Page 279 of Show Me

“What’re you up to?”

He gestures toward the back corner. “Go look.”

I walk forward. Then stop. A bassinet sits beside the workbench. Handmade. Smooth, curved wood polished to a soft shine. Pink bedding tucked inside. Beautiful.

My breath catches. “Xavier…” I move closer, fingertips brushing along the wood. “You made this.”

“I finished it this morning.”

Emotion swells hard in my chest. The bassinet is perfect.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper as I trace my index finger over the etched words on the end of the bassinet. Little girl, big heart. If it’s a boy, he’ll have to re-etch it.

His expression softens at the look on my face.

I blink rapidly against sudden tears. “You built our baby a bassinet.”

“Figured she deserved something better than store-bought.” He’s always said it was a girl, but the way he says it holds more conviction than usual.

I laugh through the tears threatening my eyes. “She?” A tear slips down my cheek. He nods. “Really?”

“Really.” Xavier’s smile deepens as a flush settles over his cheeks. “I know we said we didn’t care, but when the doctor wrote the sex down, I might’ve peeked.”

“Of course, you did.” I roll my eyes.

“It wasn’t on purpose.”

“You just said you peeked.”

“Fine.” He waves his hand in the air. “Be picky.” His face sobers. “I wanted to make sure the saying was right so that everything was perfect. Because you deserve perfect.”

Warmth floods my chest all over again. “A girl,” I whisper. The word feels unreal. Magical. Terrifying. Perfect. I rest my hand against my stomach. “A little girl.”

“You’re already planning matching outfits with Squirt, aren’t you?”

I gasp dramatically. “You know me so well.”

“I’m afraid.”

I laugh again and glance back toward the bassinet. “I love it.”

“Good.”

My attention drifts back to Xavier. The man before me is perfect. I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend and baby daddy. He’s everything I ever dreamed of rolled into one beautiful man.

I brace my hands on my hips. “Now, we have to figure out where it goes.”

My brain starts whirling. If I move my dresser, the bassinet can go against the bedroom wall. I don’t want the baby to be too far away from us, and the spare bedroom is across the house. Not to mention, it’s been turned into my office for school.

Clearly, I should’ve already been thinking about this. My heart skips a beat. There are less than three months before the baby is born.

Xavier cups my cheek. “Take a deep breath. We’ll figure everything out together.”

“Okay.” The instant his thumb brushes along my cheekbone, my anxiety drops down to a manageable level. He’s really good at that.

“We’ll keep her in the bedroom until we’re ready for her to be in a separate room, and then she’ll go into the nursery.”

“Nursery?” I arch a brow as he drops his arm down to his side. “We don’t have a nursery.”