twenty-nine
. . .
Jake
I’m waitingin the FlixPix parking lot when Natalie emerges from the building. She’s walking slower these days, one hand at her lower back, the other cradling her belly. Seven months pregnant and still showing up every day, still breaking stories, still proving she can do it all.
She spots my car and smiles, and something warm settles under my ribs.
God, I love her. I’m completely gone for this woman.
This is our routine now. I pick her up when I can, drive her home, stay for dinner. We’ve been practically living at her place since right before Christmas. Her cozy bungalow is nice, and I knowshe’s been slowly converting the guest room into a nursery, but with the baby coming, I keep thinking about space. About what comes next. And there’s something I’ve been wanting to show her for weeks now.
She climbs into the passenger seat with a groan. “My feet are killing me.”
“Long day?”
“We’re on episode four. Everyone’s getting punchy.” She adjusts the seatbelt under her bump. “Bernard pitched a joke about menstrual blood being the key to unlocking the curse and Rebecca just stared at him for a full minute.”
“Did she use it?”
“Shockingly, yes. With tweaks.” She leans her head back. “How was your day?”
“Good. Closed the St. James deal. Ryan’s pleased.”
“That’s great.”
I pull out of the lot, but instead of heading toward her place, I take the highway north.
It takes her a few minutes to notice. “Where are we going?”
“My place.”
She sits up a little straighter. “Your place?”
“Yeah. I want to show you something.”
She quiets, and I can feel her watching me. She hasn’t been to my house since that night months ago, the night that got us here.
“I’ve only been to your place once,” she says. “I’m not sure I remember much besides your bedroom.”
I grin. “Well, you’ll get the full tour this time.”
“Should I be nervous?”
“Why would you be nervous?”
“This feels very deliberate.”
“It is deliberate,” I say. “Just not in a scary way.”
“Now I’m definitely nervous.”
I reach over, take her hand. “Trust me.”
She threads her fingers through mine. “Okay.”
When I pull intothe driveway and turn off the engine, she stares up at the house, taking it in slowly, quietly.
