“I noticed that you sometimes have them in your office.”
Wow. “Careful, Clay. That’s downright thoughtful of you.”
He leaned against the kitchen counter. As perfect as they’d looked together in that photo from the night in Los Angeles, she thought he looked even more perfect in her apartment. “Actually, it’s good that I got here early. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about our chat the other night at work.”
She had no idea what he was about to say, but she was glad he’d been thinking about it. She’d been stuck with a nonstop loop of their conversation in her head. “Of course.”
“I wanted to say thank you for being so understanding and listening to me. I also want to thank you for calling me out on a few things. I love my sister, and she does tell me when I’m wrong, but she also probably gives me a little too much latitude.”
“Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about what you will allow to happen in your romantic life?” She might as well put it all on the line. Better to know now what he was thinking.
“Let’s just say that my hard-lined approach might be softening.” He had a sly glint in his eye that made Astrid’s heart flutter.
She didn’t want to take too much latitude right now and spook him, but this revelation did make her feel more optimistic about the way this night might go. “Any interest in helping me wrap a gift for your sister?”
“I didn’t know we were doing gifts.”
“We aren’t, technically. But she mentioned this specific thing and I had to get it for her, but it’s going to be impossible to wrap. It’s a pretty big job, but since you’re an architect, I’m thinking you’re up to the task.”
He seemed skeptical. “That hardly sounds like a job I’m qualified for.”
“Come on.” Astrid led Clay through her living room and back to her bedroom, where the gift was waiting. “There. I need to figure out how to wrap that.”
Clay looked at her as if she had a screw loose. “You can’t wrap a stroller.”
“Why not?”
He walked over to it and gave it a push across the hardwood floor. How did he manage to make the role of dad so super sexy? “I don’t know. Because it’s ridiculous? Just put a bow on it.”
“Don’t you think it would be funny? If we bring it out to Miranda and it’s obvious what it is, but it’s still wrapped?”
He regarded the stroller and let out a quiet laugh. “I guess.”
“Look, I want tonight to be special for your sister. Just help me, okay?” She stepped to the corner and grabbed the extra-large roll of heavy-duty wrapping paper she’d bought, then handed Clay the scissors and tape.
“Alright then, let’s get to work.” Together, on hands and knees, they wrapped every square inch of the thing—the handle, the frame and seat, and even the wheels. It required a lot of tape and a lot of one person holding the paper in place while the other made sure it all stuck together. At nearly every juncture there was a brush of hands. The bumping of shoulders. The exchange of smiles. Each time they made contact, the hunger inside her grew a little more, as Astrid was hit with a different memory of her night with Clay. The raw passion of the first time. His mouth on her body. Her hands all over his.
“I have to ask you,” Clay said when they were nearly finished. “Why would you host a baby-related event for my sister? For that matter, why buy her an expensive gift? Doesn’t it hurt, considering that you and Johnathon tried to have a baby and it didn’t happen for you?”
Astrid sat back on her haunches. “You know about that?”
“I do. You hinted at it in the car on the way to LA, and my sister mentioned it as well.”
“Ah, Miranda. She does enjoy sharing people’s stories, doesn’t she?”
His eyes, so warm and welcoming in the soft light of her bedroom, settled on her face. “She does when she cares about someone. Believe me, everything she said was only in the context of marveling at your generosity. She was genuinely surprised at how you took the news of her pregnancy. I think it means a great deal to her.”
“And there’s your answer. It doesn’t hurt to help her celebrate. We’re still welcoming a baby into the world, and this baby is special. He or she will be one half someone I loved very much. Plus, I can’t help but be excited by the idea of all children. That’s part of why I’ve always wanted to be a mom.”
“That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.” His voice was low and soft, and she sensed now that there was an invisible tether between them. There was a reason she was so drawn to him. “How are you so amazing? Are you even real?”
She would have laughed if the question wasn’t putting her on a pedestal she never asked for. “Of course I am. I’m flesh and blood like anyone else. I’m just as breakable as anyone.” She didn’t want to cry, but as her sights traveled between Clay and the stroller, all she could think about was what might have been, both in her distant past and the more recent. She and Clay could have been something. They could still be something, if he’d only let her in. A tear leaked from her eye and she quickly swiped it away.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m fine,” she lied.
Clay spread his arms wide. “No, you’re not. Come here.”
“No. I’m not going to cry.”
He tilted his head to one side, waving her closer with his hand. “Astrid. Come on. I’m not going to think any less of you.”
“It’s not that.” She turned to confront him, frustrated that she wanted him so
