Teasing in Texas (At the Altar Book 10) (10 page)

He stood up and helped her to her feet. “I’m going to shower the chlorine off.”

“Me too. May I go first?”

“Of course. I’ll just use one of the guest bedrooms to shower.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or we could shower together?” He liked that idea a lot.

She shook her head. “Maybe after the baby’s born, we can play that game. Right now I feel huge and don’t want anyone seeing me.”

“You didn’t want me seeing you even before you were pregnant. Don’t try that excuse on me.”

She grinned, standing on tiptoes to kiss him. “I guess you know me a little if you don’t buy my sad excuses.”

He caught her shoulders and held her to him, feeling her belly pressed against his stomach. It felt strange to him, and he couldn’t wait to explore her body. She’d given him permission to touch at supper, and if it really wouldn’t hurt her, he was going to do it. He’d have to google it first, though. He didn’t want to risk anything with their baby.

Thirty minutes later, Jenni came out of the bathroom to find him using his phone. “Checking email?” she asked, drying her hair with a towel, dressed in a nightgown which came to past her knees.

“Just searching for something,” he responded. When she got into bed beside him, he put his phone on his nightstand, turning to her completely. “I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t desire you, because nothing could be further from the truth.”

She sighed, leaning toward him to rest her cheek against his bare shoulder. “I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions. I didn’t know what else to think.”

“Well, from now on, always go with the ignorant man excuse. I had no idea I could touch you or that you’d want me to. You were vomiting all the time, and now you’re not, but I don’t know what you’re
feeling
.”

She shrugged. “I’m feeling big. The baby is starting to move. I felt flutters today.”

“Flutters?” What did that even
mean
?

She nodded. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s like there’s this little butterfly wing inside you.” She bit her lip, trying to come up with a better way to explain. “Do you know what a butterfly kiss is?”

“You mean when someone puts their eyelash close to your cheek, and they blink so you can feel the eyelash, and it tickles?”

“Yes. That’s kind of how it feels. Like a butterfly kiss.”

“Can you feel it from the outside?” He pulled away a bit, looking down at her stomach, expecting it to do—something—he had no idea what.

She shook her head. “Not yet, but I should be able to within a month or two.”

Tony frowned. “I still have a hard time believing there’s a little human in there.”

Jenni shrugged. “You need to start believing it, because it’s not going to be much longer, and that little human will be out here, and we’re going to have to figure out what to do with it.”

He pulled her close again. “Well, until it comes out to see us, we can make love? When do we have to stop?”

She shrugged. “Some doctors advocate sex until you go into labor. Some say you have to stop a little before delivery.”

“Which do you believe?”

“If it hurts, we should stop. Otherwise, I’m enjoying my husband…”

“I like the sound of that.” He leaned down and caught her lips with his, his hands stroking over her body. One immediately went to her belly, and then pulled back, unsure if it would hurt her. “I’m afraid to touch your stomach.”

She laughed. “It’s just like a hard ball. I promise, you’re not going to hurt me even a little bit.” She took his hand and placed it right back on her stomach. “You need to get used to how it feels. When it’s time for childbirth classes, you’re going to be expected to touch it. Often.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are we doing childbirth classes?”

“You’d better believe we are. And you’re going to be my birth coach. You’ll like it.”

He looked down into her eyes with a frown. “Are you sure about that?”

She grinned pulling his head down for another kiss, glad he was touching her. She’d been worried their marriage was too broken to ever be this close again, so it was a relief to her.

A long while later, she rested with her head on his shoulder, her face flushed red from the exertion. “I think I like it better now that I’m pregnant. I wasn’t really expecting that.”

He kissed her forehead. “I got that impression. I’m sorry I wasted so much time when we could have been enjoying each other.”

“It didn’t bother you that I’ve gotten so huge?” That was the base of her worry. That he wouldn’t be attracted to her because she’d lost her figure.

“Never. That’s my baby in there. How could that bother me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Men are strange, and let’s face it, you’re a little stranger than most.”

