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23
TENLEY
20 WEEKS
“Hi, Ms. Abrams. This is Violet, calling from Dr. Davey’s office. I’m just confirming your appointment on Thursday morning at nine. We have you scheduled for an anatomy scan.”
“Yes!” I cheer through the phone. “Yes. I will be there. Thank you so much, Violet.”
“Not a problem. Please make sure you arrive with a full bladder. We want to be sure the ultrasound tech can get a clear picture of your baby.”
“Of course. See you then.”
I hang up the phone and squeal. Squeal at the top of my lungs because in two days, I get to find out the sex of our baby. It’s been five weeks since Boston, and things have been oddly…smooth.
Oddly good. Dare I say…enjoyable. We’re getting into a groove between balancing work, living together, and August traveling for games. I never imagined myself knowing his schedule, but here we are.
Running my hands across my growing bump, I whisper, “I’ll love you no matter what you are. I’ll protect you and teach you. Show you the ropes of what it takes to grow up around power-hungry men. Your daddy included,” I tease.
I hear a soft noise behind me. “Don’t listen to your mother,” August’s voice chimes in, startling me. “We all know you’ll be one of the guys. Won’t you, buddy?” He places the Polaroid camera down and circles my front, bending to meet my bump at eye level. “May I?”
I think he’s asking permission to touch me. We’ve done nothing but touch since getting back from Boston, but this is different.
It’s an intimate touch, and no part of me would ever decline because this baby inside of me is just as much his as it is mine. So, I nod and fight to stand as the breath is taken from my lungs, watching August lean his forehead against my belly and close his eyes. “Love you already, little dude.”
Oh, goodness. Tears threaten to spill from my eyes at the preciousness of his words. Who is this man, and what happened to the old August?
This one affects me more than I’m comfortable with.
I need to distract my untethered emotions. “Who’s to say it’s not a girl?”
August stands. “I have a gut feeling. And it’s always right.”
I cross my arms at my chest. “Well, what about a mother’s intuition? That is a thing, you know.”
He catches me off guard, reaching out to touch my cheek softly. “Then we’ll trust it, Mama. Having a healthy baby is what matters to me.”
August leaves it at that and retreats to leave for the gym,but I do something out of the ordinary, even for myself. “Wait,” I say, reaching for his hand. “I wanted to ask you something.”
He pauses, eyes never leaving mine as he waits for me to ask.
“I have an appointment on Thursday to find out. Did you want to come with me?”
Happiness so vibrant and tangible claims him, and for a moment, I can picture a future with August. A future where we’re blissfully in love and raising a family together. Something I once considered a pipe dream, and August is the last person it would be with.
But now, not so much. He’s growing on me, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“I’d love to, Tenley. Thanks for asking me,” he says, eyes filled with gratitude. “Anything you need me for, I’m there. No questions asked.”
“Thanks.” I smile. “I know you have conditioning early, so meet me there at nine?”
He waves me off. “Nope. I’ll drive us.” And unable to react, he kisses me on the side of my head and rushes out the front door.
“I need a favor.”
“And I need Callaway to pick a girl’s name before I lose it on his tattooed ass.”
That causes me to pause. “Wait, he has tattoos on his ass?” I ask Kodi, unsure if I actually want to know the answer.
