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RYAN
I holdout my hand to Harper. “Let me see it again.”
She beams at me and gives me the ultrasound picture she’s been clinging to. We got several from the ultrasound technician, but this one is our favorite. Our baby’s profile picture. It’s incredible. And absolutely perfect. The small nose and lips. The hand by the face. I can’t get enough of it and have never witnessed anything as fascinating as today. To be able to see my baby move on the screen, to see everything down to the spine and organs was beyond mind-blowing. Especially since it’s barely the size of a lime at this point.
We stop on the sidewalk, and Harper peeks over my elbow at the picture in my hand and sniffles. I don’t blame her. My eyes didn’t stay dry at the doctor’s office either.
“I still can’t believe this baby is actually in my belly.” Her hand flies over her stomach, and I put mine over hers on instinct, wanting that contact. Needing that connection. Now more than ever.
Her eyes snap up to mine, a stunning ocean blue. Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“Do you . . . want to have lunch somewhere?” I almost slip and ask her if she wants to come back to the hotel with me so I can do dirty things to her. But I don’t. Thinking about the hotel room reminds me of something else. “Oh, I also have a surprise for you at the hotel.”
Her eyes go wide. “You do?”
“Yeah.”
The smile she aims at me has my dick stirring. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all.
“Can we do the surprise first and lunch after?” She’s almost vibrating from excitement. It’s adorable.
“I take it you like surprises?”
Her eyes are wide, her smile wider. “Looooove them, especially good ones.”
I store that info away for later. “All right. Let’s head back to the hotel first then.”
She takes my hand and pulls. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come on. Move your sexy ass.”
I laugh and shake my head, a smile staying on my face almost the entire time.
Because shit, this . . . us. Holding hands, kissing, being so in sync. Sometimes I was worried I’d imagined this connection between us, but it’s there. One hundred percent alive and buzzing between us. And it feels even better than I remembered.
Did I fly to New York, hoping for a friendly welcome? Hell, yes.
But to have her as excited to see me as I am to see her, to see the same desperation in her eyes as I’m sure is visible in mine, is still jarring. Though in the best possible way.
It doesn’t take us long to get to our destination, and I open the hotel room door for Harper to walk through.
She takes off her coat and whistles. “This is a nice place.”
I shrug. “It was close to the doctor.”
She gives me a weird look I can’t decipher before she scans around the room. It’s a regular suite. All right, maybe I got one of the more luxurious ones, hoping she’d come back with me. It has a bed, dresser, a small table with two chairs, a desk, and a couch. It’s definitely more spacious than other hotel rooms I’ve stayed in.
Harper’s gaze lingers on the massive bed for a second longer until it snaps back to me. Not taking her eyes off me, she walks to the bed and sits at the end of it, her feet dangling in the air and crossed at the ankles. She tilts her head to the side and continues to stare at me, a soft smile lifting the corners of her beautiful mouth.
I could get lost in that mouth. And in those eyes.
But wait, isn’t there something we’re supposed to do?
My muscles tense. Oh shit, her surprise.
I hold up a finger. “Sorry, one second.”
Then I rush to my bag and get the box I packed, hiding it behind my back while I walk to the bed.
When I stop in front of her, my legs lightly brush against hers as I hold out the box. Her gaze is fixed on my face, going back and forth between my eyes and my mouth.
