“We already told our immigration officer at our interview last week,” Ri admitted. “Can you believe it takes so long for them to process a visa that the tiny human might be a fricking toddler by the time we have it?”
I took Ri’s hand in mine. The interviews had gone very well. Between the work I’d done to create our backstory in Tickle DMs and the reality of us, truly in love, expecting our first child, there was not an immigration officer in the world who would look at us and think this wasn’t the real deal.
“That’s bureaucracy for you,” I murmured.
Amanda rolled her eyes sympathetically and stood. “I’ll let you getdressed. It’s so good to see you again, Ri. I was worried when you disappeared from Icebergs. I just said to Levi last week that I hoped everything was working out for you, and I guess now I know why you stopped training.”
“Morning sickness has been a killer,” Ri lamented, glossing over everything we’d been through over the last several weeks. “How’s Levi doing? The Olympics are only a couple of weeks away, right?”
Amanda nodded. “That reminds me. Your next appointment will be with one of my colleagues. I’m travelling to Paris—taking Lil to watch her daddy win gold.”
Ri grinned, her eyes glinting. “She’s a lucky little girl.”
“She is. Maybe your little one will get to see their mum swimming in 2028?”
Ri shrugged. “Anything’s possible. “Henry tells me that Daisy Hall is a hot tip for gold in the women’s breaststroke this year, and she’s just come back from her second baby.”
Amanda nodded. “Women are so much stronger than they’re given credit for. We birth babies! If we can do that, we can do anything we set our minds to.”
“I’m heading back to Icebergs soon—I’ve been told by a certain someone who is now an expert on all things pregnancy that swimming is great exercise for me.” Ri smirked up at me, and a blush crept over my cheeks.
“Well, he’d be right,” Amanda agreed. “And keeping up with your training throughout the pregnancy will mean it’ll be so much easier for you to get back to competition fitness afterwards. Just listen to your body—if it’s telling you to slow down, pay attention.”
Ri nodded solemnly, stroking her belly. Her expression morphed into a soft smile. “I want Tiny Human to love the water as much as I do. Can we talk water births?”
Amanda grinned. “We certainly can … next time I see you I’ll be sure to bring all the information about our facility here. We can even do a tour if you’d like.”
“I’d like that very much.” Her hand covered mine where it rested on my shoulder. I made a mental note to add water births to the list of things I needed to become an expert on.
“Your little one will be lucky too, with parents like the pair of you.” With a squeeze of Ri’s hand, Amanda left the room.
“It’s so weird that I already know her! Sydney feels so big and yet so small at the same time,” Ri remarked as she climbed back into her panties.
Her phone buzzed. Her face split into a mischievous grin as she typed. I couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder, skimming her reply to Kat’s question about how things were with ‘the billionaire’.
“I thought you were joking when you said I drove you crazy.”
She tilted her head in my direction, winking. “You know more about pregnancy than I do, and I’m the pregnant one!” she teased. “And you remind me of it every day.”
In a terrible attempt at an Australian accent, she growled, “Ri, take your multivitamin. Catnip, soft cheese isn’t good for babies. Irina Baxter, I don’t know how they do things in Romania, but in the rest of the world, Vodka is a big no-no during pregnancy.” Her voice returned to normal. “I wasn’t going todrinkit; I was only getting it out of the freezer to make room for all the healthy meals you’ve been prepping!”
I shrugged, unapologetic. “This is what I do, Catnip. Pregnancy was a conundrum to me, and I untangled it. Knowledge helps me feel like I have a tiny bit of control, that I understand it enough to support you through it.”
“And I love you for it. My problem-solver husband,” she said affectionately, tugging me down for a kiss before turning back to her phone, slipping on her shoes as another message from Kat came through.
“Are you going to tell her about Tiny Human? Since we’ve been given the all-clear to spill the beans?”
Ri shook her head. “Not yet. Soon. But not yet. She testified against the asshole who attacked her today. It’s not the right time to make things all about me.”
I took her hand in both of mine. “It might be a very welcome distraction for her.”
Ri bit her lip. “I think I should wait. Just another week or so.” She wrinkled her nose adorably at me. “It’s nice that it’s still our little secret.”
“Lucian knows,” I reminded her.
“Lucian’s family—he doesn’t count.”
I blew out a breath and decided not to push further. One day she would feel comfortable sharing her secrets without feeling like she was burdening others or selfish for sharing her exciting news. But it wasn’t going to happen overnight.
