Page 49 of Home Run

There’s the silver lining,Radley had announced, taking one look at the tank top, only to slowly back away as the scowl on my face deepened.

I’d already made the mistake of looking at myself in the mirror this morning—which had only blackened my mood—so I didn’t bother again before I left my room. I barely remembered to say goodbye to the framed photo of my dad, resting on my desk.

No doubt Radley was in the kitchen warning Tanner of my Wednesday morning disposition, and when I found him leaning over the counter watching Radley pour two coffees out into to-go cups, my teeth ground so hard I swear I heard a crack.

It was entirely unfair.

Not only had my body expanded overnight, but so had my face. I used to have cheekbones, and now I resembled a child’s rudimentary drawing of the moon.

But there was Tanner in all his chiseled glory, perfect tight ass on display, laughing at whatever Radley was saying, while showing off a side profile any Roman god would die for—razor-sharp jawline, strong nose, and the sculpted cheekbones I was now missing.

Radley’s eyes sliced to mine as I padded into the kitchen. “There she is.”

Tanner spun around, dazzling smile splitting his perfectly proportioned face as he leaned back onto the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. “There’s the most beautiful girl I know. And may I say, you look very pretty this morning.”

From his weirdly upbeat tone, it was clear Radley had ratted me out, made more obvious by the smirk she was trying to hide.

“I don’t look pretty. I look fat and puffy,” I snapped.

Tanner pushed off the counter and in three long strides was standing in front of me, encasing me in an invisible cloud of that all-familiar Tanner scent, the one which always had the same heart-racing, breath-shallowing effect on me. His bright blue eyes roamed my face until I almost couldn’t bear the intensity of them.

“What?”

Pushing away a curl of hair stuck to one of my now-sizable cheeks, his palm stayed in place, holding my face. “That’s no way to talk about the mother of my future child. You are nothing short of stunning, and you get prettier every single time I see you.”

Leaning in, he kissed my cheek, his lips lingering against my skin long enough for me to forget about my lack of clothing, overnight expansion of my body, and all-around bad mood. When he turned and walked back to the kitchen counter, my entire body had uncurled from the tension it had been carrying since five minutes after I’d woken.

“Now, are you ready to go and see our baby?” Tanner picked up the two coffee cups and passed one to me.

I nodded, though my focus was on Radley, along with the sheepish smile I was sending directly her way. “I’m sorry for being such a grump this morning.”

“You’re forgiven.”

“I’ll bring you back a sonogram picture and take you to lunch as an apology.”

“I would have accepted just the picture, but I’m not saying no to lunch.”

“Tick tock.” Tanner stood by the elevator and tapped his watch. “Let’s go, Mama Bear.”

Ignoring the hand he was holding out for me, I frowned instead, and stepped into the elevator. “What?”

“What? That not work either? The mama bear got grumpy in the morning too.”

“That’s because someone broke into her house and stole her porridge.”

“You sure she wasn’t just grumpy?”

“I’m sure.”

“Huh,” he replied, hitting the button for the entrance lobby.

Twenty minutes later, we entered the same reception room we’d been in over a month earlier, when Doctor Scott had delivered our news. The month had passed both quickly and painfully slowly. And in two months we’d be back for the twenty-week ultrasound, where I’d no doubt be thinking exactly the same thing.

Tanner sat down in the same chair as he had before while I registered with the receptionist. For reasons I couldn’t explain, I sat across the room, and when he looked up from the magazine he was reading, confusion fell on his face.

“What are you doing over there?”

“We sat there last time.”

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