As Alex and I walk outside hand in hand, I inhale the fresh, crisp air while it’s still breathable in the morning. Early May temps in Texas feel like August in Wisconsin. Hot as hell. And it’s only going to get worse.

It’s been over two months since I moved, and although there have been many perks to being here during the Wisconsin winters, I’m starting to think I won’t survive the Texas summers. My body isn’t used to this heat so early in the year, and I’ve debated stuffing bags of frozen peas in my shirt and shorts.

“Are you excited?” I’m nearly bouncing to the truck. “I can’t wait for you to see the baby on the 3D ultrasound.”

“Explain to me what that means again?” He opens the door for me and helps me inside. Now that I’m over six months pregnant, and my growing belly is much more noticeable, Alex has definitely been extra protective. A quality I definitely like in him.

Once he rounds the front of the truck and hops inside, I explain. “Well, it provides three-dimensional views of the baby, and you can see all their little features in great detail. A regular ultrasound you can see the outline and sometimes the small facial features, but with a 3D ultrasound, it’s like seeing the baby right in front of you. It also provides better analysis of the assessment.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen one of those before. Makes the baby look like an alien,” he cracks, starting the engine. Immediately, I crank on the air because being pregnant is a self-heating oven as it is.

“It does not.” I slap his shoulder and scowl.

He looks over at me and winks. “I’m just kiddin’, babe.” He shifts his baseball cap around and leans over the center console for a kiss. “It’ll be the cutest alien baby there ever was.”

“Stop it.” I crack up laughing at his cuteness but lean in for a kiss anyway.

“So, are we going to find out the sex? Everyone keeps asking me, and I just keep saying it’s a boy.”

“You’re telling people it’s a boy?” I chuckle. “What if it’s a girl?”

He shrugs, keeping one hand on the steering wheel while he holds my hand in the other. This is as much as we touch, but my body begs for more. I keep holding back, trying to remind myself that we can’t rush this like we did the first time. Even though he’s been a complete gentleman, it’s getting harder and harder to deny the fact that I need him.

I want to strip off his clothes and ride him like a mechanical bull.

Oh God. Now I’m starting to sound like Natalie.

“If it’s a girl, I guess she’ll be wearing a lot of blue,” he teases.

“No way. Pink and purple.”

He snorts. “Yeah.”

“Then I guess we better settle it today and find out.”

“Fine by me.” He shoots me a wide smile.

We could’ve found out when I was twenty weeks, but with the hospital being an hour away and a severe case of morning sickness that day, I ended up canceling my appointment. Since there’s only one radiologist available, I had to wait for the next opening, which is today.

“Have you thought of any names?” I ask him when we finally hit the highway.

“Not really. Unless you like Bruno?”

I furrow my brows at him and curl my lip in response.

“That’s what I figured. Then nope. Have you?”

“A few, but nothing that’s really stuck.”

“Well, we have some time to figure it out.”

“I guess, but it’s going to fly by quick. We have less than three months left. But knowing the gender will help. Then we only have to brainstorm for one gender.”

“My money’s on it being a boy.” He looks over at me and grins.

“Well, knowing my luck, and the fact you have three brothers, I wouldn’t take that bet.” I chuckle. “Probably is another wild Bishop boy.”

“Yee-haw!” Alex shouts.

We arrive at my appointment with five minutes to spare and end up getting in right away. I’m so anxious I can barely contain myself. I’ve also had to pee for the last half hour, but having a full bladder helps get the best images.

“Doctor Granger asked for some measuring stats, and once I get those, we’ll take some pictures of your baby, okay?” the tech tells us as I settle into the seat.

Alex sits next to me, holding my hand and eagerly watching the screen that’s hung on the wall across from us.

“The detail is unreal,” he whispers. I smile and nod. It really is.

“That’s definitely a Bishop nose,” I say, laughing.

The tech continues measuring the head, heart, and length of the body. When an ultrasound is performed at twenty weeks, it’s a little easier to measure everything, but itching close to seven months means the baby has less room to stretch.

“I think I see it,” Alex announces, narrowing his eyes on the screen. “Yup, it’s definitely a boy!”

The ultrasound tech pulls her lips in to hide a smile, but I can’t.

“That’s a leg, you fool!” I laugh so hard, the tech has to stop the wand until my stomach stops moving.

“Oh, come on,” he groans. “Here I thought I produced a legend.”

I snort and take a deep breath, so the tech can continue.

“This is why I can’t take you places,” I tease.

He smirks and flashes another wink. Hell. Doesn’t he know what those do to me? Or shit, maybe he does, and that’s his plan.

After another five minutes, the tech tells us she’s finished measuring everything. I see the heart beating rapidly and smile. “Everything looks okay?”

I know she’s technically not supposed to say anything since the doctor has to look at the scans first, but she flashes me a grin that reveals what I need to know.

