8. Bertie
BERTIE
I didn’t expect our side quest to be the bookstore, but I’m not complaining either. Instead of the store on campus, Luke chose one near the hospital. It’s a small, cute independent store. All of the shelves in the store are painted a light blue and a blue-sky wallpaper adorns the ceiling.
I get distracted at the front by all the notebooks and pens, but Luke heads straight back like a man on a mission.
It might already be April, but I pick up a planner anyway, because the cover is cute, and just because I’ve always struggled to use one maybe this will finally be the time that I will become one of those girls with their color coordinated agendas.
Or, more likely, it’ll join the graveyard of other unused planners I already have.
With a baby on the way, it would probably be a good idea to try to get my life together.
And if I’m going to get a planner, I might as well pick up a pack of stickers and a cute pen.
With those secured, I venture further into the store for the romance section. Even though the store is small, I don’t spot Luke.
Perusing the shelves, I select two books and add them to my growing pile of stuff. I probably should’ve grabbed a basket on the way in, but I wasn’t expecting to get anything.
Spotting the kid’s section, my breath catches and I find myself drawn to it.
I haven’t done much shopping for the baby yet so it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. I find the shelf with books for little ones and snag a few of those. I want to read to my baby as often as possible. My nanny read to me every night until she started having me read to her instead.
I climb from my crouched position and finally my eyes land on Luke nearby, staring intently at an open book in his hands.
He really is so handsome. Tanned skin and with dark short wavy hair.
He fills out his tight cotton shirt, and his jeans hug his toned legs.
I clench my thighs together and bite my lip.
I know there’s worse things in the world than being attracted to the father of my child, and I know he likes me, but I also don’t want him to choose me simply because I’m pregnant.
I make my way over to him and he’s so focused he doesn’t hear me approach.
“Watcha reading?” I ask and giggle when he jumps.
“Sorry.” He laughs at himself. “I’m trying to figure out which of these to get.” He gestures to a stack of parenting books he’s pulled.
My heart swoops. I adore this man. He’s so perfect without even trying.
“Let’s get a few. I should be reading up on this too.”
“Good point,” he agrees, and grabs his stack of three. He eyes up the horde I hold onto. “Looks like you’ve had good luck too. Are those books for the baby?”
“Yeah.” My cheeks heat. “I thought it would be a good idea to start a collection for the baby. My nanny used to read to me every night and it’s some of my favorite memories.”
“My mom read to me too.”
I try not to flinch but based on his sad expression I’m not successful. So many people would look at us and think the true difference in our childhoods is our wealth, but in reality it’s the parenting.
“What else should we be getting for the baby? Have you gotten anything yet?”
“Jus a few gender-neutral outfits. But there’s a lot of big stuff we need to get—like a car seat and stroller. Rosie wants to throw a baby shower for us before we move, though, so we might get a lot of stuff then.”
“Do the dads go to those kinds of things now?” He runs his fingers through his hair. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to be there whenever it is, but I don’t want to force my presence on you if it’s really more of a girls thing.”
“I think the dads are there a lot of times now. Knowing Daire, he’ll be just as involved as Rosie.”
Luke chuckles. “Seriously, that guy went from one of the biggest assholes I know to my best friend and it’s all because he became a dad. Fatherhood changed him for the better.”
“He really loves it.”
We head toward the checkout, and I snatch Luke’s book to add to my pile, but then he one ups me by tapping his card before I can finish fumbling through my purse for my wallet.
“I was going to get those.” I pout but accept the bag from him.
“I know you were.” His hand hovers against my back and he reaches with his other hand to push the door open for me. “But it was my idea to come to the bookstore.”
“Well, thank you.” I give him a shy smile.
He opens the passenger door of the truck for me and I hop inside, depositing my bag of goodies between my feet.
We’re quiet on our drive back to the dorm, and when he pulls up outside of it, I’m almost sad for the day to be over. Luke is easy to spend time with. He’s the kind of person I’m content to just exist with. No meaningless conversation, no awkwardness, just peace.
“Thank you for going with me today,” I say, reaching for the door.
“I wanted to be there. I’ll carry your bag in for you.”
“No, it’s okay.” I scoop it up, cradling it against my chest. “I’ve got it.”
The corners of his lips turn down, but he nods. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when I see you, I guess.”
“See you,” I say, closing the door behind me.
I hurry into the building and turn back as the door closes. He sits there in his idling truck for another minute before he slowly backs out and drives away.
I press a hand to my racing heart.
I’m so screwed when it comes to him.