Chapter 20
January
As he had been for most of his professional career, Kaynaan was voted to the Best Bowl as the kicker for the Northern Conference. It was so cold and dreary in Chicago that I was glad for the opportunity to spend a few days in the sunshine state.
His parents and siblings flew down to join us. The first place we headed was the golf course.
“Wyndi’s on my team,” Mr. Israel said as he, Kaynaan, and Shiloh’s husband, Marlon, loaded up the golf carts.
I rubbed my twenty-five week pregnant stomach. “I don’t know, Mr. Israel. I’ve never had to shoot around such a big belly.”
“Don’t talk about my future granddaughter like that,” Dr. Israel warned with a chuckle.
“Right.” Kaynaan wrapped his arms around me, his hands cupping the curve of my stomach. “Princess Israel is the exact size she’s supposed to be.”
“Princess.” Georgia tried to train her expression, but she didn’t quite make it. Instead of a frown, it looked like a grimace. “You aren’t really considering naming the baby Princess, are you? We have a tradition in this family.”
Kaynaan kept his arms around me, still holding my belly. “What biblical places are left, Nana? You want us to name her Galilee? Jerusalem?”
Everybody laughed.
“Besides, my boys aren’t named after biblical locations,” Shiloh said.
Georgia threw up her hands. “Okay. Okay. Princess it is.”
We wrapped up the round of golf at the eighteenth hole. Kaynaan stayed close by me and reminded me not to overextend myself. My swing wasn’t great, as I was too concerned about avoiding my baby bump, but I still had a good time.
After hanging out with his family all day, I was happy to have some quiet time alone with Kaynaan over dinner.
We ate in our suite. He got the staff to make it romantic.
A table for two was pulled out on the balcony.
Two taper candles and a big bouquet of fresh flowers sat in the center.
Gold rimmed plates and linen napkins were arranged at both place settings.
“This is so nice,” I said as I took my seat. The view was gorgeous, overlooking the water as the sun began its descent.
Kaynaan stared at me.
“What? Do I have something on my face?”
“Nah. Not at all.” He shook his head. “You’re just so damn beautiful. You’re glowing. You look like a goddess.”
I waved him off, even though I blushed. “Stop.”
“I’m serious. I don’t get how I got so lucky.”
“Aw.” I blew him a kiss, then took the cloche off my plate. Because the truth of the matter was that little baby and I were hungry.
He laughed. “You’re like, enough with the mushy stuff, I’m tryna eat.”
I laughed with him as I forked a bite of chicken and rice.
“You’re six months pregnant, Brown Eyes. What’re you thinking about naming this baby?”
“I don’t know. My mind changes on the daily.” I eyed him suspiciously. “When she comes to you in your dreams, does she ever tell you her name? Does she tell you her name is Princess?”
“The conversations that my daughter and I have are between us.”
“So, her name is Princess?”
“Nah.” He snickered. “I just call her that. It’s not her name. Her last name is Israel, though.”
“Yeah?” I widened my eyes. “You think Preston is eventually gonna sign away his parental rights?”
“I do. I had my guy look over his financials.”
“When you say my guy, you mean your private investigator?” I questioned.
“Eat your food, shorty.”
We both laughed.
“His family and his showboatin’ ass lifestyle are bleeding him dry. He really can’t afford child support payments. If I didn’t personally find it so distasteful, I would have my grandmother offer his ass a cash payout to go away.”
“Do it.”
“Whatever. He’ll sign. It might not be before she gets here, but he’ll do it.”
We finished our dinner and moved from the table to the chaise lounge that was out there. I got comfortable in his lap. Before long, I was cuddled against him watching the fireworks display that was happening at the amusement park considered to be the happiest place on Earth.
“I love you.” He kissed me on the forehead.
“I love you, too. Thank you for not giving up on me.” I put my hands on my own stomach. “On us.”