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“What’s this?” I squeezed out of my tightening throat.
“For you. I’m told they do prenatal massages, foot treatments, anything you want. Or you could save it and use it after she’s here.”
I was nearly speechless. Elliot had barely acknowledged my pregnancy since our initial conversation—which had been more than fine, honestly—but hearing him call my babyshenearly undid me. I didn’t know why. Maybe because I had no one to talk to about any of this with besides Davida and Raymond. Having her acknowledged sent me into a mini tailspin. It made this even more real.
“This is incredibly generous. Thank you so m—”
My words were cut off when Baby Girl decided to do a death roll and shoved aside my lungs to stretch out and get comfortable.
“Catherine?” Elliot leaped to his feet in alarm. I would have told him I was fine, except I’d lost my breath. “Are you okay?”
When I didn’t reassure him quickly enough, he was around the desk, crouching in front of me.
“Catherine…”
“I’m fine,” I managed to say.
“You’re not—” His gaze caught on my belly. Mymovingbelly. Through my light-gray shift, there was no disguising the creature living inside me was up to something.
“She’s doing an imitation of an alligator.”
“That’s normal?” Elliot stared at my belly being prodded from the inside.
“I think so. It’s normal for her anyway.”
As if of its own volition, his hand started toward my middle. I held my breath, watching him move in slow motion. At the last second, his eyes flicked to mine, asking permission.
For reasons I couldn’t explain, I gave it to him with a nod of my head.
His palm stretched out on top of my belly, and Baby Girl pressed against him.
“Jesus,” he uttered. “Are those…feet?”
“Yeah. She must feel the pressure of your hand.”
His brow crinkled as he watched my stomach, and a swirl of emotion rocked through me. I’d been living through this shock and awe all on my own, celebrating milestones quietly by myself. Having this man, my boss, share this with me was so surreal, but it also made me incredibly wistful.
It should have been like this all along.
Liam should have been here for all of this.
How could Elliot care more for this baby than Liam had?
That wasn’t saying much since Liam didn’t care a single damn, but still. Elliot Levy was touching my belly to feel my baby kick with the kind of terrified astonishment her father should have had for her.
“Is this always going on inside you?” he asked, never taking his eyes off my bump.
I was starved for attention. That had to be why receiving this intensity from Elliot was so heady. I could have eaten it with a spoon. My chest heaved like I was in a bodice ripper. I dug my fingers into the arms of my chair, so I wasn’t tempted to lay my hand on top of his.
That the idea of weaving my fingers between Elliot’s made my toes curl inside my shoes said a lot about my emotional state.Elliot Levy, my intolerable boss.
“No, not all the time,” I told him. “She’s more active when I’m at work than anywhere else.”
He slowly shook his head. “There’s a real person in there.”
I had to laugh. “I think so, yeah.”
“She’s going to be here in two weeks.”
