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He held his arms open to her, and she stepped inside them and rested her head against his chest, wondering what he was going to say. She knew he was happy, but something was bothering him.
“I do think it’s wonderful, it’s amazing. It’s a miracle.” He placed his hand over her stomach. She already loved the way he did that. “I guess I just need a little time to get used to the idea. We need to figure out what it means, for us, for our life.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, we joked not so long ago that I’d be a stay-at-home dad.”
She nodded. “And I was only half joking when I said that I’d be jealous—of you and the baby. Right now, it feels like no joke at all.” She put her hand on top of his. “I’m going to be a mom. I’m going to want to be right here at home with our little one …” She smiled and looked up at him. “Do you want a girl or a boy?”
He shook his head. “I don’t care. I just want a healthy baby. I’m beyond the stupid family stuff about wanting a boy to carry on the family name.”
Molly smiled. She knew that was major progress for him. “You know, a girl can carry on the name if she wants to as well. She doesn’t have to take her husband’s name, even if she does get married.”
He nodded, looking serious.
“You don’t agree?”
He smiled. “I do. It just made me wonder if you’d want to take my name or keep your own.”
Molly looked into his eyes. “I don’t know.”
She hadn’t thought about that yet—because he hadn’t asked her to marry him. She smiled as she remembered her conversation with Chelsea about how she wanted him to hurry up and ask—that something inside her made her feel it was important they should get married sooner rather than later. Maybe Chelsea had been right—it was women’s intuition. And there was no question now that there was, literally, something inside her that, in her mind at least, made it important that they should get married soon.
He held her gaze for a long moment, then looked away. “Smoke and Laura are coming this weekend.”
The way he changed the subject so quickly took her by surprise. Was he disappointed that she hadn’t said, yes, she wanted to be a Di Giovanni? Well, tough. She didn’t need to answer that one until he asked her to marry him. “That’s nice.” She didn’t know what else to say.
“Are you going to take the weekend off?”
She nodded. “If Grady doesn’t mind, I think I will.” She’d already called Grady this morning and asked if he could cover for her today. Neither she nor Marcos had slept much last night. The shock of their news had left them with so much to think about, and they’d made love again in the early hours. It had made Molly feel closer than ever to him. It’d be good to have the whole weekend together. They needed to get used to the idea that they were going to be parents. “Do you want to see Smoke and Laura? Do you want to tell people yet?”
He shook his head slowly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it to ourselves for just a little while. Only a few days.”
She nodded. “That suits me.” She’d want to share the news with her dad and her friends, but she liked the idea of taking their time. She knew she’d need to be ready for all the questions they’d no doubt face, and she didn’t know the answers to them herself yet.
~ ~ ~
Marcos checked his watch. Smoke and Laura should have landed by now. He couldn’t wait for them to get here. He’d called Smoke this morning and asked when they might arrive. Smoke had been uncertain whether they’d come today or wait until tomorrow. Marcos had been relieved when Laura had persuaded him that they should come today. She was almost as eager for Marcos to see the ring as he was. His eagerness wasn’t simply about seeing it, though. It was about asking Molly to marry him, and about her wearing it as a token of his love. He wanted for them to marry as soon as possible. It didn’t matter that she was pregnant before they were married, but he wanted them to be married before the baby came. If he knew Molly—and he hoped that by now he did—she’d want to get married before she was showing too much.
He went out onto the patio where she was sitting with her feet up reading.
She smiled up at him. “I could get used to this.”
“So, get used to it. You don’t have to go back to work if you don’t want to; you can take it easy till the baby comes.”
She laughed. “Maybe later. I’m enjoying it for today, but I think I’d go out of my mind if had to sit here and read and do nothing else for the next six months.”
“Do you think you can stand it for the next hour or so? I need to run into town and take care of a few things.”
“Of course. I’m fine. Unless you want me to come with you?”
He shook his head, trying not to look panicked. “No. It’s fine. I won’t be long. Do you want me to bring anything back?”
“I don’t think so. Not unless you want something in particular for dinner. I was going to make—”
“Nothing. You’re not making anything. I’ll take care of it.”
She laughed. “I’m not a delicate flower, you know. There’s nothing wrong with me. Maybe when we get closer to the time, I’ll need to rest up a bit, but right now there’s no reason I shouldn’t be cooking or working or …” She waggled her eyebrows. “… having sex.”
