Her nose turns up at the mention of her least favorite color. “Even that. Though I’ll actively avoid spending time here.”
Shaking my head with a low chuckle, I peek into the bags with her, pulling out miscellaneous items. “My father never really cared to personalize my room. I doubt it was even fit for a child.”
Her arm rests against mine. “What happened to your mother?”
I shrug. “I don’t remember her much. She died when I was young. Brain aneurysm, but there aren’t any photos of us, so I doubt she was the maternal type anyway.”
Natalie makes me turn to face her, cupping my cheek. “I wish my mother was still alive. She’d love our baby as much as us, but our child will be loved because we know what it’s like to not be.”
I swallow the ache growing in my throat. “I hope so.”
She smiles. “Though I can’t promise she won’t be spoiled.”
I grab her, patting her butt with a grin. “Of course not. She’s not even here yet and her mother has created a whole mini store in our home.”
With a sigh, Natalie kisses me and then pushes away to go back to the bags. “Have you given any more thought to names? Take the tags off all this so we can wash it.”
“Can’t Sarah do this?” I grumble under my breath, grabbing the stack of clothes from her hands.
She glares at me. “I want to do everything for my child. Maybe when we’re in the thick of it, and exhausted, I’ll gladly take Sarah’s help. But my mother did everything for us. I want—if she could do it, so can I.”
I lean over, kissing her forehead. “I was joking. I got used to doing my own laundry when I was living in the apartment. I’m not incapable.”
Moving to the dresser, I grab the small trash can in the corner. “And no, not really. It feels strange naming another human.”
She hums. “It does, especially when her last name will carry so much power.”
I pull a few tags off. “Ella?”
“Ellie?” Natalie counters, then laughs when she sees my crinkled nose. “What was your mother’s name?”
“Ruth, and that’s a hard pass.”
She snickers. “I hate to agree, and I love my mother, but Brandi is not my favorite.”
I withhold my comment that the only Brandis I know were passed around the club or worked the pole, because I don’t want to disrespect her mother. But I fully support not naming our child that either.
“We still have a few more weeks to decide, so no point in stressing about it now.”
Natalie laughs. “I stress over accidentally sleeping on one side for too long. Names are absolutely up there.”
“We’ll find a name for our little princess,” I say, my hands holding up the small piece of clothing. God, a few weeks and I’llhave a baby that can fit into this. It’s wild how much my life has changed in a few short months.
Chapter 11
Natalie
“I thinkI’m going to throw up,” I say, moving to the trash next to the desk.
“Sit down,” Henry orders, snapping his fingers at the chair to his side. He’s taken the one behind his father’s desk. He’s outfitted in a tailored button up and slacks, hair combed back and facial hair neatly trimmed. Even with the tattoos peeking out under his sleeves, every inch of him has the sophistication one would expect to come with the Dansworth name.
I swallow down the bile, carefully sitting and rubbing at my belly. We’re getting closer to the end of my third trimester, and it is starting to feel so real that I can barely comprehend we’re going to have a baby soon.
Henry reaches over, cupping the swell of my stomach. “Everything will work out as it should.”
I nod, wanting to cling to that hope. Even if we don’t get the full estate, we’ll be well off, but I don’t want to lose anything. I’ve come to love everything about this place, even the people whowork for us, but I don’t know if it’s something I could afford on my own. My father would want me to sell it for profit.
Allen walks in, stalking straight to the large table and setting his briefcase on it. I glimpse at Henry and then back at the pompous lawyer. He holds our fate in that ugly brown case.
