Smiling at Rylan, she cupped his face and said, “Stop worrying. I’m fine. I was just thinking about the house. I’ll have to find something else. Something to buy earlier than I’d planned.”
He unlatched her seatbelt and helped her from the truck. “Not yet. We’re not thinking about anything beyond taking a test, remember?”
Hand in his, she let him lead her to her front door. He’d pulled her keys from the ignition and was opening her door before she thought to protest. “I don’t need you to do everything for me, Ry.”
“I know.” He glanced back at her as he tugged her inside, a smile formed on his mouth and in his eyes. “But I like doing it.”
Hard to argue with that. And right now, she really didn’t want to. It was nice to have someone supportive by her side while she found out if she was going to have a baby.
Ry’s baby.
She wanted that. The baby. She wanted to be a mother. To have a family.
She looked at the man in front of her. Could they be a family? He said he wanted this, that he wanted to be involved, but was he only saying that to keep her calm?
Stuart had often told her what she wanted to hear so she would stay calm and not argue with him. Of course, he never followed through with anything he’d promised or found a way to get out of doing it. Usually said it was her fault he couldn’t follow through on something.
Why had she been so blind when it came to that man? She’d let him tell her what to do and when. She’d let him turn everything around on her. And she’d accepted it. Embraced it even. Took the little crumbs of his attention and affection and convinced herself she was happy.
She couldn’t afford to let the same thing happen with Rylan.
Wait. She wasn’twithRylan.
No. They were—maybe—going to have a baby together. They didn’t need to be together to do that. Obviously. Well, except for the being together to make the baby part which they’d done already.
They probably shouldn’t do that again. Have sex. Not if they wanted to remain friends and co-parent a child. Continuing to sleep together would only confuse things, complicate an already complicated situation.
Great, now she was rambling in her own head.
“Stop.” Rylan’s hands cupped her shoulders. “Stop thinking. I promise you everything will be okay.”
Searching his gaze, she tried to determine his sincerity. Did she believe him? Could she trust him to stand beside her through this? Should she? She had to at least trust him with their child.
Inhaling through her nose, she filled her lungs and nodded. “Okay. Everything will be okay.”
His smile bloomed, lighting up his whole face. “Yes, it will. Now”—he turned her toward her bedroom—“go get out of your uniform, shower, do whatever, and I’ll make you some dry toast to nibble on. Then we’ll head to my place so I can get changed before we go shopping.”
Shopping. Like they’d done last weekend. Was that only three days ago? It seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened. She’d spent most of the weekend with him and Sunday night in his bed, and now they were going to find out if they had made a baby.
She turned back to face him. “I don’t think I can keep the toast down.”
“That’s okay, we’ll try anyway. It’s what they recommend.”
“They recommend?”
A sheepish smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah, I might have looked up some things on my phone last night to help with morning sickness. I’ve got a list of foods that might help, and there are some suggestions about certain vitamins helping and different tea blends. Oh, and you should stay away from coffee or drink decaf.”
“You . . . a list . . . decaf . . . Wow.”
He’d researched things to help her feel better. She didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she felt cared for. On the other, she felt out of control, as though he were taking over like...
No, he wasn’t anything like Stuart, and she should be grateful he put in that much effort for her.
“Thank you. I’ll try the toast.”
“Good. Go on now. And think about the shower. There were some women on the forum who said a lukewarm shower helped them get through morning sickness.”
Mazey let him spin her around and nudge her forward. Glancing back, she found him watching her with concern. Hoping to alleviate some of his anxiety, she smiled then went into her room to grab clean clothes, her steps and mind relaxed.
