo to teach Hailey how to be gentle with the baby.”
Iris brightens. “That’s actually pretty clever!”
“Please, Iris? It’s just next door; it’s not like I’m asking you to move cross-country. I’d like to think I’m showing incredible restraint here.”
“How so?”
“I’m only asking you to make me thesecondhappiest man on the planet. I’ve gotta get some credit for not going full-tilt and proposing right here and now. Trying to keep the pressure low, for the baby’s sake.” I nudge her with my elbow, and she giggles. “I figure we’ll get you set up in the house first, get you used to the new environment, then one day I’ll sweep you off your feet with homemade beignets. Maybe hide the ring in one of them.”
She clamps her hand over her mouth, I guess to keep from waking Hailey as she laughs at my lame attempt at a joke. “Micah, with my luck lately, I’d probably choke on the damn ring!”
I rub my chin in mock concern. “Hm. That won’t do. Maybe …” I snap my fingers, accidentally ruining Iris’s attempts at letting Hailey sleep. “I’ve got it! Gummy Savers!”
Hailey knuckles her eyes and proves she at least heard part of the conversation. “Daddy’s got Gummy Savers? I want some!”
Oops. “No, sweetie. Daddy’s trying to think of a romantic way to propose to Miss Iris after she moves in with us.”
“What’s popose? Wait!” Hailey’s little head whips around so fast I think she’ll need a neck brace next. “Are you really gonna move in with us, Miss Iris? You and the kitty cat?”
“I don’t think your daddy’s going to take ‘no’ for an answer.” She pulls Hailey into her lap and winces. “So yes, Hailey, when I get out of the hospital, I’m going to bring Cleo over and live with you guys. Would you like that?”
“Uh huh!”
I give them both a hug. “Good. Now that’s settled. We can focus on getting you well, then worry about the rest of it.”
“You say ‘the rest of it’ like moving, selling my house, dealing with accident lawyers, buying a new car, finding another job, and having a baby is all a piece of cake.”
“When we’re together, everything’s a piece of cake.”
Chapter 35
Iris
It’s a lot to think about. A baby. A move. A hinted-at-but-never-directly-asked marriage proposal.
For some reason, though, I’m not as scared as I thought I’d be. I’m not terrified of everything looming over me. I'm not shaking in my boots.
I know I have Micah to thank for that. If a person can be the calm in the eye of another person’s shitstorm, if one person can be another person’s center, that’s Micah for me. He’s approaching this pregnancy—and all the troubles surrounding it—with a joyful optimism that I can’t help but find contagious. How can I panic when he takes every new bump in the road in easy stride? For every hiccup that comes along, Micah finds a solution.
First, there was the move. He did every ounce of lifting for me, and even spent long hours discussing which furniture of mine we would keep, and which would replace his.
Next, he helped me deal with the legal mess following the accident. Turns out Micah has an old college buddy who’s a successful attorney, and while his buddy’s area of expertise isn’t that helpful in my case, he has connections that secure me a lawyer who’s willing to take his fees from whatever I might get from suing the paparazzo who rear-ended me. Nothing to pay up front beyond a small consultation fee. As for the person I got smashed into, the guy feels so bad for me getting into an accident while pregnant that he drops the whole matter. He refuses to even take my insurance information.
Third, the whole job sitch. I was on the verge of freaking the fuck out, but Micah just tells me to go back to work when I’m ready. Take some time to get ready for the baby, get adjusted to life as a mom, andifI want to go back to work once that’s all settled down, he’ll support me. For the time being, he applies for a position within his company that, while it consumes a bit more of his time, pays a little bit better. The sheer, unconditional love and validation is not something I’m used to from the guys I’ve dated in the past, and sometimes he catches me staring at him with what I’m sure is a goofy, lovestruck grin. My face sure hurts like I’ve got one of those grins plastered on it.
What else was I worried about? Oh, yeah—pregnancy. That whole scary thing. Micah’s gone through secondhand pregnancy with Lisa, but this is my first go-around, and without him, my nerves would be shot. He seems to be on top of things, though, with my every need anticipated before evenIknow I need it.
Speaking of parenthood and all that entails, Hailey is taking her new job as impending Big Sister with all the seriousness a four-and-a-half-year-old can muster. Poor Cleo has tolerated numerous diaper changes from the budding sibling, despite being spayed and litterbox trained. She’s also learned to let Hailey feed her wet food with a tiny spoon. Micah thinks it’s hilarious, but I keep a close watch on the two of them just in case Hailey gets too rough with Cleo. Hailey even takes charge of cleaning the litterbox once she learns that it’s not safe for me to do while pregnant. That kid never misses a day.
Karen turns ten different shades of purple when we give her the news that I’m moving next door and selling my house. It’s the perfect irony: she despised what she viewed as our scandalous single lifestyle, and now we’re moving in together and starting a stable family. I almost think she’s pissed that she has less to complain about now.
As an added bonus, my attorney slaps Karen with a defamation suit when he hears the role she had to play in my firing. Part of the negotiated resolution involves Karen not coming within fifty yards of our front door, along with a public apology, broadcast across the internet, complete with a total recant of the slanderous bits.
Everything’s just about perfect. Everything, that is, except that pesky hinted-at-but-never-directly-asked marriage proposal. What’s Micah waiting for?
