Page 179 of Need You To Choose Me

SAVANNAH

“PJs.Check. Wipes.Check. Baby clothes.Check. Diapers.Check. Pads.Check. Little makeup bag.Check. Going home clothes.Check.”

With each item I check off, I place it into the open suitcase on my bed.

“What else am I missing?” I nibble at my lip, tapping my pen against my jaw, as I glance down at the list. “May?—”

“Are you talking to yourself now?”

I jump in surprise and turn around to find Blake leaning against the doorway of my bedroom; fingers casually looped around the hoops of his jeans and a teasing smile playing on his mouth.

“Blake! You scared the crap out of me.”

He just raises his brow. “Next time, you might try locking the door.” He pushes from the doorway and enters the room. “What are you doing?”

“Packing my hospital bag. You heard Dr. Gonzales, the baby could come any day now, and we don’t have anything ready. My bag isn’t packed. I didn’t wash any of the baby clothes. Thenursery isn’t put together.” I shake my head, the panic rising inside my belly and making it hard to breathe the longer I think about it. “Munchkin could be here, and we’re not ready?—”

“Hey…” Blake’s hands land on my shoulders, and turn me to face him, his palms cradling my cheeks as he looks at me. “Breathe.”

Those intense gray eyes bore into mine. A shudder goes through my body as I suck in a long breath, and the vise grip around my lungs loosens a bit.

“Dr. Gonzales also said your blood pressure and sugar are higher than she’d like, and you should take it easy. No stress.”

He’s right, dammit. I hate it when he’s right.

But it was easier said than done when all I could think about was that my stuff was scattered between two houses, and there were a bunch of things we had yet to do.

Before I can stress any more about it, my phone rings from somewhere on the bed. Blake lets his hands drop, and I go in search of the device, which is conveniently at the bottom of the mess I’ve made.

“Hello?” I ask, my voice coming out breathless.

There is a pause, and for a moment, I think the call was disconnected when Becky’s voice comes through the line, “Please tell me you’re not having sex to induce the labor.”

I’m pretty sure my eyes turn into saucers. “Wh-what? No. I was trying to find my phone in the mess that’s my bed.”

Becky sighs dramatically. “That’s not fun. Oh, well, in case you need it, it does help.”

“Becky!” I chastise, feeling my cheeks heat.

Blake just arcs his brows, an amused expression on his face as he mouths, “I’d be down for it.”

Why was I not surprised?

I glare at him as Becky continues, “What? It’s true. Try it, and you can thank me later.”

These two…“Was there a point to this phone call?”

“As a matter of fact, there was. Can you come to the Reading Nook? I’m thinking of making some improvements, and I need another set of eyes.”

“I don’t know, Becky.” My gaze falls to the mountain of stuff on my bed. “Can you send me a photo? I have to finish packing the hospital bag, and?—”

“She’ll come,” Blake says loudly, his arms wrapping around my middle.

“Blake, we just talked about it?—”

“Yes, we did.” He gives me a pointed look. “And we agreed that all this stress isn’t good for you or the baby. A couple of hours won’t change anything.”

I bite the inside of my cheek as I think his words through. I guess he was right, and I could always ask Becky what she took with her. It was a win-win.

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