Chapter Twenty-Seven
The smell of coffee and cinnamon wafted through the air as Dina stretched her arms in bed, but it wasn’t her bed, which made things a little odd. She totally thought Sam was overreacting when he said she could stay with him while her bedroom was fixed up from the rodent mishap.
But that was until she stepped into her bedroom to see the curtains and comforter shredded, clothes in nesting piles, and stains on her bedroom wall that made absolutely no sense. In fact, she refused to think how they got there or what they were.
So, here she was staying at Sam North’s home for the holidays for the second night. There was no denying it. Staying at his house was nice. Really nice. It was almost like a mini-vacation only she was minutes away from her own house.
Dina rubbed her belly and let out a happy sigh. Yesterday at the doctor’s appointment, she’d gotten an ultrasound. They were having a baby girl, and she couldn’t be happier. She’d secretly always wanted a girl, but she knew she’d be happy no matter what.
Dina shoved off the goose down comforter and crawled out of bed, noticing her reflection across the room in a mirror. It was like her belly had suddenly tripled in size. She’d never been a petite girl, but growing a baby really accentuated her curves, and nothing about getting dressed in the morning was easy. It was like she had to shovel her breasts into a bra, either pull up or pull down her underwear over her belly, and then of course, beg and coax any zipper to close and stay closed.
But she wouldn’t change any of it for the world.
Not to mention, she no longer hated avocados. Being in her second trimester made her world a little brighter and a little less nauseating.
“You up?” Sam asked through the door.
She quickly pulled on the bathrobe and didn’t bother trying to tie it up. She’d only be fooling herself if she thought she could do it.
“Sure am.” Dina opened the door to see Sam standing there with a steaming cup of coffee for her. He was dressed in plaid pajama pants and a red thermal, and she swore her heart squeezed a little at the sight.
“Merry Christmas. For you.” He handed her the mug, and she warmed with his kindness, even though she couldn’t accept his caffeinated gift.
“I actually—”
“It’s decaf.” He smiled, and she felt like getting on the ground and bowing down to this amazing man. Smelling the coffee this morning was near torture knowing she couldn’t have one drop. “You don’t think I want to make our baby act like the energizer bunny, do you?”
Dina laughed and took a sip of the liquid gold, loving the way the words sounded.
Our baby.
“I made fresh cinnamon rolls.” Sam smiled and gave her a quick hug before leaning down to her belly. “I hope you’re hungry.”
“The kid is starving.” Dina laughed. “I promise you that. Whatever you see about to go down in the kitchen, just blame your little girl.”
Sam stood back up and smiled a smile Dina had never seen before. It was a mixture of pride, excitement, and contentment, and she realized that Sam wasn’t faking this. He truly wanted this baby as much as she did.
“Are we going to your family’s for Christmas dinner?” Dina asked, following him down the stairs to the kitchen.
“We could or I have a rib roast I could make for the three of us.”
She chuckled, enjoying the fact that she could finally share this experience with someone.
“You didn’t get to see them last night on Christmas Eve. Won’t you miss them tonight?” Dina asked, concerned.
“I want to do whatever will make you the most comfortable.” Sam grabbed two plates and placed a warm, gooey-centered cinnamon roll on each plate. Dina thought about it and wasn’t even sure what she wanted. Decisions were getting more and more difficult to make. She wanted to believe pregnancy brain wasn’t a thing, but it was suddenly not seeming that way.
“I see them more than enough and they know this time is special for us,” he added.
“Us?” Dina asked, swiping her finger along the warm icing and taking a lick.
“Well, I guess you have a point. I never did ask the obvious.” Laughter darted through his gaze as she swatted him with a paper towel. “And you never actually said.”
She chuckled and took a bite of the delicious cinnamon roll. “Is there nothing you can’t do?”
“Apparently not.” A look of satisfaction skated across his expression as he took a bite.
“And yes it is yours,” she teased, knowing full well he already knew. It made things easy when you had dry spells as long as hers.
“Thank God. I was holding my breath.” He took another bite of the roll and looked over Dina’s shoulder. “Should we open presents?”
“Wait. What? I didn’t have time to go shopping for you. I had no idea we—”
He held up his finger and shook his head. “It’s not about that.”
Sam put his empty plate into the sink and grabbed her hand, leading her into the great room.
The moment Dina turned around, she was frozen in place. Underneath the Christmas tree there were glittery and sparkly packages of all sizes. She had absolutely no idea when Sam could have found this many items.
“Sam, this is too—”
“Nothing is too much for the loves of my life,” Sam said, his voice low as he brought her into him.
