First comes love.
Then comes marriage.
Then comes a-
Unfortunately, life is not a checklist, and there's no white picket fences and baby carriages. After a failed long and stable relationship, Arryn Rivera tries her hand at online dating and gets mo...
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After lunch, on his walk back to the office, he kept going over what his sister said. He was angry, and maybe he was punishing Arryn for everything that'd happened to him. But he wasn't in love with her. No way. He could never love a woman who'd lied as much as she had. He wouldn't allow it. But he wanted his daughter to know that he'd take care of the both of them. In his book, Arryn should be satisfied with that.
When Rhys got home that evening, he found his wife asleep on the couch with Guinivere curled at her feet. Wallpaper books, fabric swatches, and paint samples covered the floor and coffee table.
He set his bag down and stepped deeper into the room. Her long dark hair fanned out over the throw pillow she'd propped under her head. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. One hand rested on the baby bump, and the other hung off the edge of the sofa. Looking at her caused a lump in his throat. He didn't love her. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He'd already let too many women take advantage of him. She was one more to add to the list. The only difference was now there was a child to consider. One conceived out of lies and manipulation.
She roused. He quickly went into the kitchen. It wouldn't be good for her to catch him staring at her like a lovesick fool.
She sat up and stretched. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in."
He coughed and averted his eyes. The way she was stretching only highlighted the fact that her boobs had gotten bigger. "I read women need more rest when they're pregnant."
"I cooked most of the day. I was tired. Your mom called. Seems your parents and mine hit it off so well at the wedding, Tawny invited them for Thanksgiving."
"Hail, hail, the gang will all be there."
"Have you read over the list of family names your mother gave me? If there's one you and I both agree on, I'm not opposed to using it. Otherwise, we can just choose one for a middle name."
"I told you days ago I'd get to it."
Arryn joined him. "I made shakshuka for dinner. I used to eat it all the time after we visited Israel when I was little. I didn't know how you feel about spicy foods, so I also baked some chicken."
"I'll try it."
"Okay." She went to the fridge, moved things around, then set a dish on the counter.
Rhys stared down at the recipe. It looked like a bunch of eggs drowned in tomato sauce.
As she set the table, she talked. "I have some paint samples to consider. I didn't want to go with the standard pink. I thought we might do stripes in cream. Alternate glossy and matte."
"Do we have to decide right now? The kid won't be here for three more months."
She heaped portions into two bowls and pulled out some flatbread, and he felt terrible for what he said.
