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He returned the smile. “I thought it would please you.”
“It does.” Her natural instinct was to hug him for being so awesome, but she refrained, unsure it was the right thing to do under the circumstances. “Thank you. But you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble.”
“You’re welcome. And since I can’t help you carry the baby, I’m trying to help in other ways.”
This thoughtful side of Xander was not something she would have expected of the astute businessman she’d met a few months back. But during his stay on the island, she was getting to see a different side of him—a side she really liked.
And that made her wonder if he was also becoming more invested in the baby—if he was thinking of playing a more prominent role in its life. Lea hoped that was the case, but she knew a life-changing decision like that would take time to adjust to.
“Have you thought about the baby?” she asked. “You know, whether you’re hoping for a boy? Or a girl?”
He shook his head. “Honestly, either is fine by me. But a little girl that looked just like her mother would be nice.”
“Or a stubborn little boy with those amazing brown eyes like his father’s would be so adorable.”
A smile pulled at Xander’s lips. “I’m not as stubborn as the baby’s mother.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“When will you know if it’s a boy or girl?”
“I guess any time now, but I was thinking of waiting to find out the sex.” She wondered how Xander would feel about her decision.
“Till when?”
“The birth. That probably sounds old-fashioned but I really enjoy the not knowing—the possibilities. Is that strange?”
He shook his head. “It’ll be a nice surprise at the end of this adventure. But what will you do about buying things for the baby?”
She shrugged. She honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I guess I’ll stick with neutral colors like...like pastel purple and green.”
He paused as though giving it some thought. “Sounds like a plan. Now I better get us some lunch before you have to return to the office.”
Once the bubbly fruit punch was poured into their respective wine glasses, he sat across the small table from her. He glanced around the table and frowned.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I’m forgetting something.” He snapped his fingers. “I know what it is.”
He jumped to his feet and rushed to the kitchen. She couldn’t help smiling. She’d never seen him work so hard to make her happy. What in the world was he up to?
Xander returned and lit the candle in the middle of the table. “There. Now we can eat.”
She glanced down at the food in front of her. A salad, pasta with a giant meatball atop it and fresh bread. It looked delicious. And she was hungry. Her appetite was in overdrive now that she was pregnant.
They ate their salads in a peaceful quietness. When they started to eat the pasta, she noticed that the sauce had a different taste.
“Did you make this from scratch?” she asked.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“If you like it, I made it. If you don’t, I had nothing to do with it.”
She couldn’t help but smile. This side of Xander was like the man she’d fallen for when they first met. She was beginning to think she’d imagined his lighter side, but this proved that there was a part of Xander that he kept hidden from others.
She took another bite. It was definitely good—very good. All the while, she could feel his gaze upon her. When she glanced up, he was just sitting there staring at her.
“What? Do I have sauce on my chin or something?” She immediately reached for her napkin and dabbed around her mouth.
“Your face is fine. I’m just waiting to hear the verdict about the food.”
“Oh.” Heat rushed to her face. And then she had to decide if she wanted to tease him a little longer or whether she wanted to put him out of his misery.
The fact he wanted to know—that he appeared to care so much about her opinion—moved her. Her own parents didn’t seem to care what she thought. And it wasn’t just her extended family that they had decided she didn’t need to know about. There were also colleges that had accepted her but the letters had gone missing. It wasn’t until after she’d settled on an in-state university that she found out about the other schools. Her parents had told her that they were just trying to help her. Now she wondered what other parts of her life they had tried to manipulate.
