ANA
“Oh, hell yes.” I moan as I grab my latte from the coffee machine. I bring the delicious cup of coffee to my lips, but just as I’m about to take a sip, it’s snatched out of my hand. “Hey, I was about to drink that.” I complain and look up at my sexy husband, who’s scowling at me.
“No caffeine while you’re pregnant.” He scolds me, and I pout as I glare at him.
“But...”
“Ah!” Cole cuts me off, raising a finger and silencing me. “Herbal tea.” He grins, handing me a steaming mug of hot garbage. I look at the tea, then back at him.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, wrinkling my nose, and Cole grins.
“Decaf tea. It’s chamomile. It’s relaxing.” He informs me, and I stare at him blankly.
“Darling, if I wanted to relax, I would have stayed in bed. I grabbed the coffee because I need to wake up.” I argue, and Cole shrugs as he takes a sip of my latte and moans with pleasure.
“Mmm, this is so good.” I watch him, not amused in the slightest, and Cole leans close to my face. “Drink your tea.” He whispers and kisses my nose.
“Fine. When I fall asleep in the meeting, you’ll only have yourself to blame.” I snort and head toward my office while Cole laughs and shakes his head.
“Sheila! I love you.”
I hear him call after me and look back at him, drinking my delicious latte while he watches me with a sexy smile on his face.
God help me. I love this man.
I take a sip of the tea, and my stomach turns unpleasantly. I rush out of my office toward the bathroom, where I empty the breakfast I ate earlier.
“Darling, are you okay?” I hear Cole’s voice behind the door and sigh.
“Yes. The baby and I agree. We hate the tea.” I hear him laugh as I wash my hands and rinse my mouth with mouthwash. I open the door and find him leaning against the wall. He pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead.
“I’ll buy decaf coffee that’s safe to drink while you’re pregnant. How about that?” I close my eyes and sigh.
“Anything is better than this tea.” I murmur with a shudder, and Cole laughs.
“All right. Anything to keep my baby and my little apple happy.” He rubs my stomach. I smile and look into his eyes. “All we need to be happy is you, baby.” I declare, and he smiles before kissing me softly.
“You have me forever, darling.” Cole parts my lips, kissing me slowly and deeply in the middle of our office while our employees watch us. We pull apart when they all clap and whistle. I blush furiously and bury my face in Cole’s chest as he laughs. “All right, show’s over. Back to work.” He scolds them before pulling me into the conference room for our meeting.
We spend more than an hour analyzing the details of this new project with a client who seemed to have no idea what he wanted. I had to stop myself from laughing at the expression on Cole’s face while the client explained what he was looking for.
“All right. I have all the notes on what you asked for, Mr. Collins. I’ll work on this project and get back to you in a few weeks?” Cole says to him, and the client nods with a confident smile. We shake hands, and he leaves the conference room. Cole looks at me, somewhat confused, and I laugh.
“You have no idea what he was asking for, do you?” I ask, amused, and Cole shakes his head while scratching his chin.
“Not a clue.” He sighs. “He was fucking rambling the whole time. We’ll figure something out, though.” Cole says with a shrug, and I smile.
“That we will, darling.” I check the time on my watch and stand up. “Oh, I have to go. I have a call with my professor.” I inform him and leave the conference room, heading back to my office. I was so excited to be back at the university to finish my degree. Cole was incredibly supportive and helped me, even though he wasn’t happy that I had so much work during my pregnancy. It was a little exhausting, but it’ll be worth it when I graduate and finally get my degree in a few months.
Four weeks passed, and it was time for us to find out our baby’s sex. We had discussed keeping it a surprise, but I was too impatient to wait and wanted to find out—and so did Cole.
“How are we feeling, Mommy?” my doctor asks when I lie down on the exam bed.
“I’m great. Aside from my hands and feet swelling, I feel great.” I tell her, and she smiles.
“That’s completely normal. Just try to keep your feet elevated and avoid wearing heels.” She advises me, and Cole nods, pointing at my ears to indicate that I should listen to her advice. “Are we finding out the sex today?”
“Yes.” We both say at the same time, and she smiles, pressing the probe against my stomach. Cole takes my hand and looks at the screen as our baby appears.
“Good. First, I’m going to do a few checks to make sure everything is okay with the baby.” I nod and look at Cole, who’s staring at the screen in awe. “We’re growing well. The fluid looks good. Your baby is now about the size of a small banana.” I smile, and Cole laughs, biting his lip. “All right, let’s see if the baby will give us a peek.” She says, jiggling my stomach a little, and the baby jumps and kicks. “Oh, we have a grumpy one.”
“Just like her mother.” Cole teases, and I playfully slap his arm. He laughs happily and presses a kiss to my temple.
“Well, folks, say hello to your... baby girl.”
“Yes!” Cole exclaims excitedly, and the doctor and I jump, startled by his sudden outburst. I look at Cole, and he kisses me. “I’m so happy.”
The doctor laughs. “Well, we can see that Daddy is pleased. And you, Mommy?” I nod and look at the screen, my eyes filling with tears.
“I’m overwhelmed.” I cry, and Cole looks at me with his green eyes wide.
“Oh no, no, no, not the tears again. Do you have any food?” He asks the doctor, who frowns at him in confusion. “It’s the only way to stop her from crying.” He whispers to her and whistles when I elbow him in the ribs. “Ow. What?”
I scowl at him. “Is that why you keep feeding me?” I ask, offended, and Cole shrugs sheepishly.
The doctor laughs loudly. “You two are adorable. It’s completely normal for her to get emotional from time to time, since her body is going through so many changes every day. You have a job, Daddy: keep Mommy happy so the baby is happy.”
Cole sighs and smiles at me. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my girls happy.” He whispers, brushing a kiss across my lips and wiping away my tears of joy. The doctor gives us a video of the ultrasound and a few pictures.