Page 120 of Need You To Choose Me

“Did you ladies find what you wanted?” he asks, glancing between the two of us.

“I think so.” Becky’s eyes narrow, letting me know this is far from done, but I’ll take any reprieve I can get. “I’m debating between these two shades of gray. I worry the darker one could be a bit too dark for the nursery, then again, the furniture is white so…”

“Did you think about adding wallpaper, maybe?” Malcom waves us over. “We don’t have many options for children’s rooms, but I can show you what our supplier has available online, and we could order some for you.”

We follow him to the front of the store. He turns his laptop and opens a browser, pulling up a page, so I move closer.

“They have some really amazing options,” Malcom explains, his shoulder brushing against mine as he points at the screen. “Do you know what you want? They have stuff for both girls and boys so?—”

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “I actually don’t know what I’m having.”

Malcom glances at me, his brows raised. “Really?” He winces and shakes his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to probe. My sister was pregnant a couple of years ago, and she had this big ass party to find out with all of our family. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, but hey, she was happy so…”

“No fussing over here.” I rest my hand on my bump. Munchkin was quiet, then again, this baby was a night owl. “I just want Munchkin to be healthy; that’s the only thing that matters.”

“Munchkin, huh?” He grins at me. “That’s a cute nickname.”

“Thanks.” I glance at the laptop. “Do you think we can find something neutral? Maybe with elephants?”

Malcom blinks and quickly nods. “Elephants, sure, let’s see… How about this?”

The bell rings as I lean down to look at the small details on the image. Elephants were scattered around in the sky indifferent poses, some were sleeping, others playing, and one even had a balloon tucked in its trunk.

“This one is adorable,” Becky says, just when I feel a hand slip around my waist.

“What is?”

The familiar, deep voice has the hair at my nape prickling at attention.

“Blake!” I look over my shoulder, and my heart does a somersault when I find Blake’s face only inches from mine. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

Blake’s eyes take me in quietly, an unreadable expression on his face. His palm slides over my bump, and almost immediately, I can feel a soft kick. And I’m not the only one.

The corner of Blake’s mouth tips up as he rubs his thumb over the spot, almost in a greeting. “I guess somebody missed me.”

His excitement is palpable, and I can feel the warmth spread inside my chest. How could anybody take this away from him? I still couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

“We went to get ice cream, but then—” Levi chimes in happily, but Blake interrupts him quickly. “Then I saw the store, and I figured I’d grab some sandpaper and check out what colors they have for that dresser you wanted repainted for the nursery.”

My lips part in surprise. “Oh, that’s…”

“No.” Levi shakes his head before I can finish, drawing my attention. “We saw Sav through the window, and you?—”

“Wanted to say hi,” Blake finishes once again. “Which is good because look at this, she found elephant wallpaper.”

Becky snorts loudly. My attention darts to her to find an amused expression on her face at Blake’s clear attempt at distraction. But what did Levi have to say that Blake wanted to hide? It didn’t make any sense.

“I wanna see!” Levi exclaims as he rushes for the counter.

Before I get a chance to move, Blake’s hand around me tightens, my back plastering to his strong chest as he pulls me out of the way.

Just friends?Becky mouths, her smirk growing bigger.

I press my lips together, feeling the heat rise up my neck, but I don’t say anything. What was there to say? Wewerefriends. We certainly weren’t a couple. It didn’t matter that my body got all tingly at even the smallest of touches and that I dreamed of him kissing me again. It was these damn pregnancy hormones. That’s all.

Besides, starting something more would only make this whole situation even more complicated, and we have enough complications as it is.

“They look like the one I got for Liam!” Levi’s whole face lights up.

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