TWENTY-TWO
“You didn’t actually say that,” Darcy giggled, her head tipping back as she gave in to the laughter Jeff had a knack for spurring.
The strong hands massaging her right foot stilled. “You dare doubt me?”
Sensing her foot rub might be at stake, Darcy offered her best winsome smile and promised, “Never.”
At seven-and-a-half months, her feet were feeling the strain of all the baby her body was carrying around, and there wasn’t a whole lot she wouldn’t do or say to ensure this heavenly attention continued.
Fortunately for her, Jeff had developed the unconscious habit of pulling her feet into his lap every time he dropped onto the couch beside her to talk. And they talked a lot. About whichever project was occupying center stage in her work with his mother, the latest developments at Jeff’s company, the psychological thriller they’d watched in bed the night before or their preference of one ethnic cuisine over another and whether they ought to try cooking it or just hit the place around the corner instead.
They talked about the house Jeff had picked out a half mile from his mom’s place, and whether Darcy wanted to move in right after the baby was born or whether she wanted to wait a month or so.
And they talked about the baby. Speculating on whether it was a boy or girl and which combination of traits from either of them would be the equivalent of winning the genetics jackpot.
Jeff’s take was their kid would be better off with her looks and hair in particular, regardless of whether it was a boy or girl. His singing voice—which was nuts. Her aptitude for quick learning and problem solving. And his brute strength—especially if it was a girl because if she looked like her mother, he wanted her to be able to protect herself like her dad.
Darcy’s picks were different. If they got a boy, she wanted him to look like Jeff and a girl she wanted to look like Gail—the fine-boned, feminine version of her son. Beautiful and refined rather than built with too many curves and looks that tended to attract the wrong attention. She wanted their child to have Jeff’s sense of humor, drive and generosity. And most of all she wanted this baby to grow up knowing the same kind of love and support that had fostered the happy, confident man across from her.
Jeff grinned, gently rolling her ankle and squeezing her heel. “That’s what I thought. Seriously though, Darce, I know it was a work thing, but you should have come with me. Garry’s a piece of work, but you would have enjoyed Denise. She’s got a six-month-old daughter and a sense of humor like yours and, you know what, they’re actually going to be at my table for the benefit next week.”
Pushing up against the cushions behind her, Darcy didn’t realize she’d begun to pull her foot into her body until Jeff drew it back to his lap.
“Don’t pull away,” he chided, losing some of the lightness in his expression. “I just thought you might enjoy meeting a few people. Maybe making some friends.”
“We’ve talked about this. I’ll make plenty of friends once the baby is born. I just don’t want to do it now, as your date. I don’t want to have to figure out how to explain how we’re together and how we aren’t, and I know you’re not naive enough to think it wouldn’t come up. I mean, honestly, Jeff, how would you even introduce me?”
He met her eyes with a hard stare, betraying a frustration that went deeper than this one night. “I’d say ‘This is Darcy Penn.’”