Page 55 of Fumbled Love

If I was honest, I wasn’t a fan of the continuous buzzing energy either. It was great initially, but the excitement wore off after a while. That’s why I usually avoided the tourist traps. There were parts of the city I still loved, just not the places that people came to visit.

As we got closer to Central Park, I threw my empty cup in the trash and entwined my gloved hands with his. “At least I let you skip the museums,” I teased, remembering they weren’t his thing.

“You won’t hear any complaints from me, but you did have me nervous when you pulled me into that art gallery that you worked at in college.” He smirked.

Maverick didn’t believe I worked at an art gallery until the owner, Davis, ran through the lobby squealing the second he spotted me stepping off the elevator. My former boss got even more excited when he saw the handsome man next to me. And not because he was a football fan, but because my boyfriend was exactly the type of man he was attracted to.

“I think you made a good impression on Davis,” I said, trying to hold in my laugh.

“Really?” he said sarcastically. “I couldn’t tell.”

I giggled. “Thanks for being a good sport.”

He pressed his lips together. “He was harmless, only patted my ass five times.”

“I must have been distracted; I only saw him do it twice.”

He scowled, and it was hilarious. “Thanks for the save, by the way.”

We stepped aside so a young mother with a double stroller could pass us by. There was a toddler in the front bundled up in a pink snowsuit and a little boy in the back dressed in blue. They both seemed fascinated with all the dogs getting their daily exercise.

“So,” Maverick said, glancing over his shoulder one last time, “I downloaded one of the books the doctor recommended. Did you know our baby is the size of a kidney bean right now and in two more weeks, it will be the size of an apricot?”

I tried hard not to swoon over the fact that he was already reading up on the growth of the baby. “I did not know that.” My hands went to my stomach. “Wonder what he will look like in twelve weeks?”

“He’ll be the size of a plum or an apple. I can’t remember all the different fruits. Wait a minute…” He stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. “He? Do you know something I don’t?”

I shook my head. “Just intuition.”

He stared at me longer than necessary, trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. Once satisfied, he resumed walking. “The doctor said we could find out at twenty weeks. Do you want to know or be surprised?”

“What do you want to do?” I asked, curious to hear which one he’d pick.

“While it would make it easier to know if it was a boy or girl, I kind of like the idea of being surprised. I feel like it would make the moment more exciting.”

I never thought about it like that. There was so much about the labor and delivery part that scared me. Maybe not knowing would give me something to focus on and look forward to.

I squeezed his hand. “Then we’ll wait.”

He looked surprised. “Really? Just like that?”

“Absolutely.” I adjusted the hat on my head. “I think it will be fun having everyone guess and make bets on what the gender will be.”

He looked at me like he was seeing me differently. “You are just full of surprises. This trip has been a real eye-opener.”

“Predictable is boring, right?” I teased, bumping my shoulder with his.

“Yes, I’m still trying to get over the fact that you worked at an art gallery, considering you know nothing about art.”

I laughed. “It helped pay the bills. Living in this city isn’t cheap, but at least I got to meet a few celebrities.”

“Oh, yeah? Anyone I know?”

I smiled at a memory that popped into my head.

“Usher was a frequent customer. We bonded over the fact that we were both from Georgia. He tried for months to get me to go on a date with him.”

His glove-covered hand gripped mine a little harder than necessary. “I knew I never liked that fucker. I’m going to make sure he gets shitty seats next time he comes to the stadium.”

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