“Everything looked really great.”

“So what’s the gender?” Alex asks, looking back and forth between me and the screen.

“You really wanna find out? Are you sure?”

“I do, but only if you want to.”

I bite down on my lip, contemplating, but decide I do want to know. “Yeah, let’s find out!”

The tech moves the wand around until we can see between the legs, and as soon as the baby shifts a little, I see it.

“You see the baby’s two legs moving right there?” I point to one side of the screen as we get a view from behind the baby.

“Yeah?” He tilts his head.

“See that thing between it?”

The tech snaps a pic and freezes the frame.

“Wait…” Alex says, narrowing his eyes. “Is that a—”

“That’s a penis!” the tech blurts out.

“It’s a boy? It’s a boy!” Alex jumps out of his seat still holding my hand. My head falls back, laughing at how excited he is right now. “I knew it!”

“Yes, you did.” I smile.

He leans down and cups my face before pressing his lips to mine. It’s not a quick kiss like we’ve been sticking to, but one that lingers. It’s sweet and passionate, and if we didn’t have an audience right now, I’d be tempted to deepen the kiss.

Once we break apart, the tech prints out the pictures and tells us congratulations.

“Thank you,” I say before she walks out of the room to give us privacy.

“I can’t believe it.” Alex sighs.

I grab my clothes so I can change.

“Okay, but we aren’t naming him Bruno,” I warn.

He snorts, giving me one of his irresistible looks. “We’ll see.”

Once we’re back in the truck, I snap pictures of the ultrasound photos with my phone so I can send them to Natalie and my mom. I add the words “I’m a boy!” to the message and hit send. I promised to keep them updated as much as I can, but there’s always so much going on, I often forget. I want to surprise Alex’s family and tell them in person.

“Before we go to the mall, I need to find some food,” I tell Alex as he pulls out of the parking lot. Since my appointment was this morning, we planned a whole day while we’re in the city. I need a few things for the nursery yet, and now that we know it’s a boy, we can start gathering more stuff.

He looks at the clock and then back up at me.

“Yes, I know I just ate before we left, but I’m hungry again.” I grimace.

He lifts a hand up. “I didn’t say a thing.”

I throw him a faux scowl. “You didn’t have to. I can read your body language pretty well, cowboy.”

He smirks, keeping quiet.

“We need to find a gift to send to Courtney and Drew, too. I feel awful they’re up there all by themselves now. I wish we could’ve flown up there with your mom and Benita last week to visit them in the NICU.” They could only stay a few days to meet the babies and visit. Since the babies are preemies, they’ll be in the hospital at least for a couple months, which I know is hard.

Courtney went into labor ten days ago and had a C-section. Two boys and a girl. All three are in incubators and breathing machines until they gain more weight. I’ve seen a lot of babies in the PICU and NICU, and it was always devastating to watch the parents cry and beg to hold them. It brings me to tears just thinking about it.

“Babe, what’s the matter?” Alex notices the shift in my mood and grabs my hand. “Why’re ya cryin’?”

“I’m fine.” I swipe the tears away. “Hormones make me way more emotional than I should be.”

“We can FaceTime Courtney later if you want? Check on them.”

I nod. “Yeah, if she’s up for it, I’d love that.”

I know Courtney and Drew have friends in California, but there’s just something about being stuck in a hospital for hours and days at a time that can drive a person mad. I’ve seen it too many times to count.

“We should get Courtney and Drew a gift for just them and then something for each of the babies for when they come home.”

“Sounds good, sweetheart.”

Courtney and I grew pretty close over the past several weeks. Ever since Mama’s surprise party, we’ve texted and FaceTimed to chat about our pregnancies and all the cute baby clothes they were stocking up on. They decided to wait on having a baby shower until the babies were born and back home, so I hope Alex and I will be able to visit when that time comes.

After we stopped to refuel the truck, we stop for food to refuel my belly.

“What are we looking for exactly?” Alex asks when he drives around for a parking spot at the mall.

“Well, we need a crib for starters. A changing table. Dresser and nightstand. Some kind of bassinet. Clothes. Diapers. Humidifier—”

“River,” Alex blurts, grabbing my hand to stop my rambling. “If you’d just let Benita and my mom throw you a shower like they want, we could get everything we need and more.”

I give him a look; the same one he gets every time it’s brought up. “You know how I feel about that.”

“About them wanting to shower you with gifts?”

“About taking advantage of their generosity. I barely let Natalie take me out for my birthdays. I just don’t feel right taking gifts from people.”

“Think of it as them showering the baby with gifts instead.”

I flash him another look when he finally finds a parking spot.

“Hey, it’s what Southerners do. We throw parties and give gifts. Sometimes all at the same time. Hell, sometimes for no reason at all. Not accepting it is an insult.”

