Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Although that did confuse her. Because she was the only one that liked that flavor. No one else liked mint ice cream.
So why did they have it in their freezer?
She mentally shrugged. She guessed it didn’t matter.
Rock spooned some ice cream into a bowl. Just one bowl before he put the lid on and walked off. Should she eat it? What if it wasn’t for her? What if he now liked mint chocolate chip?
When he returned, he frowned slightly. Grabbing the bowl, book, and photo, he led the way over to the sofa.
The white sofa.
He gestured to it in a clear command to sit.
She eyed the sofa. Yeah, it wasn’t a good idea to sit there. So she decided to sit on the floor against the corner of the sofa. That felt cozier, safer.
But as she moved carefully onto the floor, Rock let out a pained noise.
“No.”
No? She gazed up at him in confusion.
“No.”
He set down the stuff he was holding onto the coffee table and reached for her. Then he paused before touching her, grimacing and tilting his head to the side.
Indie nodded. She’d learned to understand his gestures over the years. Although she usually talked more. Moving slowly, he put his hands under her arms and lifted her. He watched her closely and she worked hard to keep her face blank.
It pulled a bit on her ribs but not so much that she would stop him.
He settled her into the corner of the sofa, taking a blanket off the back to tuck around her legs. Then he grabbed the ice cream and sat next to her. He held the bowl in his hand and scooped some up.
To her surprise, instead of eating it himself he held it to her lips.
He waited patiently as she slid her thumb out and parted her lips so he could put the spoon in.
Maybe she should tell him that she could feed herself. But she didn’t really want to. She liked having him do it.
He silently fed her bites of ice cream until it was all gone and she was feeling content.
She rubbed her tummy. “Button liked that.”
Rock raised his eyebrow and she smiled.
“I did too. Sleepy now.”
Rock nodded and stood, holding out his hand to her. She slid her hand into his. She loved the feeling of his warm hand around hers.
But when he tried to lead her back into her bedroom, she dug her feet in and let out a noise of protest. Her thumb was back in her mouth and when he turned she shook her head.
Rock studied her.
“No,” she said around her thumb. “Cupboard.”
He seemed more confused than ever as she glanced around. “Smaller wardrobe?”
He nodded and stepped past her. That’s when she glanced down and saw the title of the book he’d been reading on the floor.
Pregnancy and New Mums.
Why was he reading that?
You know why.
She tugged her hand out of his and reached down to grab the book, ignoring the noise of protest he made. When she turned the book over, she saw that bits of text had been highlighted.
Indie glanced up at Rock, noticing that his cheeks were red. He was embarrassed?
Over trying to help her? Over being prepared?
He shouldn’t be.
Indie slid her thumb from her mouth, forcing herself back into the here and now.
“You’re reading this to help me and Button?” she asked.
Rock nodded.
Warmth unfurled inside her and she had to blink back tears.
“That might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
He stared down at her, then shook his head.
Moving slowly, so he didn’t scare her, he placed his hand over her belly. Not touching her, just resting it an inch in front. She glanced up at him, wondering what he was doing.
“Touch?” he asked.
“Y-yes,” she said. “You can. Any time.”
Urgh. Why did she add on that bit? Was it too much? It was, wasn’t it?
“Shh.” He tapped her forehead with a finger on his other hand before rubbing her belly softly. “Mine.”
Indie’s breath caught in her throat. She lowered her gaze to her belly. There still wasn’t much of a belly there even though Spencer had been doing his best to feed her.
“Do you think it’s too small?” she asked worriedly.
He grunted and she glanced up to find him shaking his head at her.
“No? Okay.” He was no expert but the certainty on his face eased her worry.
“Good. You?” he asked.
“Am I good?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Not sure about that,” she said, surprising herself with her honesty. “I had a nightmare and I wanted to . . . when I feel scared I like to find . . .”
“Small,” he said.
Yeah. He remembered.
He took hold of her hand again and tugged her along. She kept hold of the baby book. She should really be doing some research, right?
She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought about reading up on her pregnancy. Maybe because she was too scared about what she might learn.