Page 91 of Need You To Choose Me

I watch as my son tilts his head. The movement is almost imperceptible, but I’ve been observing him intently for the last few months, trying to figure out how much of this whole thing with the divorce and move screwed him up, so I don’t miss it. Levi was craving a woman’s attention. Not just that, he craved amother’sattention. Something Reina so rarely gave him, but not Savannah. She loved and cared for her students like they were her own.

Was it because she didn’t have the same when she was younger?

I guess it would make sense.

Pushing down the knot in my throat, I slide my hand on Levi’s back. “C’mon, you two, let’s go and see what else they have.”

Levi doesn’t need to be told twice; he grabs Savannah’s hand and pulls her toward the shelves. “C’mon, Miss Parker, you have to see this!”

Savannah laughs but doesn’t protest or try to shake him off. Instead, she lets Levi drag her through the store and listens intently as he points out all the things he thinks the baby might need, which are mainly toys.

“You know, Levi, the baby needs other things.” I fight my laughter as he tilts his head to the side, a frown appearing between his brows.

“What other things?”

“Lots of things,” Savannah explains as she points at the selection. “A crib, stroller, one of these bouncy seats.”

She looks them over, her attention fixing on one that’s a light gray color.

I move closer, testing how compactly built it is. “This looks nice.”

“It does,” Savannah comments absentmindedly as she turns over the price tag. “A hundred and fifty dollars?” Her jaw all but hits the floor. “Are they nuts? For a bouncy seat?”

“It’s not that bad?—”

Her head whips in my direction as she shoots me a death glare. “Not bad? This is stealing! No way. There are way more important things I need to get. Like clothes and diapers and a stroller.” She shakes her head. “Freaking bouncy seat. C’mon, Levi, let’s go look at the strollers.”

Taking his hand in hers, the two of them scurry off, but I make a note of the bouncy seat she was looking at before following after them.

If she wanted the damn bouncy seat, I could get her one. It wasn’t about the money.

But I bite my tongue and watch her take in the store and all the things. I knew exactly when she found something she liked because her whole face would light up, only for some of the light to disappear when she saw the price tag. And yet, not once did she ask for anything.

Stubborn woman.

“Oh my gosh.” She lifts up a little blanket in the air and looks at it. “Look at how cute this is. It matches the elephant.”

It really did. The blanket was white, with little gray elephants on it that indeed matched the one Levi found earlier.

But it wasn’t the blanket that held my attention. It was her. The tears shone in her eyes. The bright smile. The pure happiness at such a simple thing.

“I think I’ll get it. We can bring the baby home from the hospital in it. Maybe find a cute matching outfit.”

We.

That one word echoes in my head as she and Levi continue chatting.

She said we. Not I.

It was the first time she did it on her own and warmth filled my stomach. She was starting to open up to me. To this idea of us. Of our family.

“What do you think, Blake?”

“I think it’s perfect.”

She’s perfect.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll be getting this. Do you think we have time to check out cribs? I really need one of those.”

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