Didn't Expect You (Against All Odds #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,76

She frowns, and I enunciate, “Berry and Barry sound almost the same. Do you want people to sing “Copacabana” when you tell them about Berry?”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m sure you’re the only ridiculous person who can compare berries to Barrys, but now you just ruined it for me. Fine, we’ll find something new.”

“Thumper,” I repeat in case she didn’t hear me the first time.

“Nope. It reminds me of Thumbelina, and I didn’t like that story while growing up. It’s a pretty dark tale if you analyze it. I’m pretty sure there’s human trafficking involved in it. Maybe Bean?”

I stare at her for a beat. She got that from a children’s book? Who are you kidding. You do the same with movies?

“Thumper as in the rabbit in Bambi,” I clarify. “The best friend.”

“Oh right. The one where the mother was killed in the middle of the woods and the child was left an orphan,” she answers. “Such an uplifting tale. We should call my child something after a joyful movie.”

“It was just a movie,” I insist.

“They killed the mom. That’s not a happy feel good movie—”

“Okay, let’s try something else. This looks like a smudge,” I mention, working harder on deflecting the emotions that are just pushing against each other.

Because in my story, they killed off the fucking father and gave the boy a new one. It’s like I never existed. Fuck, I’m still angry, and listening to her baby just brought everything up to the surface.

I’m not only angry at Bronwyn, or myself. I’m fucking upset at Edward because he doesn’t care about his baby or this moment. My blood is boiling the most because this isn’t my moment to share with Nyx. This isn’t my baby. And I might never get to have this again. Also, because I want to kiss her hard. Hug her and twirl her around and celebrate that we just met her beautiful baby.

“We’re not calling her Smudge,” she contends.

“I never said that. I just brought it to your attention that it looks like a smudge,” I correct her. “We can try something like Sweet Bun.”

“That’s…cute.”

“Just like her mother.”

“The flattery won’t get you out of the doghouse,” she argues. “I’m not happy about your ‘help.’”

“So, are we coming back after the sixteen weeks to find out if it’s a boy or a girl?” I deflect, again. She lost her job. I’m still unsure that the new project she’s working on might be right for her, and her house hasn’t received any offers yet. She has to save as much as she can in case things don’t work out for her. “Listen, I think we could get one of those 3D ones. Maybe those are for when they are older? We have to ask about it.”

“I…I don’t know,” she answers. “Should we learn if it’s a boy or a girl? It can be a surprise.”

“That’s a great question because there’s the nursery, the clothes, and most importantly, the name,” I offer.

She sighs, I can feel the tension creeping in as the muscles in her jaw begin to twitch. I take her hand, wave at Demetri when I spot him driving right in front of the building, and walk with her to the car. After opening the door for her, she slides into the back seat and I follow right behind.

“Listen to me. We can’t stress out about those simple details. I can have someone get the nursery ready within a day, and just like we did this weekend, I can get the clothes with a snap of my fingers. We can have a list of names for boys and girls.”

“You…” She looks at me strangely and shakes her head.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure if we should be friends while I’m going through this. What if I get the wrong idea? What if—”

“Are you getting the idea that I want to be there for you and Sweet Bun?”

“Well, yeah,” she answers and opens her mouth.

“Good, then we’re on the same page. The way I see it, I’m your best option.” I show her my index finger. “Persy is busy with her book, her rebranding, and my brother. Take it from me, that guy is a full-time job.”

“I wasn’t going to mention her.”

I show her now two fingers, “Eros is busy with the business, and he’s going to Costa Rica.”

“We’re not joining him?”

“We could if you want to, but I’m thinking that with your pregnancy it might be safer to travel during your second trimester—and I’m