Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Aaron smoothed back her hair. “Are you hungry?”
She gave him a half smile. “Is that a trick question?”
If the baby books he’d read had taught him anything, it was that every pregnancy was different. Becka didn’t seem to be suffering many of the ill effects that often showed up, but her appetite was unrelenting. It amused him even as he worried that she wasn’t getting enough. With her job, she burned a significant number of calories every day, and even with her near-constant snacking and meals, it was possible she was in deficit.
He took her hand and led her into the kitchen. “Protein, veggie, carb.”
“Chicken, spinach, rice.” She didn’t miss a beat. “Preferably with some kind of cheese on top.”
Aaron laughed and dug through his fridge to find the chicken and spinach and then pulled a bag of rice from the pantry. He loved these moments with Becka. She dictated dinner, and he put it together while she sipped what had become her customary cranberry juice and they chatted about their respective days.
This is what it could be.
This is what it should be.
She propped her chin in her hands and watched him. “I think I have a solution to your Cameron problem. I mean, at least in theory it’s a good option.”
He covered the chicken breasts in wax paper and pounded them with a meat tenderizer to flatten them. “At this point, I’m about to start praying to some ancient god for patience.” They’d managed to hire a secretary...and the guy lasted exactly forty-eight hours before he quit in a huff after a snarling conversation with Cameron about their differing methods of filing.
“He’s the best damn security-tech expert in the country, but he is just as good at alienating people. It was never an issue when we were a different kind of company, but our workload grew and our clients changed—and Cameron didn’t.” It wasn’t that he expected his friend to change. Cameron was Cameron, and that was one of the things Aaron had always liked about him. But something had to give, and it had to happen fast. He hadn’t talked to Becka about it yet, but he fully intended to take some time off after she had the baby so he could be there to help.
So she wouldn’t be alone.
So he could spend time with his new baby.
The only way he’d be able to pull that off, though, was to find the time to hire someone to handle the client-facing aspect of the company so Cameron wouldn’t drive off every client they had with his inability to tolerate corporate bullshit while he was gone. He was belatedly realizing that a secretary wouldn’t cut it. He needed someone with a wider skill set.
Becka laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Didn’t you say that your little sister was looking for a job? That she was tired of living with your very wonderful parents?”
He had mentioned Trish more than few times over the last month. His little sister had been badgering him to let her come visit. He’d eventually told her about Becka and the pregnancy, and Trish had been asking to come check out the future mother of his child. Aaron had barely held her off. He fully expected to turn around one day in the near future and find her at his front doorstep with her sunny smile and determination.
Aaron moved to the stove and started the rice. “Trish’s degree is in sales.”
“Yes, you mentioned that. Three times.” She smiled. “That skill set would be really useful if you want to ease back from dealing directly with clients on the level you do right now.”
She had a point.
He transferred the chicken back to the pan and started lining up the cheese and spinach to fill the chicken breasts with. “It could work. Though Trish is the sweetest person I know, she’s pretty damn determined. If she set out to carve a place for herself within the company, not even Cameron’s surliness would be enough to stop her.” He grinned. “I might actually pay to sit in on that first meeting.”
“See!” Becka spread her hands and wiggled her fingers. “I’m brilliant.”
“You are.” He leaned over the island and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Gratitude and happiness welled up inside him, a bolt straight to the heart with that single casual contact. Aaron rocked back on his heels as the truth settled inside him.
I love her.
He had for a while, if he was going to be honest with himself. He stared at the chicken in front of him, keeping his jaw clenched to prevent the words from escaping. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was Becka’s reaction if he dropped that truth on her. She cared for him—she wouldn’t act the way she did otherwise—but her fear of retreading her parents’ footsteps made her so gun-shy, one wrong word was enough to close her off from him for days.