“Welcome home.”
She was wearing leggings and a loose T-shirt — her pajamas — and her black hair was pulled back in an elastic. A few strands had fallen loose to frame her face, and her cheeks were pink. She seemed relaxed compared to the worried woman he’d first met a few weeks ago.
“Hey.” Theo went and sat next to her. “How was dinner?”
“Good. Jack had fish sticks, French fries, cucumber and carrot sticks — all the ‘stick’ foods,” Nina said, chuckling. “Then we played some games, and he went to sleep.”
“I missed him,” Theo shook his head. “That’s too bad.”
“There’s always tomorrow.” Nina smiled at him. “I saved you some dinner, if you want some.”
“Fish sticks?” Theo asked.
“No, my dinner. I had stir-fry with veggies. It isn’t fancy, but if you haven’t eaten yet, I can heat some up for you.”
“Yes, please. But I don’t want to disturb your work; I can do it myself.” Theo stood, ready to navigate the kitchen on his own.
“No, no. It’s fine. I was almost done anyway.” Nina shut the laptop and stood too, leading the way to the kitchen. There, she opened the fridge, where a covered plate was waiting, and put it in the microwave.
“What was up at work today?” Nina asked, turning to lean back against the counter.
“An emergency board meeting.” Theo sighed and folded his arms. “Our CFO went on a sudden early maternity leave with pregnancy complications, so we needed to scramble to replace her.”
“Is she okay?” Nina asked. The microwave beeped and she took the plate out, setting it on the table for Theo. He sat.
“She’s fine, just on bed rest for the last trimester.”
Nina winced. “Poor thing. My third trimester was a struggle enough, and I got to waddle around. I can’t imagine being stuck in bed.”
Theo glanced at Nina. It was surprisingly easy to imagine her with the soft round stomach of pregnancy, one hand resting on her baby bump and a gentle smile on her lovely features. Now, though she was wearing plain pajamas, she looked as beautiful as if she were in an evening gown.
“I can’t imagine what best rest would be like,” he said honestly. “I need my work. I would hate being stuck in bed.”
“You’d go stir-crazy.” Nina laughed. “But I thinkIcould use a few weeks on bed rest now. Chasing a five-year-old isn’t easy.”
“Nothing about parenthood seems easy,” Theo admitted. “Honestly, it’s hard to imagine pregnancy at all.”
Nina chuckled. “It’s the most magical and uncomfortable thing at the same time.”
Theo smiled. “That seems like a good way to describe it. Do you…” he trailed off, unsure why he was even asking this, “do you want more kids?”
Nina sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Yes and no. I love Jack more than anything. I loved him when he was a baby, with his baby-powder scent and the way he’d fall asleep on me like a sack of potatoes. And the way he’d stare up at me with those big blue eyes… I’d love to have another baby. Just like I love Jack. But it’s enough of a struggle to raise one kid on my own. There’s no way I could handle two.”
“And you’ve never considered dating again? For real, I mean.”
Nina shook her head. “No. I always thought it would confuse Jack. And I was always tired from working and raising a kid on my own, so I wanted to give the little energy I had left over to him.” Her expression turned sly. “I hearyouhave quite a dating reputation, though.”
“Aha,” Theo paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and glanced at her. “Well, I have been known to date a little.”
“One of the moms told me that you show up to every event with a new lady on your arm,” Nina said. Her eyes were twinkling, but Theo winced.
“Sorry.”
“Why?”
“Hmm?”
“Why are you sorry?” Nina smiled. “It’s not like we’re really together. Why should I care if you like dating around?”
