What's Life Without the Sprinkles - By Misty Simon Page 0,82
no way he was going into this with his eyes clouded. Though it was many years since she and Peter had last been together, he was her last significant relationship and Nate did not want to be the rebound.
“There is no Peter. He just wanted to see if he could get a ready-made family without any of the work. Without any of the work you’ve done all these years without me even realizing it.”
“Oh no.” He held up his hands. “You’ve done all the work with Justin. He loves you and is a great kid because of you.”
“And because of you. You always have been there for him and for me.”
“So I’m the sprinkles?” He was almost afraid to ask in case his hearing had been faulty earlier.
“I don’t know if I’d call you sprinkles, actually.”
He felt his face fall into a frown. Why couldn’t he be her sprinkles? “I want to be the sprinkles.”
“No, Nate, what I need is the sugar.”
“Huh?”
She came and sat on his thighs, snuggling into him as if his lap had been made for her. And maybe it was.
“Sugar is the base for the cake, for the icing, for the sprinkles. It’s the thing you need for all of it to come together. I’d call you the eggs, since that’s the binding ingredient and I want to be bound to you, but I don’t think that’s nearly as romantic, and it doesn’t sound as good as calling you my sugar.”
“Does this mean I’m going to fatten you up?” he joked, squeezing her and wanting to kiss her until neither of them could breath.
“Only if you plan on getting me pregnant.”
His breath backed up in his lungs. “Do you want that?” God, to watch Claudia grow big again, this time knowing it was his child living and kicking inside her. Rubbing her belly again, knowing it was his son or daughter rolling inside her womb. Talking to the baby and loving it as much as he loved the son she already had.
“I want it all, Nate, and I want it with you.”
“What about Justin?”
“Are you kidding? Justin is going to be over the moon. He’s going to be home soon, so if you’re planning on kissing me again, you’d better do it quick before we have to sit down and explain all this to him.”
He passed a gentle hand over her hair. “I don’t know what kind of family we’re going to make, Claudia, but we’re going to do our damnedest to make it as close to our dreams as possible.”
“That’s all I want. You’re all I want.”
“Same goes, babe. Now lay one on me so we can go back to all those people spying on us from down the street and tell them the news.”
“What news is that?” Claudia asked coyly.
“The news that you’re finally going to make an honest man out of me.”
She laughed, and it was music to his ears and his heart.
****
That night, Claudia and Nate sat Justin down in the living room above Decadence. Claudia asked Zoe to find something else to do so that she, Nate, and Justin could talk together as the family she hoped they would soon be.
“What’s up, guys?” Justin said, coming into the living room with his ball and mitt in his hands. “Is Nate going to take me to the batting cages? That would be really cool.” He slyly looked at Nate out of the corner of his eye, and Claudia couldn’t tell if Justin was just trying to get one over on them or if someone had told him about the display in front of Decadence before she got a chance to lay it out for him herself.
Nate laughed and held Claudia’s hand. Justin’s eyes zeroed in on the motion in a split second. His face squinched up, and Claudia wasn’t sure if he was about to cry or cheer.
“Justin, Nate and I would like to talk to you.”
“Why is he holding your hand? I’ve seen him hold your hand to help you over a short fence or something, but not just hold your hand when you’re sitting down.” He looked skeptical, and she couldn’t blame him.
“Well, honey, this is what we wanted to talk to you about.” Claudia cleared her throat, not sure where to actually go with the conversation now that she had started it. “Um…”
Nate jumped in. “Look, guy, what your mom is trying to say is that…um…”
She and Nate both laughed, looking at each other. They weren’t going to be