Page 116 of The Trouble with Flings

“Nothing is too much for our baby.”

“This is too much,” she insists, looking at the crib like it seriously offends her.

“Wild girl, look at me,” I say, drawing her into my arms, and she lifts her eyes to mine with that furrowed brow. “This is a one-of-a-kind crib for a one-of-a-kind baby. Our first,” I remind her. “We’ll never get another chance to buy our first baby’s crib.”

“It’s an unconscionable amount of money.”

“Maybe it is, but it’s the one we both love, and when we have our second baby, it’ll use this crib, too, so really, it’s only half as much.”

“Second baby?” She blinks up at me, and I can’t tell if she’s taken aback or amused. “Slow down, Speedy Gonzales. Who says we’re having another baby? We don’t even know how we’re going to coparent this one.”

“This baby is going to be so cute, you’ll want another one,” I say, only half teasing.

“Dream on, Silver.” She huffs out a breath, stepping out of my arms, but she’s smiling, and I take that as a win. “I’m still worried about surviving this one. I haven’t told my work yet, and I don’t even know how I’ll fit baby furniture into my apartment.” She points at me. “And before you offer to move me into a bigger place again, the answer is no.”

“You’ve made that perfectly clear.”

She looks longingly at the crib. “I’m sure we can find a perfectly good crib online for a third of the price of this one.”

I wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss her cheek. “But it won’t be made by the same man who made the crib I slept in.”

Her shoulders drop a little. “Fitz, it’s so expensive.”

“What else do I have to spend my money on, if not you and the baby?”

“Retirement?” she quips.

“Already covered.”

“Of course it is. I don’t know. Life?”

“That’s what I’m doing, babe.” I turn her in my arms and gaze into her conflicted hazel eyes. I know what I say next may scare her, but she needs to hear it. “You and Little Bean are my life. I want to do this nursery right. I want to buy the crib we both instantly knew was the one and get a matching dresser and changing table and a glider to feed or rock our baby.”

She goes soft against me and eyes the crib.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so if you’re dead set against it, then we’ll get out of here,” I promise. “But we’ll never have another chance to do this for our first baby, and according to you, this might be our only baby.”

She sighs. “It’s almost as much as my rent.”

“You do realize you hooked a Silver, right? It would make me very happy to buy this set for our child. I get that it’s a lot of money, but I think our baby is worth it.”

She touches her forehead to my chest. “Fine.”

“Fine?” My pulse kicks up.

She lifts her chin, smiling up at me. “Yes. But I swear to God, if you spoil our child and it never learns to handle situations or becomes an entitled brat, I’ll never forgive you.”

“No spoiling. Got it.”

Her eyes narrow. “I mean it, Fitz. Just because you can give this baby everything doesn’t mean they should never have to earn things.”

“We’re on the same page. I promise. This baby will have to work for its bottles.”

She grins and swats my chest. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, and your determination to keep our baby grounded is just another of the many things I adore about you.” I lower my lips to hers.

A familiar laugh lands in my ears, and I look up to find my parents standing in the entrance to the nursery showroom.