“Sam…” Dina slowly shook her head, worried that it was only a mix of seeing the ultrasound yesterday and the holidays. “I can’t go there. I don’t want to get hurt and there is more than just me I have to worry about.”
He brushed a piece of hair from her cheek and he smiled, looking into her eyes. “I know and I’m in no hurry. I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to realize I’m not going anywhere.”
“But I don’t want a relationship to happen between us only because of a child.”
“First of all, a child is a good reason to have one.” Sam’s gaze stayed on hers. “But I was falling in love with you even before you couldn’t tolerate guacamole. Having a baby with you is just an added benefit.”
She let out a long sigh and couldn’t help the smile that was coating her lips.
“Sam, even if you’re just the world’s best charmer, you certainly know how to make me feel better about things.”
“Better?” he asked, loosening his grip. “Are you feeling bad?”
“Not bad just unsettled.” She bit her lip and looked away. “I’m only halfway through the pregnancy and yet I want to meet her now. I want to get into my new routine with her in it.”
Sam laughed and nodded. “I know, but you really don’t want to rush things when it comes to labor and delivery.”
Dina chuckled and brought her gaze back to his.
“And in the meantime, why don’t you let me spoil you a little?”
“Me?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
“You don’t think these are all for the baby, do you?”
“I assumed so, yeah.” Her eyes canvassed the pile of presents before returning to Sam. He looked like a little kid on Christmas about to open his presents, only none of these presents were for him.
“You know this is the first Christmas that I didn’t wake up thinking about my family back in Iowa.”
“Really?” His eyes widened with surprise.
“Yeah. It was really nice.” Dina walked over to the couch as Sam turned on the gas fireplace.
“Since you’re starting your own family and knowing what you do now about your parents, it probably puts a lot of things in perspective and allows the right priorities to take shape.”
“It sure does.” Dina nodded in agreement, watching him pick up a pile of packages and bring them over to her. She felt suddenly shy about all of these things he was surrounding her with. She could certainly afford to buy everything she and the baby needed, but it was the thought that Sam went and did this for her all on his own that warmed her heart.
He might be a bachelor who had enjoyed his single life for years, but he had a kind soul and she couldn’t get past that quality. It figured she’d pick the one wanna-be reformed bachelor to have a one-night stand with, and it would really figure she got pregnant by the same man.
She leaned against the couch and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Sam smiled.
“Just the irony of the situation.”
“Which part?”
“I decide to finally let myself have a one-night stand and I get pregnant.”
“I don’t see it that way.” His lips curled slightly.
He sat down and rubbed her knee, and it was like everywhere he touched left a scorching mark. It was so weird that she was so pregnant but couldn’t stop thinking about sleeping with him again.
“How do you see it?” she asked, as he handed her a package.
“Well, in my mind we were dating.” Sam laughed and rubbed the whiskers on his chin. “Or at least I knew we would be.”
“Must be nice to be so sure of yourself,” Dina teased, sliding her finger along the gift wrap.
“It has its benefits.” He grinned and moved closer to her on the couch, draping his arm around her shoulders. “But since the moment I met you, I just knew you—”
“Make sure you mean what you’re about to say,” Dina interrupted. “Because I’m falling for you too and I don’t want to make a mistake. My life isn’t just about me any more.”
A few seconds of silence passed between them before Sam leaned over and touched his lips to Dina’s. The package she’d been holding fell to the ground and she managed to giggle with her mouth still pressed to his.
He dropped his hands to the waist of her bathrobe and let his fingers slide underneath the plush material. Dina’s breath caught as she felt his fingers skate across the flimsy fabric of her nightgown as Sam’s mouth parted. Sweetness coated his lips as their tongues swirled into a frenzy of pent-up want and desire.
Their kisses only broke as she quickly shrugged off the robe, and his hands worked her nightgown over her head, revealing her naked body.
His hands ran over her curves, and his tongue plunged deeper as he let out a low moan before tearing his mouth away to kiss her neck. He ran his tongue along her bare skin and heat and arousal filled her body as he worked his mouth down to her breasts. His strong hands skated across her belly and she let out a little cry of pure joy.
She quivered from the sensations rolling through her body as his kisses continued down to her stomach but then reality set in and her body stiffened.
“Sam,” she said quietly, her voice hoarse with desire. “I can’t. We shouldn’t.”
Sam stopped and looked into Dina’s eyes, his breathing still ragged.
“I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t want you to make a mistake,” Dina said, trying to catch her breath.
“In my eyes, you walk on water,” Sam whispered. “You’re perfect.”
“Then you need glasses, Sam.”