you my parenting partner, my conception companion, my spawning sidekick—”
“Stop.” She put her fingers across my lips, and it took every ounce of self-control not to scrape my teeth over the digits and suck them into my mouth. “Why don’t you just tell me where I’m sleeping?” Her gaze dropped to her fingers—and my lips—and she flushed as she drew back.
“Where do you want to sleep?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Shit, that came out all wrong.” I shook my head. “How about I give you a tour, and you choose your room?”
“Sounds fair. How many rooms are we talking about?”
“There are eight if you count the guest house behind the pool.” I nearly bit my tongue. The guest house was probably the most appropriate place for her to stay, seeing that we were basically really awkward roommates, but I didn’t want her that far.
Shit, when had I started thinking of the guesthouse as far?
“Eight?” Her eyes widened, the green matching the color of her flowy top.
“If you don’t count the guest house,” I repeated with a forced, clumsy smile.
I took her for the tour, showing her what I liked to call the guest wing, which was home to my gym, the movie room, a small kitchenette, and separate living room and two of the bedrooms. “It’s nice for when my parents come. Gives them their own space, which they’ve gotten used to with Nate and I both gone,” I told her as we crossed into the space I used.
“This is where I spend most of my time.” The living room was vaulted to the second floor and boasted the biggest TV I could buy. The furniture was soft, comfortable leather, and the design clean and simple. The only art on the walls were pictures of my family.
“Holy shit, do you run a restaurant or something?” Liberty asked as she looked into the kitchen.
“No, but it came with the house, so I said, ‘What the hell, I’ll keep it,’” I joked. “Chef is here Mondays to prep meals. His name is Pete, and he’ll make whatever you want, so just leave a list. Margot and Mary come three times a week to keep the house up. They’ll love you.”
She blinked at me and paused as we reached the oversized granite island.
“What?” I asked, looking around to see if something offended her.
“You have staff?”
“Well. Yeah.” I shoved my hands into my front pockets, glad I’d worn the cargo shorts instead of the athletic ones. “I mean, I cook, too. That’s one of the reasons I bought this house. I liked that the kitchen looked out into the living room with that whole open floor plan thing.” The dining room was just off to the right, but I mostly ate sitting on the stools at the island or on the couch in front of the TV.
“You and I are from two completely different worlds.” She took a deep breath like she needed to steady herself.
“Kind of seems like we’re about to live in the same one.” Which was mine, of course, since I sure as hell wasn’t going to fit into her tiny apartment near campus.
Her hand skimmed over her belly, and she nodded. “Right. We are.”
I took her upstairs and pointed down the hall. “The master is down there, and there are two more bedrooms this way.” I pushed open the door to the closest bedroom, looking at it in a whole new light. The windows were large, letting a ton of natural light in, and the ensuite bathroom had a nice tub. “You know, this might be a good room for the baby,” I mused. “Unless it’s the one you want.”
Her shoulders were tense as she looked around the room. “I hadn’t gotten that far yet,” she admitted. “I’m not a big plan-the-nursery girl. I’m more of a best-hiking-kid-backpack girl.”
“Noted. We’ll register at R.E.I.,” I teased.
“Now, that’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” She grinned as we walked down the hall to the third bedroom. It had the same great windows, minimalist furniture, and was the farthest away in this part of the house.
“Closet is through there,” I pointed toward the far door as she explored.
“You can fit everything I own on one of these shelves,” she called after sticking her head through the doorway. “This one works. The desk is great.” She motioned toward the wooden expanse just under the window. “Unless you’d rather I take something on the other end of the house,” she blurted.
“No, I actually like you closer. That