Page 62 of Flawless

“Yeah, it is. So, are we still on for lunch today?” Before I could answer, he asked, “Hey, are you dealing with morning sickness or anything? If you are, we don’t have to go out. I can bring lunch to your place? If you feel like eating? If not⁠—”

“It’s fine.” I had a feeling his caretaking instincts were going to kick in from now on… and I wasn’t about to complain. “It’s actually worse for me first thing in the morning. But if I eat a little something and my blood sugar stabilizes, it’s usually passed by noon. I’m lucky, I guess.”

“I hate that I can’t be with you,” he said, softly. “Just to bring you breakfast in bed, rub your back, indulge your favorite craving…”

He was my favorite craving. And not talking to him for awhile helped me forget how easy it was to love him.

“You’re sweet, but I got this.”

“I meant what I said last night. You’re not going through this alone. I know you pride yourself on being independent, because you’ve always had to be. But this is different. This is my baby too, and I won’t let you feel alone. Ever.”

It was so easy for him to undo me completely.

“I appreciate that.” The faint rolling in my stomach was my cue to get off the phone. “Um, I should go. Where do you want to meet?”

“Mind if I pick you up? Say around noon?”

It sounded a lot like a date, but I wasn’t going to argue about details. I really did want to spend time with him.

“Sure, I’ll see you then.”

By the time Cam picked me up I was feeling like a new woman. Showered, wearing a cute boho dress with a denim jacket and cowboy boots. And feeling surprisingly well, after a brief bout of nausea that passed quickly.

“You look great,” he said, sizing me up from head to toe as he passed me a beautiful bouquet of multicoloured roses tied with a chiffon ribbon. “I know this isn’t a date, but I figured bringing my baby-mama flowers would be allowed.”

I laughed. “Thanks, they’re beautiful.” I hadn’t dated many guys who brought me flowers, but I had a feeling Cam would be the type to make it a habit if we were a couple. “Come in while I put these in water.”

He followed me into the kitchen and when I couldn’t reach a vase on a high shelf, he did the honours. With his front pressed to my back, and his spicy cologne making me swoon, I was fighting the urge to beg for a baby-making-encore.

“Thanks,” I said, when he reached around me and turned the water on to fill the vase.

He was literally encircling me and I wasn’t even mad about it. Damn. How was I supposed to resist this man for the next eighteen years if I felt a rush every time he was around?

Ugh. I just had a thought that turned my stomach. What if he met someone else? What if he married her, and gave our baby a step-mama I hated? And of course I would hate her, because every time I saw her satisfied smile, I’d know who put it there. And exactly how he did it.

I couldn’t have that.

I surprised him by turning into his arms. “We need to have some ground rules.”

He looked confused when he said, “Uh, okay.” He took a step back. “I didn’t mean to crowd you. I was just⁠—”

“It’s not that.” If anything, I was tempted to grab his shirt, haul him closer and lay one on him. “You can’t— uh, we can’t⁠—”

God, I was stammering like an idiot.

“You’re not allowed to bring other women around our baby.” My hand instinctively covered my stomach. “I mean, when they’re born, you can’t, we can’t, expose our child to other people… other partners, unless the other one knows about it and approves.”

I wasn’t even sure that was fair or reasonable, but I didn’t care.

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

My mouth was suddenly dry, but I forced the words out. “I’m talking about dating. You can’t date other women.”

Great, I’d officially entered the glow-and-go-crazy-stage, apparently.

“I mean, obviously you can date other women, if you want to. But you can’t bring them around our baby. Unless, it gets serious.”

Which would suck.