He thought about that for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe I am. I don’t mean to be, though.”

“I think most men would have been pleased to realize they’d married an heiress.”

“I guess I am strange then. Because I’d much rather I’d married a penniless woman who was willing to work hard.”

She bit her lip, a tear popping into her eye. Did that mean he’d have been happier if he hadn’t married her? She hoped not, because there was nothing they could do about it now. They had to finish out their year together because of the contract, and she didn’t see either of them giving up custody of the baby she carried. They’d just have to muddle through.

Tony sighed contentedly, holding her close. It had been an emotional evening for them, but a good one. They’d come closer together, and when it came right down to it, he was glad she was going to quit her job. He wanted her around. It wasn’t that he wanted her to do a lot of stuff around the house, because that had never mattered to him.

No, he liked to be with her. He liked the days when he knew she’d be home before him, waiting. She was exactly what he’d pictured in a wife, except several million dollars richer. He was going to be able to get past that. He was sure of it.

Jenni turned her back to him, crying onto her pillow. He still wanted someone who had no money. Would he ever be content with the woman he’d married? Or would she never find a way to be good enough?

Chapter Ten

The last two weeks of working full-time at the nursing home went quickly for Jenni, and before she knew it, it was time to go in to find out the gender of the baby. She and Tony were doing a bit better, spending more time together, but she still felt as if he was deliberately distancing himself, especially after the comments about her wealth.

He came home from work just after lunch on the Wednesday of her appointment. “Do you want me to drive?” he asked, as he came out of the bedroom in shorts and a T-shirt instead of his work clothes.

“That would be nice, if you don’t mind.” She didn’t want to admit it to him, but it was getting harder and harder to get in and out of her truck.

He kissed her softly. “So do you think it’s a girl or a boy?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know really. Does it matter to you?”

They’d talked so little about the baby and how they’d raise him or her, it was scary. They would need to start discussing the important things and not just talk about money. She’d always thought the lack of money was what put stress on a relationship, but apparently with them, it was too much money.

Getting into the passenger seat of his car, she wiggled a little trying to get comfortable. “Are you okay?” he asked, not having noticed her acting uncomfortable at all before.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Baby’s just sitting off to one side funny, and I’m not super comfortable. No big deal.”

“Did you talk to the doctor about it? Is there anything they can do?” His voice sounded slightly panicked.

She laughed softly. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. It’s
really
no big deal. I’m not in danger, and neither is the baby.”

They’d chosen a doctor there in Southlake, so the drive was only a few minutes. “Have you thought at all about names?” he asked.

“I have no idea. I want something unusual enough that there won’t be fifteen kids with the same name in one class, but normal enough people won’t wrinkle their noses. Does that make sense?”

“It makes a lot of sense to me. I have no ideas for names, whatsoever.”

She sighed. “We’ll go through a baby name website when we get home and we know what the gender is. Will make it easier.”

“Works for me.” He pulled into the parking lot at the doctor’s office. “Let’s go find out what we’re having.” He found he was excited to know what the sex was. He didn’t care either way, but knowing would make the baby seem that much more real to him.

An hour later, he left the doctor’s office, more than a little shell-shocked. He didn’t know why, but he had assumed it was a boy. How was he supposed to know what to do with a little girl?

Jenni grinned over at him. “You thought it was a boy, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “I was positive it was a boy. The idea of a girl never even occurred to me. I mean, I knew it was a possibility, of course, but every time I pictured our child, I pictured a boy.”

“Well, at least now we can tell my mom to go nuts with pink. Your mom will be thrilled.” She couldn’t wait to call his mom and tell her, knowing the other woman would immediately start making a little Minnie Mouse quilt.

“My mom would have been thrilled with an alien baby, as long as she had a little one to love.” He shook his head. “A girl.” His eyes lit up for a moment. “We need to go get her a little outfit.”

