Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Later, when it started to get cold, we climbed back into this car and he drove us home.
When we pulled into the driveway, I noticed the light was on inside the apartment.
“Did you leave it on?” I asked, suddenly worried.
Ever since the break-in, I was on edge about someone getting inside the apartment again.
But Caleb simply gave me one of his disarming smiles.
“Relax, it’s not what you think,” he replied calmly.
Confused, I climbed out of the car and followed him inside. Right away, I could tell things had been moved about the apartment, and as I stepped farther inside I could see all of Caleb’s belongings, like his bed, blankets, and boxes of his clothes in the corner of the living room. Alarmed, I glanced at him, but he seemed perfectly at ease.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking at him suspiciously.
He smiled and turned me to face him. “Do you trust me?”
“Caleb—”
“Do you?”
I nodded.
“Then relax and close your eyes.”
I looked at him questioningly but relaxed and did what he asked. I closed my eyes and let him guide me across the room. When he told me to open them again, I was standing in the doorway of his dark bedroom.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded and he flicked on the bedroom light.
And a gasp fell from my lips.
Before me, his room had been magically transformed into the most beautiful nursery I had ever seen. Everything I’d picked out earlier that day at the baby furniture store was assembled and in place. The crib. The chest of drawers. The changing table. Shelving.
“Oh my God, Caleb . . .” I walked into the room, gazing around me, slowly absorbing everything. “How—?”
“While you were walking around the store picking things out I asked the sales girl if I could have two very mean looking Prospects come and pick it all up.”
“That’s why you got her number?”
“The one and only reason. I gave it to the Prospects so they could organize the pick up and bring it back here. My mom, Indy, and Cherry met them here and helped them put it all together.”
I gazed around the room, dazed and slightly overwhelmed by the gesture. In my chest, my heart overflowed with appreciation.
“I don’t know what to say.” Tears welled in my eyes. “It’s so beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“Like it, Caleb, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.”
I wanted to cry. This man. This rugged, handsome, beautiful man. He was so thoughtful and kind.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He smiled and it was devastating. This whole fairytale moment was so completely and utterly devastating. How I could I not be in love with him?
I couldn’t.
Because the truth was, I was crazy, madly, deeply head over heels in love with him.
“But what about you? Does this mean you’re moving out?”
My heart sank at the thought.
“No,” he said, reassuringly. “I’m going to take the couch for a while.”
“You didn’t have to give up your room.”
He came toward me and put his hands on my growing stomach. “My baby needs his own room. I can sleep anywhere.”
I couldn’t find the right words to thank him. None of them seemed right. So I leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. “Thank you.”
He smiled down at me, and the moment got weird. His smile faded and so did mine, and when his eyes dropped to my lips, I couldn’t help but lick them. My heart stopped. My breathing, too. And I had to swallow deeply to get them both moving again.
“You’re welcome,” he said, finally, moving away from me. He headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”
While he was showering, I stole another few minutes in the nursery, wandering around the room and taking it all in and appreciating all the hard work that had gone into it. I couldn’t believe he’d corralled everyone to come over and get it set up as a surprise. My heart twisted. Even the little mobile with the bumblebees and teddy bears was in place and dangling down over the crib.
When Caleb came out of the shower, I was already dressed in my pajamas and in bed, sitting up against the pillows. He appeared in my doorway, dressed in a pair of boxer shorts and a white t-shirt.
Again, a sense of longing spread through me.
“Good night,” he said.
“Thanks again for today.”
His grin was beautiful, his voice husky and warm. “It was my pleasure.” He winked. “Good night, Honey.”
“Hey,” I called out to him. “Don’t take the couch. You can sleep in here. For tonight, you know, until we get the couch sorted.”
The couch was currently piled high with his belongings.
“You sure?”
In response, I pulled back the covers and patted the bed next to me. “After what you did today, I’m not having you sleep on the floor.”
He climbed into bed next to me, and I mashed the covers down with my arm, making a barrier between us in the sheets.