Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,41
swamped him. “God, Rels,” he whispered. “You just made everything I’ve been struggling with feel okay. I agree. You and I held back from each other for too long. Let’s not do that to B. Regardless of what happens here, let’s show that sweet baby girl as much love as we can while we wait for the truth to come out.”
“That sounds perfect to me.” She smiled and said, “I’m a little less nervous. Are you still nervous?”
“Insanely . . .”
“Then take a deep breath, pretend you’re negotiating a business deal. Imagine you’ve just taken over a big corporation, you’re in the boardroom with other bigwigs, and you have to keep your cool. You’ve got this, Benny boy. I have faith in you.”
And just like that, she centered him. He straightened his spine, holding tightly to Aurelia’s hand as they climbed the front steps and knocked on the door.
A pretty blonde peeked her head outside, and after a few seconds recognition shone in her eyes. “Ben?”
“Yeah,” he said uneasily, wishing he remembered her name. “Hi.”
She stepped outside wearing a maternity shirt over a very pregnant belly and capris, pulling the door partially closed behind her.
Ben cleared his throat to hide his relieved smile, and he squeezed Aurelia’s hand, reading the same relief in her eyes. Although he wasn’t sure why he felt so relieved, considering that this nailed down the mother as the woman in Los Angeles, who would be about as easy to find as a needle in a haystack.
The blonde looked curiously at them and said, “What are you doing here?”
“I, um . . .” His mind went blank. “You’re pregnant. Rels, she’s pregnant,” he said stupidly.
She rested one hand on her belly and smiled. “Married, too. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”
“Married? That’s great,” he said too enthusiastically. “Congratulations. I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.”
“Of course I remember you.” She looked sheepishly at Aurelia and said, “We helped each other get over some stuff a while back.”
The door opened behind her and an enormous man stepped onto the front porch. Ben was six one, and this guy had at least three or four inches on him and probably thirty pounds of muscle. He put an arm around the blonde and said, “Everything okay, Jenny?”
Jenny! That was it!
Jenny smiled warmly and said, “Yes, fine. Ben is . . . an old friend. He was just . . . ?”
“Uh, funny story.” Ben fumbled for words. “We—”
“We were wondering if you taught couples yoga,” Aurelia said quickly. “We heard it was really great for couples looking to connect on a higher level. But maybe you don’t teach it anymore, since you’re pregnant? So we’ll just be going. Sorry to have bothered you.” She tugged Ben down the steps and said, “Good luck with your baby!”
They hurried to the truck, both of them chuckling.
Aurelia flopped back against the passenger seat, exhaling loudly. “Whew. For a moment there I thought you had another baby coming, but then Paul Bunyan appeared.”
They both laughed, but the thought wasn’t really funny.
Ben started the truck and said, “Couples yoga? Connect on a higher level?”
“What did you want me to say? ‘Sorry, Mr. Muscles, but Ben had sex with your wife . . .’?”
“They weren’t married back then,” he reminded her as he drove away. “I wouldn’t sleep with a married woman. You know that, right?”
“I know. Now you can tell me how great I am for getting you out of that debacle.” She flashed a cheesy smile, and her phone vibrated with a text. “Oh my gosh, Ben. My heart is melting.”
He stopped at the corner, and she turned the phone toward him, showing him a picture of B in the baby swing with one of the pink blankets he’d bought her tucked around her. All the tension that had been simmering beneath his laughter disappeared, replaced with the most contented feeling.
“Isn’t she the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?” Aurelia said softly.
His heart swelled with love, and when he shifted his gaze to Aurelia, it grew even bigger—because of the talk they’d had about showing their love for B and for the woman who was clearly going to give her more love while she was with them than she could ever hope for.
CHAPTER EIGHT
WEDNESDAY EVENING AURELIA’S apartment smelled better than an Italian restaurant. It had been an emotionally exhausting and uplifting day. Between their visit with Jenny, squeezing in work on their laptops, and caring for B, Aurelia had been