Jenni blinked at him with surprise. She’d decked out the nursery, but he’d not seemed terribly interested. She’d have to buy a few Minnie Mouse things to add to all the Mickeys to make it more feminine, but it would be fun. “I’d like that. Do you want to go to Walmart? Or Babies“R”Us? What are you thinking?”

He shrugged. “Where do you get good baby clothes?” How was he supposed to know where they should go? He’d never had a baby before!

“Any of them will have cute clothes. We can also shop on Amazon, but I think you’ll be happier to look in person.” He obviously wanted something immediately.

He nodded. “We need something today.”

“You do know we still have to wait another four months for the baby, right?”

“So? She needs to know she’s going to have clothes when she gets here. What about diapers? Do we need diapers?” How many diapers would one baby go through? Did they need to have them all before she was born? How did anyone know what they were supposed to do?

Jenni shook her head at his sudden enthusiasm. “Yeah, diapers are always a good idea for a baby.”

“Bottles? Do we have bottles yet?”

She choked back a laugh. “Why don’t we go to Target and register?”

“Register? Register for what?” Did you have to register that you were going to have a baby? And if you did, wouldn’t that happen at the doctor’s office and not at Target?

“When you have a baby, someone usually throws you a baby shower. Kaya is going to throw mine, and we’ve already talked about it a little. We’ll register so people will know what we want as baby gifts.”

“Like diapers?”

She grinned. “Some people will buy diapers, but we won’t register for those, because everyone knows we need diapers. We’ll register for stuff like blankets and bottles and a breast pump.”

“Breast pump? Are you going to breast feed?”

“I’m going to try at least. It’s supposed to be better for the baby to have breast milk.”

He pulled into the Target parking lot. “Is this the best place to buy a breast pump?”

“I don’t even know if they sell them here, but we can register for blankets, bottles, and all sorts of baby paraphernalia.”

“Do we need a lot?”

Jenni shrugged. “What we need and what we’ll end up getting are probably two very different things. You’re going to be amazed at everything that’s out there for babies.” She reached out to open the door, and he stopped her.

“Jenni, we’re having a girl!”

She laughed. “You know there was a fifty percent chance of it being a girl, right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know how it would make me
feel!
”

“Feel? How does it make you feel to know it’s a girl?” She could tell he was excited, but there was something else there as well. This was the most emotion he’d shown since she’d gotten pregnant.

“I feel like I need to have everything she’ll ever need. I’m thinking about a little girl in a little pink dress, sleeping in your arms. Or in a pink tutu at dance lessons. Going off to her first day of school. Kissing a boy—wait, my little girl is never going to kiss a boy.
I’ll kill him
!”

Jenni tilted her head to one side as she watched him. “It’ll be fine. We’ve got this.”

“But prom—those dresses are so expensive, and she needs to have a car in good working condition. I learned to fix my own car so I could buy an old junker and fix it up. How am I going to teach a girl to fix up a car?”

She sighed. “Girls can fix up cars as well as boys can. Trust me.” She put her hand over his, squeezing a little. “Our little girl won’t want for anything, Tony.”

He nodded, his eyes frightened and a bit unfocused. “I must sound like I’m being sexist, and I really don’t mean to be, but I really thought we were having a boy—someone who would work hard to make his way in the world. Not a girl!”

“A girl can work hard to make her way in the world, too, you know!”

“I know, but—.” He took deep gulping breaths, knowing he was making no sense, but it didn’t seem to matter. “I don’t want our little girl to have to make her own way. I want her to know that she’s got parents to lean on financially if necessary.”

Jenni smiled. “Are we back to the trust fund?”

Tony nodded. “Can we start a trust fund for her?”

“Of course we can.” She studied him. “If we’d been told it was a boy, would you not have wanted to start a trust fund?”

“I don’t know what I would have wanted if it had been a boy. I just suddenly have this need to give her the whole world. It doesn’t even make sense.”

“Sure it does. You know it’s a girl, and you already love her. That’s not a bad thing.”

He finally got out of the car and walked toward the store with her. “Do you need a wheelchair? I can push you.”

