He laughs and kisses my forehead. “Oh no, what a surprise.”
I drop my head down on his chest with a sigh. “Even if they did let me delay my start, we’d have to figure out childcare, and I’d still have a very young baby at home. I don’t know.”
“Listen, a wise woman once told me, sometimes you have to put your own needs first. Or something like that. Anyway, you’re not putting your goals on hold any less than I am. We’re in this together, and we’ll find a way to make it work. If you start in January, I’ll stay home with the baby.” He cocks his head to the side with a smirk. “You gotta admit, I’ll make one hell of a DILF.”
I laugh, but my head’s nodding in agreement. “As long as I’m the only one who gets to actuallyFyou.”
“Duh. Besides, I bet you anything my parents willhelp out, or we’ll find a nanny. Heck, doesn’t the stadium have a daycare? There’s options, Lark. Don’t give up on your dream. Promise me you’ll at least ask them if you can start later.”
I let myself consider it, trying to imagine participating in the internship in the new year. It won’t be easy, there’s a lot to consider, including my position with the Tridents. But he’s right. I won’t know what’s possible if I don’t ask. “Okay. I’ll send them an email.”
“Great. Are you up for some breakfast? I’ve got to be at the field pretty soon. But I want to make sure you’re fed.”
“I can take care of myself, you go to training.”
Dan steps back and looks down at me, intense love shining in his eyes. “Baby. Let me take care of you, please.”
I let out a mock sigh of suffering. “Is this a new kink for you? Caring for me? First, it was the shower last night, now you want to feed me? What’s next, are you going to dress me and carry me everywhere, too?”
He pretends to consider it, and I slap his chest with a laugh.
“Ouch, hey! Don’t kink shame, Birdie.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I giggle, dodging his hand that’s reaching for me as I dart into the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I open the door and see him sitting on the couch, a goofy expression on his face as he scrolls on his phone.
“What are you looking at?”
His gaze bounces up with a dash of guilt. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“Seriously. It was nothing.”
I fist my hands on my hips and stare him down.
“Okay, fine, I was looking at this chart that talks about thesize of a baby throughout pregnancy. Right now, it’s the size of a raspberry. A raspberry! Lark, come on. That’s freaking cute.” He launches off the couch, pulls my shirt off, and before I can say anything, he’s blowing a raspberry on my stomach.
“Dan!” I shriek, trying and failing to push him away.
When he finishes, he rocks back on his heels and gives me an unrepentant grin. “A raspberry for our raspberry.”
“You. Are. Ridiculous.” I try to frown, but it doesn’t work; I know I’m smiling back at him. “Come on, let’s go and get breakfast.”
“Maybe they’ll have raspberries!”
After breakfast, everyone makes their way to the field. I find the trainer’s area and check in with Mattias.
“Glad you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks, me too.” I debate telling him why I was sick, but don’t. It feels too soon, not just because the experts say to wait, but because I want to keep it just between me and Dan a little while longer.
Our baby bird.
Our secret raspberry.
“So far, no new injuries. A few players need increased conditioning, which Caden is designing some plans for. If you can connect with him and make sure the conditioning plans cover the ongoing rehab for anyone that needs it, that would be great.”
“On it.”
