Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(32)
“Well, I don’t think they will be surprised, do you? I mean it’s not like Nick is a choirboy or anything. They probably expected a grandchild from him long before now. I’m sure they will just be thrilled that you aren’t paid by the hour or something.”
Groaning, Beth said, “You are terrible. If you weren’t my sister, I would be terrified of you.” As they were both laughing, Claire walked in and plopped in the other seat.
“Ahhh, it’s great to see some people that don’t need diaper changes.”
“Hey, I hope that never happens, but if it does, it’s nice to know that you will take care of it,” Suzy said, smiling.
Claire turned toward Beth and asked, “So since Nick survived the babysitting the other night, does that mean you’re going to give him a chance to do the family thing?”
With a sigh, Beth said, “I don’t know. I still feel like he’s going to cut and run when things get serious. I just don’t know how else to test that theory, short of throwing him out.”
“Hmm,” Claire said. “Let me think a minute.”
“No need to think, I’ve got it,” Suzy announced with an evil smile. “It’s time to commence Operation Clinger.”
With a wary look, Beth asked, “Operation what?”
“Operation Clinger. It’s time to see if Nick can handle having a noose around his neck. So far, Nick has mostly been coming and going as he wants so it’s time to give him a glimpse into the future. You may not be a clingy woman, but fatherhood will certainly put some demands on him. Let’s give him an early preview and see how he handles it.”
Intrigued despite herself, Beth asked, “So how would we do that?”
Claire jumped to her feet in excitement. “You will be the baby or babies, Beth!”
“I will? You two are starting to scare me.”
“It’s time that you became clingy. All of the freedom he takes for granted needs to suddenly become a lot more difficult. You need to be waiting at the door when he comes home and hanging on his sleeve when he leaves. He shouldn’t be able to walk more than a few feet without tripping over you. His swinging single days are over. Let’s see if he is ready to say good-bye to them. If he can survive it for even a few weeks without running like hell, then he might be a keeper.”
“I . . . I don’t know if I can do it. I like my space just as much as he does.”
“Well, if you don’t think you can pull that off, I can let you babysit Chrissy every evening for a few weeks to see if that does it,” Claire offered.
“Um . . . no, that’s okay. I think I can do clingy,” Beth quickly added.
“Okay, get started tonight and let us know how it goes tomorrow. Boy, I wish I could see his face,” Suzy said, and laughed.
Chapter Seventeen
Beth almost laughed aloud when Nick slowly walked through the doorway that evening. He approached her with a wary expression. She had intentionally avoided him all day, knowing it would keep him on edge. Part of her thought she wasn’t being fair to him, but then she remembered the babies she was carrying and how devastating it would be for all of them if he decided he didn’t want to be involved later on. Nick was a good guy, but sometimes good guys hit the road when things got tough.
In her limited dating experience, each guy she had once hoped might be different had ended up disappointing her. She always thought if she were thin, they would stay, but was that really true? Seeing coworkers’ marriages falling apart through the years seemed to indicate that even being slim couldn’t make someone stay if they wanted to go. So if they were going to raise a family together she had to know that no matter what, he was going to be here. Maybe she still had issues from her fat days. In her experience, all men left her eventually. She was just somewhere they stopped until something better came along. It would kill her to let Nick into her heart and have him leave her, too. She just couldn’t take the risk. She had to know that he was more than a fair-weather man.
Giving Nick her most charming smile, she patted the couch beside her. “Hey, honey, come sit with me. I didn’t think you would ever get home.” She hid a smile as he looked at her in surprise. The poor man was probably afraid she had forgotten she was pregnant and drank a bottle of wine. As he still looked at her uncertainly, she patted the couch again, saying, “Hurry up, I’ve missed you.” Boy, she must have really been bad this morning if he was so afraid to approach her. He finally walked over and sat beside her.
“Hey, princess. Are you . . . um . . . feeling better?”
Giving him a confused look, she asked, “What do you mean?”
Clearly stumbling now, he quickly said, “Oh, never mind. I just meant I’m glad to see you so happy.”
“Ah, thanks.” Then giving him her most adoring look, she added, “I ordered Chinese for dinner from that place down the street. I know it’s your favorite.”
“That’s great, princess.” He kissed her lightly on the mouth and started to stand. “I’m going to take a shower before dinner if you don’t mind. As you can see, I came straight from the gym.”
Beth stood up with him. “I don’t mind at all. How about I sit in the bathroom with you and we talk about our day?” Oh, God, look at him squirm. He has rubbed his forehead at least five times since he got home.