“Oh my goodness, I didn’t mean you had to do that. I’m so sorry.”
“Jodi, you have about three things. It’s fine. I’ve done it. You go out with your friend and cheer her up.”
“Okay.” She rises up onto her toes and presses her lips to mine. “Thank you, Brock.”
She races into the bedroom to get changed. Most of her clothes have been hung up in the wardrobe over the last few days. She’s moved in slowly, trying to act like it’s a trial period, but we both know it’s for real. She’s here now, and it’s all going really well. But I’m happy for Jodi to say whatever she wants to about it.
I furiously text Josh while she’s out of the room to check that he’s in on it.
Brock: Are you on the way over? Millie has already called Jodi.
Josh: I’m coming, boss. Everything is in place. Don’t worry.
Brock: Good, thanks. See you soon.
Josh: Don’t get nervous. It’s going to be fine. I got your back!
I can’t text back, mostly because I’m nervous. I shove my phone away and shake my head, smirking to myself. I might be nervous now, but I’m sure it’ll all be fine.
“Did you want to take my credit card today? Get some stuff for the nursery?” I call out toward the bedroom. “It’s weird seeing a big empty room. I think we need to fill it, don’t you?”
“Yeah, that could be good. Obviously, I’ll pay half for everything.”
“I know you will.” She knows I won’t take it even if she does. It’s going to take her a while to realize that what’s mine is hers now that we’re together, but that’s something I love about her. She definitely isn’t after me for the money. “But for now, you can just let me cover the cost, can’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose so.” She grabs the card from me and kisses me again. “Thank you, Brock.”
“Don’t get anything huge, like the crib. Let me help you with things like that.”
“I know, I know. Plus, I’m sure you want to have some input on that. I’ll just get small stuff.”
“You know it’s all out of concern for you. I don’t want you doing any heavy lifting now that you’re so far along.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Sure thing, boss.”
“I’m not your boss anymore. Although I miss the days when I was.”
“I bet you do,” she growls while pushing against me. “But we can always play . . .”
“We could.” God, I want to. I want to so damn bad it hurts. “But you have a day planned.”
“Oh, yeah of course. I do need to check in on Millie, but maybe later on.”
I feel the same flutter in my heart I always get with Jodi. “Yes, sounds perfect. Later on.”
As she goes out the door in a wave of her delicious citrus scent, I blow out a deep breath of air. Today is huge—even bigger than Jodi knows—and I have to get started soon. Today, I want everything to be perfect.
* * *
My heart skips a beat as the door clicks open. Everything that I’ve planned is about to come to fruition, and I’m absolutely petrified. I think it’ll go the way I want it to, but there’s still a tiny glimmer of self-doubt.
“Bye, Millie,” she calls out through the front door. “I’ll see you soon.”
It’s going to be fine, I remind myself as her footsteps draw nearer to me. It’ll be okay, honestly.
“Brock? Are you here? What’s going on? What are all these . . . oh, they’re pictures of us. There’s us at your casino. Oh, and us by the fountains. I almost forgot about that night. That was so much fun.”
“I wanted to make you feel more at home, so I got some printed out for you. I hope that’s okay.”