“Huh?” He stopped and faced me.
“You seem worried.”
“Me? Nah. I’m just—I dunno—excited. Now that it’s common knowledge, it feels different. More real. And I’ll be honest, when you took off your coat, showing off your baby bump … I felt so proud.”
My pulse picked up. “Look at what you hath created.”
“Yeah, that.” He grasped my hands and pulled me upright. “But also, I’m proud of you. Sure, you’re carrying my baby, but you’re also making this dream of yours happen. The woman with the plan. I know I was skeptical at first. Why are you doing it this way? Why are you making your lists?”
I laughed, feeling more relaxed. “Why am I asking your brother for sperm? Why don’t I just find a boyfriend?”
He moved his hand down to my bump. “Well, your unconventional way of bringing a baby into your life has been a blessing for me, too.” He cradled the swell and spoke directly to it, his voice soothing. “Hey there, Baby Naval Orange.” He met my surprised gaze. “That’s the size about now.”
That this man thought he wouldn’t ever be in a significant relationship with a woman sounded crazier the longer I knew him. He would make any woman the perfect partner, assuming she was a normal girl, and not some weirdo who begged men she knew for a cup of sperm.
“I’m so glad Sean turned me down.”
“Damn, Francesca, so am I.” He smiled. “Hey, is that my Christmas gift?”
I touched the pendant around my neck. I had placed the snail charm he gave me on a chain.
“It’s such a lovely piece. Thank you.”
He touched my clavicle, slipping his finger beneath the chain and raising the charm to get a better look. My skin tingled where his fingertips skimmed.
“Best gift ever,” he murmured. “Snailed it.”
I started laughing—who didn’t love a good pun?—and he joined in, the sound deep and resonant against the bottles and metal kegs in the storeroom. In this moment, I felt nothing but joy. Everyone out there was thrilled for us. I had the best partner in Jason, a man who wanted to travel this journey with me. I had everything I needed, the support network, the resources, the baby in my belly. Everything but one thing.
Him.
Maybe it was my pregnancy brain, but this proximity to him was driving me wild. At one time, he would have been interested, but now, with my body so changed? And it wasn’t as if I would be less confused afterward. I would still be holding onto the dream of a conventional life, only I would be dragging this man into it, purely because I might not relish the idea of being a single mother after all.
His eyes dipped to my lips, and my mouth dried at the prospect. Oh God, kiss me. Please.
“Think that’s you,” he murmured.
Yes, it is. It’s all me.
“Your phone.”
“Oh!” I pulled it from my purse, expecting a message from Vi or Dad or my aunts. It was from Rosie.
And it wasn’t good.
“What’s up, Doc? And I mean that literally.”
I blew out a breath. “I have no idea why, but my mother has come to the party.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Franky
* * *
I left the Empty Net storeroom, feeling like I’d been up to something naughty, but without the benefits that usually accompanied a quickie under the radar. What if someone had seen us? They would probably assume I’d taken advantage, hooked my love dart, and trapped him. The cougar egghead with her dried-up ovaries, desperate to drape herself in the sheen of vitality a hot stud like Jason presented.
“Francesca.”
