“I know.”
She smoothed her hands across her belly, and then her smile lit up her entire face. “Oh!”
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing wrong. I think I felt the baby.”
I crossed over to her and put my hand next to hers. I didn’t feel anything, but the way the smile spread across her face and her eyes lit up, I knew she could.
“I can feel her,” she whispered.
I bent down and kissed her belly. “Hi, Peanut, you causing trouble for your mama?”
She laughed. “I have a feeling she’s gonna be daddy’s girl.”
I kissed her stomach.
Avery ran a hand through my hair. “I was so scared of losing her, of losing you.”
I stood up and gave her a quick kiss. “You’re not gonna lose me. I promise.”
She nodded but said nothing more.
“Hey, can we take the Christmas tree down now?” I asked, changing the subject.
She gave me a look of horror. “No!”
“Avs, come on, it can’t be Christmas forever.”
She pouted and then got a glimmer in her eyes. “What if, and hear me out, we make it a holiday tree? We could switch it to Valentine’s tree and then St Patrick’s and Easter!”
I shook my head at her. “You can’t be serious.”
She laughed and shrugged. “Maybe…”
“We’re taking it down today.”
“Okay, fine. I still can’t believe you put it up, to begin with.”
I pushed her hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek. “All for you. Everything I do is for you.”
Her eyes got shiny at that. “Oh, Nolan.”
I waved her off. “Come on downstairs. I’ll make you breakfast.”
I led her out of the nursery and down the stairs. She took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs while I fixed her breakfast. I already ate, but I made another pot of coffee. I got eggs out of the fridge and began scrambling them. I popped the bread in the toaster while I worked.
I only turned around when I heard Avery laughing. “What?”
“You’re humming again.”
I shrugged. “I never realized I did that until you pointed it out. My mom used to do that.”
“She would have been proud of you, Nol. Both of them would be.”
I shrugged while I finished breakfast and set down a plate in front of her. I poured coffee into two mugs and handed one to her. I was honestly surprised she hadn’t growled at me before she got her coffee. I took the seat across from her and sipped my coffee slowly.
She looked at me over her coffee cup. “Nol?”