“I’m not—what’s wrong?” He noticed Liv tearing up.
She waved away his concern. “It’s nothing.” Jesus, these mood swings came out of nowhere.
With one hand carefully on Hannah’s little body, Sophie gave Liv a quick hug with her free arm. “You’re part of our family, too, Olivia.”
At Liv’s nod, emotion snuck its way up the back of Danny’s throat and he swallowed the tight knot. This unexpected situation they were in was so much more than an agreement between the two of them. Friendships and confidences would deepen and be tested. Stronger attachments created.
Danny watched Liv change Hannah’s diaper like a champ, but looked away while Sophie sat in the rocking chair and situated herself to breastfeed. He’d almost excused himself, but Liv had laced her fingers with his and brought him to sit beside her on the window seat.
They talked about Zane and Sophie’s trip to Hawaii next month for a surf tournament and work with SHE, the nonprofit organization they were both devoted to, and how excited Sophie was to take Hannah on her first trip.
Sophie asked how Liv was feeling—great with no more morning sickness—and before he knew it, Hannah was fed and being passed to Liv.
“I’ll just be a few minutes,” Sophie said before leaving the room.
Being left alone with Liv, her gaze lovingly on Hannah, didn’t just tug at his heartstrings. It knit together his love for his best friend and his unanticipated desire for his fiancée in a way he absolutely couldn’t ignore anymore.
You are so beautiful, Liv.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Liv whispered, her eyes glued to Hannah.
Danny didn’t take his eyes off Liv. “Yes.”
“I could stare at her all day.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, still stuck on the round curve of Liv’s cheek and the soft slope of her nose in profile.
“Do you want to find out the sex ahead of time?”
“Sorry?” he choked out, covering his mouth with his hand. Did she just say, “Want to have sex at bedtime?”
She spared him a quick peek, her enamor fixed on Hannah, not the idiot sitting next to her plotting to get her out of her clothes. “Do you want to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl or do you want to be surprised?”
Two words slammed into him like a bullet train without brakes: we and you. He didn’t know if Liv realized what she’d said, but if Hannah weren’t in her arms, he’d be all over his best friend. Hands, lips, tongue, from the tiny little birthmark above the corner of her left eye all the way down to her toes.
“I haven’t given it any thought,” he said, sounding far calmer than he felt. “What do you want to do?”
“I think I want to be surprised.” She slid her finger inside Hannah’s chubby palm. “I also think if it’s a girl, I get to name her and if it’s a boy, you get to.”
Killing him. She was killing him. “Liv, you don’t—”
“I already have a name picked out, so you better starting thinking of yours.”
He combed a hand through his hair. This was a big goddamn deal, and he didn’t know if he could handle it.
“Stop thinking so hard. You’re going to bust a blood vessel or something.” She turned to look him straight in the eye. “I’m sorry for how I overreacted earlier. I’m a little hormonal. But no matter what, you’re my best friend. You giving my son his name is something we can keep forever and it means a lot to me.”
“Okay,” he whispered, his heart hammering. How could he say no?
He didn’t want to say no.
…
Liv couldn’t believe how calm and cool she sounded when her insides were doing a double back flip with a twist. She’d be lying to herself if she said she hadn’t thought about Will during the past few minutes. What names would he have liked? Would he insist they find out the sex of the baby ahead of time or would he also want to be surprised?
This past week things between her and Danny had been uneasy and she’d thought about Will more often than she liked. But the second she’d put Danny’s hand on her stomach at the doctor’s office yesterday, everything changed.
Skin to skin like that, his warm, calloused palm on her expanding baby belly, turned their tense relationship on its head again. Liv had never felt more protected and safe than she had in that moment. Having Danny by her side made everything okay. Better. Right. The touch, while innocent, had felt more intimate than anything she’d experienced before. And ever since, all she could think about was having him inside her. Loving her the only way he hadn’t yet. Would he move with slow, deliberate strokes? Or fast, desperate thrusts?