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I sighed and smoothed a hand over my belly. The weeks felt like they were flying by, yet were impossibly slow at the same time. Work at the Sugar Bowl was busy as we served our usual customers in addition to taking on holiday orders. Huck often relegated me to sitting on my ass and packing boxes of pastries, tarts, and pies. I would grumble at him, but some days it felt good to keep my feet up.
Nightly foot rubs from Duke helped significantly. I was no longer hiding out in his bedroom, but rather spending the evenings sprawled across him while he read a book or we watched a movie in the living room. Duke had all but moved back into the primary bedroom, and I swear, his mere presence threw my libido into overdrive.
The quiet moments were my favorite. The moments where Duke looked at me and his eyes softened after stomping in from checking the fields or working on whatever project he was keeping a secret in the barn. Oh yeah, I totally know he’s up to something, but I let him think I was clueless. The first few times I had asked him about it, he blushed—yes,blushed—got flustered and changed the subject. Knowing each of us has had our fair share of dramatic changes these last four months, I figured I could cut the guy some slack.
After checking in with the receptionist, I hung up my coat and waited to be called.
A few minutes later, Duke burst through the door and beelined toward me. His brows pinched down and his face was hard. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Right on cue, the tiny baby inside me started what felt like a gold medal gymnastics routine. Whenever Duke was around, it was as if the baby could sense Duke’s mere presence—a neon arrow flashingHey you! Pick me! Over here!
Duke’s hand moved over my belly, and my heart did a tiny twist. Duke still hadn’t felt the baby move, but it didn’t stop us both from being hopeful.
I smiled up at him. “You’re right on time.”
He huffed and slid into the too-small chair next to me. He leaned in. “You look beautiful.”
I let my eyes wander over him, shamelessly breathing in his earthy, masculine scent. “You look tired.”
A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “Thanks.”
“Ms. King?” A nurse rounded the corner as we both stood, then followed the young nurse, who had a kind face.
I inched closer to Duke. “Are you nervous?”
His hand found my lower back as we walked down the hall toward the room. “Not even a little.”
I chewed my bottom lip. Sometime last week I had fallen down a doom-scroll rabbit hole about the twenty-week ultrasound. Sure, everyone heralded it as thebig one, the one where you could find out if you were having a boy or a girl. But it was also the one where you found out if the baby’s development was on track and whether all their parts and pieces were formed correctly. I couldn’t help but worry.
After the nurse weighed me—Duke had the decency to look away after I gave him a death stare—she handed me the robe and quietly excused herself. I undressed and slipped on the floral robe. Instead of looking away, his eyes ate up every inch of me, from tits to toes. His dark eyes smoldered as he watched me. A small part of me wondered if he found memoreattractive now that my belly was rounded with his baby. I reminded myself to tease him about having a breeding kink when we got home. That would guarantee a growl and send tingles straight to my clit.
Duke stood like a sentry while my legs swung from the end of the table. “I think I am a little nervous,” I finally admitted.
His eyes intensified as he looked at me. “About what?”
My fingers twisted. “I don’t know. A lot? Do you want to find out what we’re having? I’m not sure. And how do we find out? Does the doctor just blurt it out and that’s it? That seems so... abrupt. Plus, the internet said this ultrasound is abig deal. It’s the one they might be able to detect something that doesn’t look typical. What if something’s wrong? I think I had deli meat before I even knew I was pregnant, and did you know that it could be crawling with listeria?” My voice rose with every statement.
Duke’s thick, rough palm glided over my exposed knee as he hovered over me. “Hey.” His hand stroked up and down my thigh. “Everything is going to be fine. I have watched you be careful and take your vitamins and even stop using nail polish because of that one article you read.”
I looked down at my sad, bare toenails.
“You’re doing great, Mama.” He kissed the top of my head, and my center ignited. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with our kid. If somethingisatypical”—he shrugged—“doesn’t matter. We’ll love them either way. It’s you and me.”
His stern reassurance wasn’t only a turn-on, it was all it took to tumble me head over heels in love with him. I blinked up at Duke. I wanted to be brave—to grab his face and plant a kiss on those full lips andfinallyadmit what I’d been saying in my head for a while now.
I love you.
I loved Duke so much it manifested as a physical pinch in my chest if I thought about it too long. I had opened my mouth to finally let the words slide out when two gentle knocks sounded, followed by Dr. Hokum’s dark hair poking through the door.
Duke’s deep-brown eyes flicked up to her, and I straightened in my seat. After a few cursory questions, Dr. Hokum arranged the large computer cart and monitor so she could perform the ultrasound while allowing us to view the baby.
Duke hunched over in a stool with his elbows planted on his knees, his deep eyes studying the monitor. The probe slid across the cool gel on my belly as Dr. Hokum chose different angles to check measurements and make notes. She briefly talked through each part of our baby—spine, organs, blood flow. It was truly fascinating.
The bridge of my nose burned as I looked onto the perfect silhouette of the growing baby inside me. He or she was no longer a gummy bear blob, but a perfect tiny person. I could see the outline of the baby’s button nose, and a laugh spilled from me when the somersaults they were doing made it tricky for Dr. Hokum to get a few measurements.
“Feisty one in there.” Dr. Hokum chuckled and slid the probe to try a different angle.
I glanced at Duke, whose eyes never left the monitor. His expression was hard and difficult to read, but his eyes flicked across the screen, soaking up every detail.
