At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [17]
He pulled her closer, figuring it was best not to mention the word selfish. “I was thinking how lucky the baby is to have you as a mother.”
She smiled before turning to study him. “I hope our daughter has your dimple.”
“You like my dimple?”
“I adore your dimple. But I hope she has my eyes.”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“Nothing’s wrong with your eyes.”
“But yours are so much better? I’ll have you know, my mother loves my eyes.”
“I do, too. On you, they’re seductive. I just don’t want our daughter to have seductive eyes. She’s only a baby.”
He laughed. “What else?”
She stared at him, concentrating. “I want her to have my hair, too. And my nose and chin.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And my forehead, too.”
“Your forehead?”
She nodded. “You’ve got a wrinkle between your eyebrows.”
He absently brought his finger to it, as if he’d never noticed it before. “It comes from furrowing my brow.” He showed her. “See? It’s from deep concentration. Thinking. Don’t you want our daughter to think?”
“Are you saying you want our daughter to have wrinkles?”
“Well . . . no, but you’re saying that all I get is a dimple?”
“How about if she gets your ears?”
“Ears? No one cares about ears.”
“I think your ears are darling.”
“Really?”
“Your ears are perfect. Probably the world’s most perfect ears. I’ve heard people talking about how wonderful your ears are.”
He laughed. “Okay, my ears and dimple, your eyes, nose, chin, and forehead. Anything else?”
“How about if we stop? I’d hate to think what you’d say if I told you I also want her to have my legs. You seem pretty sensitive right now.”
“I’m not sensitive. But I happen to think I’ve got something more to offer than ears and a dimple. And my legs . . . well, they’ve turned heads, if you really must know.”
She giggled. “Okay, okay,” she said, “you made your point. What are your thoughts on the wedding?”
“Changing the subject?”
“We do have to talk about it. I’m sure you want to have some input.”
“I think I’ll leave most of that up to you.”
“I was thinking about having it take place near the lighthouse. Out by the cottage?”
“I remember,” he said, knowing she was referring to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where her parents had been married.
“It’s a state park, so we’ll need to get a permit. But I was thinking maybe late spring or early summer. I don’t want my tummy showing in any pictures.”
“Makes sense to me. After all, you don’t want anyone to think you’re pregnant. What would people say?”
She laughed. “So you don’t have any opinions on the wedding? Anything special you’ve always dreamed about?”
“Not really. Now, opinions on the bachelor party, that’s something different. . . .”
She punched him playfully in the belly. “Watch it,” she teased. Then, settling back, she added, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m here, too.”
“When do you want to go house shopping?”
These sudden shifts in conversation served to continually remind Jeremy that his life had suddenly undergone a drastic change. “Excuse me?”
“House shopping. We’re going to have to buy a house, you know.”
“I thought we were going to live here.”
“Here? This place is tiny. Where would you have your office?”
“In the spare bedroom,” he said. “There’s plenty of room.”
“And the baby? Where’s she going to sleep?”
Oh yeah, the baby. Amazing that he forgot about that for a second there.
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“I think I’d like something on the water, if that’s okay.”
“Water sounds nice.”
Her face took on an almost dreamy expression as she continued. “And someplace with a big wraparound porch. Someplace homey, with spacious rooms and windows that let the sun shine in. And a tin roof. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard the rain coming down on a tin roof. It’s the most romantic sound in the world.”
“I can live with romantic sounds.”
She furrowed her brow, considering his responses. “You’re being awfully easy about this.”
“You’re forgetting that I’ve lived in an apartment for the last fifteen years. We worry about different things, like whether the elevator works.