Songbird (32 page)

Leo swallows the last bite of his doughnut. “Surely you aren’t having trouble thinking of ways to show him some gratitude.”

“Well, what do you get the man who has everything?”

“You give him you.”

“He already has me.”

Leo shakes his head. “You’re overthinking this, Franklin. We men are simple creatures.”

“Meaning?”

“Sex!” he shouts, causing every head in the newsroom to turn.

“A little louder. I don’t think Frank heard you.”

I glance down at my desk calendar.
One week. Two weeks. Three weeks. Four
 . . .

“Wow.”

“What?”

“It’s been four weeks.”

“
Four
weeks? You’ve slept next to that man every night and you haven’t—”

“I haven’t felt like it, Leo! And it’s not like he’s tried . . .”

“Of course he hasn’t tried! You’ve been an insane pregnant woman with your crazy mood swings and that gigantic pimple on your forehead.”

“Hey!” But Leo isn’t listening to me. He’s powering off my laptop and grabbing my bag. “What the hell are you doing?”

“You are leaving right this minute. Go over to that man’s office and show him some appreciation.” Leo reaches for my ponytail and loosens my hair. He immediately starts ruffling it with his fingers. Satisfied, he then looks at my clothes. “The skirt’s good. Heels would have been nice.”

I roll my eyes. “Sorry, I wasn’t planning to seduce anyone today. Besides, Devin won’t let me wear them. The baby book says not to, and in Devin’s world, that book is gospel.”

Leo’s face softens. “He really loves you.”

“I know.” I smile.

“Go!” Leo pulls me by the arm and leads me to the exit. “And I want details!”

“Not a chance.” I grin and kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Leo.”

I’ve never actually been to Devin’s office, so I’m surprised when his secretary greets me by name. Sure, we’ve spoken on the phone a few times, but we’ve never met.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Alicia. I’m curious. How’d you know it was me?”

“Your picture’s on his desk. And on his screensaver. You make him very happy.”

Suddenly, Devin curses loudly from behind his office door.

“He doesn’t sound too happy today.”

Alicia winces. “For the past few weeks he’s been . . . on edge. I was just getting ready to take him some coffee.
Decaf
.”

I grin. “Is he . . . umm . . . busy for the next hour or so?”

“Actually, his schedule’s clear for the next two hours. I’m headed out to lunch.”

“And how long is your lunch?”

“How long do you want it to be?”

We smile at each other.

Once she leaves, I softly knock on Devin’s door. He mutters something unintelligible when I walk into the room.

“Alicia, forget the coffee,” he snaps as he looks down at his phone. “I think I’ll go to the gym for lunch. Work off some steam. Call and see if my trainer is available.”

Guilt consumes me. He looks so stressed out, and it dawns on me that this wonderful man who’s been so calm and patient with me is actually at his wit’s end.

“I can think of a much better way to work off some steam.”

Devin’s head snaps up. Reaching behind me, I lock the door. His gaze never leaves mine as I make my way over to his desk.

“Hi, baby,” he says softly. “I’m sorry. I thought you were Alicia.”

With a nod, I turn his chair around before reaching for the buttons of my blouse.

“Alicia’s gone to lunch. A very long lunch.”

His eyes glaze over as I strip slowly, letting my blouse fall to the floor.

“Why would she be taking a long lunch?”

I unzip my skirt and let it pool at my feet before climbing onto his mahogany desk. Devin’s eyes rake over my body, and for the first time in weeks, I don’t feel fat or unattractive. I felt beautiful and powerful and desired.

“I asked her to. I thought you and I could use some privacy.”

Devin rises from his seat and stands between my legs. Leaning in, his lips gravitate to mine, but I dodge his kiss in order to make quick work of his shirt and slacks. They fall to the floor, and I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

“Have you ever had sex in your office?”

He shakes his head.

“Do you want to?”

His mouth collides with mine, and with that, I have my answer.

“T
oday is an important day,” Devin murmurs softly against my stomach. “We get to find out if you’re a boy or a girl. It’s very important you aren’t shy this morning.”

I laugh and slide my fingers through his hair. “Devin, I don’t think—”

“Hush. I’m negotiating with our child.”

I stifle my laughter as he promises to buy the kid a car for his
or her
sixteenth birthday, if only they’ll cooperate today. I love seeing him happy and totally in love with our baby, so I let him continue his silly discussion until Dr. Clifton walks in. The man barely gets the door closed before Devin’s on his feet.

“We can do the ultrasound today, right?”

Dr. Clifton grins. “Good morning to you, too.”

“Sorry, Doc. Devin’s a little excited.”

“Well,” the doctor muses, and I swear I can see a twinkle in his eye. “We can certainly try. Let’s just hope Baby McAllister isn’t feeling shy today.”

Devin shakes his head and sits back down beside me. “Not gonna happen. We just had a very long talk.”

“Oh?”

“Devin and the baby have a deal,” I explain. “If the baby gives us a peep show today, Devin buys him or her a car when they turn sixteen.”

Dr. Clifton laughs. “Well, that sounds like a good deal to me. Let’s give it a shot.”

Moments later, Devin excitedly squeezes my hand as Dr. Clifton slides the transducer across my stomach. The three of us watch the blurry screen with anticipation.

“There’s the heartbeat,” the doctor says, pointing to a rhythmic thumping on the screen. “Still just the one, by the way.”

I sigh with relief. Not that twins wouldn’t have been great. It’s just the idea of one baby is overwhelming enough.

“What’s that? It looks like a long string of pearls.” Devin asks softly.

“The baby’s spine.”

I don’t trust myself to speak. I’m too mesmerized by the sight of our baby on the screen.

“There’s a leg,” Dr. Clifton murmurs.

Our eyes follow the shape of the leg until we find—or
don’t
find—what we’re looking for.

“I guess she’s getting a car when she turns sixteen,” Dr. Clifton says with a chuckle. “Congratulations. I’ll just give you guys a minute.”

Tears swim in my eyes as we watch our daughter on the black and white screen. Devin sighs contently and presses a kiss to my cheek.

“Look at her, Songbird.”

All I can do is look at her, and in that moment, I’m suddenly seized with fear. She’s tiny and defenseless, and I certainly haven’t had the best of role models when it comes to mothers.

“Can I do this?”

Devin squeezes my hand. “Of course you can do this. You can do anything.
We
can do anything.”

“Why aren’t you scared? How can you be so optimistic?”

Devin chuckles. “Are you kidding? I’m scared to death. But she’s ours, Callie. We’ll love her and protect her, because that’s what good parents do. We’ll figure it out. I can’t wait to figure it out.”

I marvel at the sincerity in his voice and pray he’s right.

After our appointment, we call our family and friends with the news. With the gender revealed—and happily announced to anyone within earshot—Devin decides it’s time to hit the baby superstore.

“Do we really need a bassinette?” I ask while Devin examines the safety ratings on the box. “I mean, isn’t the crib enough?”

“Well, the good thing is that the bassinette is portable. So, if the crib is upstairs but we’re downstairs, we wouldn’t have to carry the baby up just so she can take a nap.”

Someone’s obviously further along in the furniture chapter of the baby book.

“But we don’t have stairs.”

“I know, but we might someday.”

“Oh really?”

Devin shrugs and heads over to the car seats. One model has so many snaps and buckles I’m pretty sure it could be used on the space shuttle.