Call Her Mine (Harmony Pointe #1)- Melissa Foster Page 0,80
thought she should have her own room here, too.”
Ben’s heart thundered against his ribs as he took in the nursery. A mobile of Winnie-the-Pooh characters hung above an oak crib with yellow sheets and pink padding around the bars. There was a rocking chair by the windows and a matching changing table against the far wall, beneath which were stacks of diapers, baby wipes, pink and yellow blankets, and more baby supplies. On the wall above the changing table was a quote in blue letters with two bees flying around it, trailing a swirly line of tiny hearts, followed by a famous Winnie-the-Pooh quote: “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen.” An antique white-and-oak bookshelf stood between the windows across the room, filled with stuffed animals and children’s books. He turned and saw one of the pictures of him and Aurelia kissing Bea’s cheeks that they’d taken in the kitchen, blown up and framed, hanging on the wall beside pastel letters she’d stacked in rows of three that read,
BEA
UTI
FUL
“I hope it’s not too presumptuous,” she said nervously. “My grandmother gave me the key to her storage unit. This is the crib me and my mom used. My great-grandfather built those shelves and the changing table for my mom. I know they’re not new or fancy, but—”
He silenced her with another kiss and said, “It’s perfect, Rels. You’re perfect. Even when you’re overwhelmed, you’re perfect. I want you to presume, baby. We want you. Period.”
“I want you, too.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “I made you a key to my apartment.”
“Aw, babe. You do love me,” he said teasingly, because he’d given her a key to his place two years ago, and while he’d had a key to her old apartment, she had yet to give him a key to this one.
“It’s not like my life hasn’t been crazy since I bought this place.”
He kissed her again and said, “You know I’m kidding. Thank you, and I’m glad things went well with Flossie today.”
“She told me you’ve been checking on her. Thank you for doing that. I didn’t know this, but my grandparents called my mom Bea.” She looked at the baby and said, “Grandma thinks that finding her on your doorstep, and naming her Bea, was a sign that my mom was smiling down on us.” Tears slid down her cheeks.
He took the baby from her, gathering them both in his arms, and said, “She is, Rels.”
She rested her cheek against his chest, rubbing her hand over Bea’s back, and said, “Did you know Bea means ‘one who brings joy’?”
“No, but that’s perfect for our girl—which reminds me . . . Bridgette bought us a present.” He pulled a pacifier out of his pocket and said, “Meet the pacifier, bringer of no more tears.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“YOU NEED TO calm the heck down,” Remi said over FaceTime Saturday evening.
“Calm down? I’m going on my first real date with the man I’m practically living with.” Even though they were spending weekends at Ben’s and Aurelia had plenty of clothes at his house, she’d come home to get ready for their date so she could find the perfect outfit. Ben was picking her up after dropping Bea off with his parents. “He’s going to be here in less than ten minutes, and I’m totally freaking out. I’ve been with Bea so much, I keep thinking, I should not dress like this!”
She might not be Bea’s mother, but she felt such a strong maternal pull, it was a little hard to separate having baby puke on her shoulder and enticing Ben to nibble on that shoulder. Her dark purple boatneck dress fit her like a second skin, with tight three-quarter-length sleeves, the bodice dipping in at the waist and hugging her hips. The skirt was slit on the left side and cut at an angle, exposing her left leg from midthigh down and crossing over her right leg just above the knee.
“On the mannequin the dress looked sexy but refined, like a classic novel,” she said. “But on me it looks like I stole it from the pages of an erotic romance novel. And the spike heels are too much, right? I wanted to be closer to Ben’s height, but they make me feel like a . . .”
“Vixen?” Remi suggested.
“Yes! And it’s as unexpectedly empowering as it is shocking to see myself like this, and a little frightening that I love that empowered feeling.”