Jenni frowned. “You’re not going to get all strange with me now, are you? I’m fine. I’m the same as I was a few hours ago when I was having a baby of undetermined gender.”

“I know, but…It’s a
girl
, Jenni!”

She just laughed, leading him into the store and straight to the baby aisle. She’d been there alone a couple of times while he worked. “Do you want to register today? Or do you want to wait?”

He looked around him in awe of all the things a baby needed. “We need
all
this?”

She shook her head. “Nope. We’ll get a lot of it, though. We actually
need
very little. Register today?”

“I don’t think so. Let’s just pick out a tiny little dress.”

She led him over to the clothes, and found a little pink dress she thought would please him. Then her eye caught a onesie that made her smile. She picked it up and showed him.

“Daddy’s little princess?” He nodded. “We need that.”

She laughed. “I’ve got it.”

Later, she was curled up beside him on the couch, trying to explain the appeal of
Lazy Love
, her favorite show, but he was still too dazed to really know what she was talking about. “Jenni?”

She smiled at him, snuggling closer. “Yeah?”

“I’m glad you quit your job.”

She pulled back with a frown. “You are?”

“I like the idea of you being home with our little girl.”

“Okay.”

He sighed. “It just seems right. Like that’s the way it’s meant to be.” He shook his head. “I have some memories of when I was little, before I started kindergarten, and I remember how much I hated having to be away from my mom. And I always had to go to a daycare after school. They weren’t bad places, but they weren’t my mom.”

She nodded. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m glad you have enough money that you don’t have to work.”

That stunned her. “Really? You don’t hate me for the money anymore?”

“Hate you? I never hated you!”

“Well, you weren’t happy about my wealth. You know you weren’t.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I hated it. I was just confused. I cared about you from the first day, but you were this trust fund baby, and I didn’t know how to deal with that. I’m sorry I made you think I hated you.” He folded her close. “I never hated you. I just needed some time to come to grips with who you are.”

“I’m the girl you saw in line for the cruise ship with her two obnoxious friends. I’m the same person you’ve known every day. I just come from money. That doesn’t make me any more or any less than who you thought I was when we first met.”

“I know that now. I guess when I found out about the money, I kept waiting for horns to sprout. I’ve never known anyone who was born with that kind of wealth who was normal.”

“So you judged me and discriminated against me? How fair was that?”

“It wasn’t fair at all. I’m ashamed that I treated the woman I love that way, and I’m very sorry for it.”

Jenni stared at him for a moment, a small smile forming. “Wait a minute... Did you just say you
love
me?”

He frowned at her. “Of course, I love you. How could you not know that I love you?”

“Maybe because you’ve never said it? How was I supposed to know?”

He shrugged. “Why can’t you read my mind?”

She pulled his head down for a kiss, and he quickly pulled away. “I don’t want to squash my princess.”

“You’re going to have to get over squashing the little princess, because I’m going to kiss you when I want to kiss you. Don’t be silly about this!”

“I’ll do my best.” He stroked her hair. “I’m glad we’re having a girl.”

“I can tell. It makes me love you even more.”

When he didn’t react to her declaration, she frowned. “I just told you I love you. Don’t you even care?”

“Of course, I care. But I knew you loved me.”

“How’d you know?” she asked.

“You didn’t kill me when I threw a fit about your money on our way back from the cruise,” he said, logically.

“But I got really mad at you!”

“I deserved a whole lot worse.” Tony shook his head at her. “I should have been kinder from the first moment we met. I’m very sorry I was a jerk about the whole money thing. You deserved to be treated better.”

Jenni sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. “Just so you remember that you love me and little Esmerelda.” She patted her belly.

“We’re
not
naming her Esmerelda.”

“Pepita?”

He sighed. “You are not allowed to suggest baby names. You can only say yes or no to the names I suggest.”

“You can’t tell me what to do! It’s my baby too!”

“I know that, but you clearly have no idea what a fabulously but not appallingly different baby name should sound like.”