“So, you’re saying if I don’t let them throw me a party, they’re going to be insulted?”

“Yes. They enjoy that kind of stuff. They live for that kind of stuff. Plus, it’ll give you and Mama more time to bond.”

I keep my lips tight and force out a smile. “Fine.” I grit my teeth.

“That’s my girl.” He winks. “So we can head back home then?”

I scowl, tightening my grip on his hand. “No. We need a gift for Courtney and the babies, plus something blue so we can tell your family it’s a boy. And maybe some new yoga pants because my ass is falling out of these.”

He starts to snicker.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me. Your huge baby is doing this to me.”

“Considering all of us boys are well over six feet tall, my guess is he’s going to be big too.”

I sigh. “Might as well skip the newborn clothes and go straight to the twelve-month clothing.”

“Let’s find him a little cowboy hat, too.” He grins. I say something smart but just seeing him all excited melts my heart.

We browse the mall for hours until my lower back starts to tighten. Looking down, I see my ankles are starting to swell, too, and that’s when I know it’s time to sit. We ended up finding matching green onesies for the triplets that read I’m new here on the front. Even though we got the zero to three month size, they won’t be able to wear them for a while.

I found Courtney a baby journal so she can document everything that happens while they’re in the NICU. I’ve always found that journaling helps me cope with stress and figured she could write in it while she’s recovering from her C-section.

Then we found a blue onesie with a matching bib set that reads I get my looks from my daddy and plan to show it off to everyone to announce we’re having a boy.

Alex was such a champ shopping with me today. He didn’t complain once and even pointed out stuff that we should put on our baby registry. Sometimes I’d just stare at him and wonder how I got so lucky to be with a man who’s this excited about becoming a father. Not that I wouldn’t expect him to be in normal circumstances, but given our situation, I truly had no idea how he’d react to all of this. Considering I barely knew him, there were a handful of reactions I was anticipating, but none like this.

“You’re really great, you know that?” I tell him when we’re both standing in the nearly empty nursery.

He arches a brow. “You’re just now figuring that out?” The corner of his lips tilts up, grinning.

I teasingly roll my eyes and move close. “Are you always this humble?”

“Very.”

When I step into his space, he takes advantage and wraps his arms around my waist to pull me even closer.

“Pretty soon, my belly is going to be so big, your arms won’t be able to fit.”

“Nah. I have long arms.” He flashes me a wink and tightens his grip.

I gaze up at him, my eyes telling him everything my mouth doesn’t. He leans down and presses his lips to mine. They feel so good; I don’t stop or push him away. Hell, I welcome them. I reach my arms around him, fisting my fingers in his shirt. My breath hitches when his lips move down my jawline and suck on my neck. My head falls back, encouraging him, and when he moans against my flesh, I nearly lose it right then.

His lips make their way back to mine, and as he cups my face, I feel the hardness under his jeans rub against me. It’s been so long that I’m desperate to touch and taste him again, but I don’t want things to change between us. The moment sex is back on the table, I know there will be that shift. Once those boundaries have been crossed, we can’t ever go back. We’re waiting, building our relationship from the ground up, and making sure what we have is something that can last. Jumping back into bed together can create a whole other set of problems that we don’t need.

At this moment, though, I don’t let those thoughts stop me from kissing him. His hand roams down my side and grips my ass, pushing my hips harder into his erection. Fuck, it feels so damn good. It makes me want him even more, and I’m ready to throw all our rules out the window because feeling him inside me again is the only thing I can think about.

My fingers cling to him as if my life depends on it. He reaches under my shirt and cups my breast, squeezing. A moan releases from my lips, and just as I grab for his jeans, his phone rings and interrupts our moment.

We break apart, both panting. Alex curses and pulls his cell from his pocket.

“Yeah?” he answers, annoyed.

I try catching my breath, adjusting my bra and shirt. Oh my God. That got out of hand way too fast.

“Fuck. Okay, I’ll be right there.”

He hangs up the call and looks at me with dreamy eyes.

“Sorry, that was John. He needs help with the horses quick. Apparently, a gate was left open, and they’re roaming freely around the B&B.”

I lick my lips and nod. “Okay. I’m going to get ready for bed.”

He steps forward, closing the gap between us. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He kisses my forehead before walking out of the nursery.

Once I hear his truck rumble to life, I lean against the wall and slide down it. Shit, that was intense. And close. I was nearly ready to rip off his jeans and ask him to fuck me six ways to Sunday.

I’m not sure if Alex and I can ever recreate the intensity we had in Key West, but I know being around him always ignites a fire inside me. Anytime he’s near, I can’t deny it. One thing I know for sure—if his phone hadn’t rung, the small shred of willpower that’s been stretched to the max would’ve finally snapped.