“Can I make a confession?”
“I guess.” Her mind raced with the possible scenarios, and she almost missed his admission.
“Is it me, or does she look like an alien?” he asked with a solemn, concerned expression.
She burst into laughter. “That’s normal at this phase in the sonograms.”
He emitted a low whoosh. “So everything is fine with her?”
“According to the doctor and tech, she’s perfectly normal.”
“Good.” He stopped in front of the passenger door and opened it. “I mean, I’d love her just the same even if she wasn’t. I didn’t mean for it to come across otherwise.”
“I know.” And in her heart, she did.
After he’d taken his seat and started the truck, he looked at her. “Are you hungry? We can stop for lunch before we head home.”
“I’m pregnant. Hunger comes with the territory.”
“What is our little girl in the mood for?”
“Hmm.” She stared down at her belly. “What do you think, little girl? Oh? Is that right? Anything but Mexican? All right, I’ll let your daddy know.”
Jared chuckled. “That narrows it down.”
“Do you know what I really want? A fried egg sandwich and a plate full of hash browns.” Now that she’d thought of it, nothing else sounded satisfying. It had to be one of those pregnancy cravings everyone mentioned because she hadn’t had an egg sandwich in years. Her mom made them several nights a week because they were cheap and easy, and after Sybil had moved out, she’d vowed never to eat another.
“I know the perfect place if you don’t mind riding twenty minutes.”
“Fine with me.” She adjusted her position and tried to find a comfortable spot.Why didn’t I suck up my pride and wear the maternity pants?“Where’s it at?”
“A few miles past our neighborhood on a back road. You’d miss it if you didn’t know it was there.”
Dare she ask? Would he honor her request without asking questions that had embarrassing answers? “Would it be too much trouble to stop by my house first?”
“Not at all.” His eyes narrowed and immediately filled with concern. “Everything fine? We don’t have to go eat.”
“I want to change real quick.” Bashfulness came over her, and she answered him with a downcast gaze. “I, um, thought I could still get away with wearing my regular pants. My stomach’s letting me know that was a false assumption.”
She detected a smirk, but to his credit, he didn’t comment other than to say, “No problem.”
When he parked in her driveway, she ran inside and rushed to change. The maternity jeans were strewn over her bed where she’d left them earlier in disdain. She tugged off her regular pants and tossed them in the hamper. When she slipped on the elastic-waisted pants with the stretchy fabric that covered her daily-growing stomach, her body thanked her.
“Much better.” She turned off the bedroom light, locked the house and met Jared again in the truck.
His lips twitched, and he scratched his cheek.
Self-conscious now, she pulled down the visor and examined her face. Nothing stuck out at her. Did she have half her shirt tucked in by accident? She looked down. Nope. “What is it?”
He averted his gaze and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “The tags are still on.”
“Oh no.” Embarrassed, she hurried to rip them off then shoved them in her purse. She’d avoided removing the tags in a vain hope she’d be the rare person who didn’t need maternity clothes, but that had come back to bite her.
We have a child together—this is not that big of a deal.She repeated that to herself until the heat left her cheeks. So what if Jared knew the pants were brand new—her embarrassment was an overreaction.
“Robert’s, the restaurant I’m taking you too, is a small family-owned joint.” Jared navigated a curve, then continued speaking. “They serve a full menu all day, so you can have a burger for breakfast or an omelet for dinner.”
“I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it. Then again, food like that is typically off limits.”
