I smiled. “Until I hear otherwise, I’m carrying a Valkyrie. A Viking shieldmaiden.”
“I know what a Valkyrie is, Doc. I’ve seen the Thor movies.”
Of course he had.
Chapter Thirty-One
Jason
* * *
Finding the alarm off was disconcerting, though I wasn’t too worried because my spare key on the entryway table suggested Theo or Lauren had stopped by.
Finding Goldilocks on my sofa was even better than I could have imagined.
Franky was curled up on my sofa while the TV showed ESPN’s Coby Dawson interviewing my old captain on the Cougars after they had lost their game. I picked up the remote and muted it, then took a seat beside Sleeping Beauty. (I was killing it with the fairytale references.)
I had gently removed her glasses and grabbed a fleece blanket from a basket by the side of the sofa and draped it over her. Then I snuggled into the ten inches of space she had left on her right side and placed an arm around her waist. My hand moved tentatively over her stomach.
My baby inside my woman.
And with that happy thought, I had fallen asleep.
Now she was cooking for me. Sure, it was leftovers, and anyone could throw mashed potatoes in the microwave, but it was still nice to have someone waiting on me. Of course, I had to be careful about that illusion because that was all it was.
Dr. St. James was not wife material.
Maybe for someone, a nerd like London Clam Guy who probably had a housekeeper on hand because he and his egghead wife would have all this important research to do. A nanny, too, because they certainly wouldn’t have time for child-raising. I hadn’t thought about that. What was the doc going to do there? That level of detail wasn’t laid out in the contract.
We sat down at the kitchen table with our meals. Dante’s mashed potatoes were creamier and fluffier than my mom’s, but Aurora’s yams were still the best of all of the veggies.
“So, how’s the childcare going to work?”
Franky looked up sharply.
“Not a trap. Just wondering.”
“I was thinking of taking a sabbatical for the first year while I write a book.”
“You’re writing a book?”
“Yes, on the mating habits of gastropods. I’ve written a few articles, and while this is an ostensibly esoteric subject, I think it has enough merit for a monograph.”
Just when I thought I couldn’t be any prouder. “You’re going to be tired those first few months.”
“I expect that. I may hire part-time childcare, but I’ll be doing most of it myself. I want to be sure the child bonds with me and not some stranger.”
A little defensive, but I got it. Women were expected to do it all, and the doc would be hyperaware of the expectations around motherhood, especially the single variety.
“You’re not alone in this. The baby’s due in early July, so we’ll be in the off-season then. That’s the first three months covered.”
Her eyes went wide. “But we won’t be living together.”
No, but she could move in here for the summer. The place was certainly big enough—I had bought it with a family in mind. The thought of her here … didn’t terrify me? Probably because I liked the idea of having my baby on site. Franky was just a bonus.
Best not to spook her. “I can pick the princess up from you, let you get your rest and some work done, then drop her off.”
She nodded slowly. “Perhaps. I’ll be on summer break then anyway.”
