22. Henri

To say I was huge would be an understatement of epic proportions. I was freaking ginormous. Most of the time, I didn't notice. Sure, I had a belly, but I'd had one for quite a while now. But sometimes… sometimes, I'd walk past a window, catch a glimpse of my reflection, and see my body, and for a split second I would wonder who was in the reflection. Yes, I was so round that I didn't even recognize myself.

Unlike some dads-to-be on the internet in the parent groups, I didn't mind being huge. I was a home for our growing baby, and that was the most important thing. But on the practical sides of things, it was sometimes a pain in the butt.

I hadn't seen my dick in a week, and did I need to stare at it? No. But I did love watching my mate as he sucked me down, and now I couldn't always get a good angle. Hardly the end of the world. I also had days where I had two different shoes on because I couldn't see my feet. I'd resorted to sandals because the actual act of bending down to tie my shoes was pretty much impossible and some days my foot just slid into the wrong ones.

"You're overly pensive." Cole cupped my cheek and smiled sweetly at me.

"Yeah, I think I am," I admitted. "But not on anything real. I was just thinking about being pregnant and our baby and the meaning of life. You know, the norm."

He placed his hand on my belly. "I think about our baby a lot, too. I can't wait to meet them. I hope they look like you."

"Hey, I was hoping they looked like you. Don't steal my ideas." I chuckled, and our baby kicked.

Cole bent down in front of me and talked to my belly. "I know, little one. We're talking about you. But only because we love you so much."

He kissed my belly and then righted himself. "What would you like to do today?"

"Don't we have a whole lot to do?" My father-in-law had given us a list of things we needed to do this month, just like he always did. He called it our "agenda." If my memory was right, some people were coming from another nation to talk about agriculture. I knew it was important, and now that I was used to the way things worked around here, it wasn't that bad. Parts of it were actually growing on me.

He shook his head. "Spending time with my pregnant mate is far more important than nodding and smiling at some delegates that my father is meeting with."

I had to agree with him there.

"And before you ask, yes, my father knows and approves." He brushed some hair from my brow. "So if you could do anything you want, what would you want to do?"

"I'd like to go to the bookstore." I didn't even need to think about it. I'd been thinking about it a lot, nonstop. "They're having a special exhibit or something featuring local children's authors. And I've been wanting to add to our library for when our sweet one arrives."

My mate agreed. "That would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. And maybe afterward we can stop for ice cream."

I'd been having ice cream cravings nonstop, and I squeed at his suggestion.

We had a driver take us to the next city over, to the largest bookstore in the region and the one having the event. When we got there, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I'd always loved books, adored them really. I could easily have spent all day in there browsing the aisles looking for the perfect sci-fi novel. But today wasn't about me. We were here to spoil our little one.

Today was going to be far more fun than finding books for myself.

"We need to fill our baby's library." Which was not a true library, but more of a reading nook we'd created for them. It already had a lot of books. They were one thing I'd been picking up since the day I discovered I was pregnant. Lavender brought over a bunch of her favorites from when she was little, too.

"I figured today we could go through the exhibit and then the kids' section and see what early readers I would like for our child."

"Yeah. If they love books as much as we do, they'll appreciate it. And if they don't, learning to read will make school easier, and they'll appreciate that. So that's pretty much a win-win."

We picked up one of every book on display from the local authors. It was a nice way to give back, and really, with Cole's position, if he only picked one or two, rumors would get out about his purchases and they'd get an unfair advantage over the others. One from everyone was the way to go.

After that we walked into the kids' section and were immediately greeted by a woman who asked if we needed help finding anything. The second I gave her my laundry list, I realized she had just been making polite chit-chat, thinking I needed one book. Once she saw that wasn't the case, she called her coworker over, and we went to work.

Did we go overboard and buy more books than we currently had carved out space for? Absolutely. Was it also one of the best times I'd ever had at a bookstore? Also, yes. And the look on the cashier's face when she told us our total was absolutely priceless.

"Thank you." I looked at the books in the back of the extended SUV we'd been driven there in. Boxes and boxes and boxes of books.

"Don't thank me for providing for our child. I feel honored to be able to do so."

"I was thanking you for indulging me." I leaned into his side. "I know it's silly, but I want them surrounded by adventure."

He pulled me into his arms. "I won't let our little one have the isolated life you had." Sometimes he saw me oh too clearly. "I promise you."

He said it like a vow. Our baby was so lucky to have him as their dad.