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“I only see him when he wants money.”
She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I stopped counting on him a long time ago.”
“I’m still sorry. My dad’s the best, you know?” She’d stopped stroking my chest, but now she resumed her gentle petting. “So, no Esposito,” she said when all I did was grunt. “But I’d still like to name him after you. Maybe Talon could be his middle name.”
I shrugged. “Why don’t you come up with a list and run it by me? We can choose together.”
“Any preferences?”
“Nothing too fancy. I’m not saddling him with some long, pretentious name. Other than that, it’s up to you.”
Her chuckle vibrated through me. “Now how did I know you’d say something like that?”
I squeezed her shoulder. “Watch that smart mouth, baby, or I’ll find something to keep it busy.”
She giggled and relaxed against me again, her fingers toying with the hair on my nape.
“So what were you sewing?” I asked.
“An outfit for the baby. Rio bought me a yard of purple fleece and I’m making him a hoodie and a pair of joggers.”
“You know how to do that?”
“Not really.” She grinned up at me. “I’m figuring it out as I go along. Rio got me a sewing machine—I think Kerry had an extra.”
“Can I see?”
“Sure,” she said and scooted forward, preparing to stand. “I just finished the pants. They’re in the bedroom closet.”
I helped her rise, following her to the bedroom door. She went into her closet, returning with a pair of miniature joggers. “Here,” she said, handing them to me.
“These are for the baby?” I held them up in front of me, a strange constriction in my chest.
She nodded. “I started with the pants—I figured that would be easier.”
I flashed on what the baby would look like, all tiny and fat-cheeked, his little legs encased in the soft purple material. I think that’s the moment when he became real for me. Even though I’d felt him move, heard his heartbeat, he hadn’t been quite real. More an idea than an actual person.
Now it was like this tiny being had balled up his fist and punched me in the gut.
Me and Eden, we’d made a person together—a little boy. I was going to be a father.
My throat cinched. Because what if I fucked it up like my old man?
“D’you like them?” Eden asked.
I forced my attention back to the purple joggers. “I do, yeah.”
I examined the neat stitching, trying to focus on it instead of the anxiety clogging my lungs. But when I did, I was seriously impressed.
“You’re good,” I told her. “I didn’t even know you could sew. I wouldn’t even know where to start making something like these.”
Her face cracked wide with a smile. You would’ve thought I’d given her a little blue box from Tiffany’s, not complimented her sewing.
“It’s easy. I measured a pair of my own joggers—to use as a pattern, you know—and then divided by a lot.” She chuckled. “I figured his waist and butt need extra room, too. Not that I don’t have a big butt…”
I dropped the tiny pants on a chair and pulled her to me, filling my hands with her round, firm cheeks. “Your ass is perfect.”
