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1109 Words
We hadn't really discussed boy names at all, but I had a list in my head. "What about Rowan?"
James scrunched up his nose.
"Lucas." When he didn't have a reaction, I decided to just start giving him more options. "Noah. Oliver. Elijah. Ryan."
He just stared blankly at me.
"James Junior?"
He laughed. "Absolutely not. Rob Junior is going to be enough juniors."
"Jace?"
"Two J names in the house would be bad. You'd probably yell Jace when you meant to yell James."
I laughed. "I don't make a habit of yelling at you."
"But if you did, it would be a problem."
"How about Liam Hunter?" I held my breath as I waited for his response. Liam was at the very top of my mental list.
"Yeah. Maybe. But it's probably going to be a girl." He leaned forward and put his hand on my stomach. "Isn't that right, Arya?"
I laughed. "We are not naming her after a Game of Thrones character. I've already vetoed that one."
"But you like Game of Thrones too. I don't understand what the big deal is."
"Everyone is going to be naming their little girls Arya. And it doesn't even sound good with Hunter."
"Arya Hunter," he said slowly. "It slides right off the tongue."
"Fine, it sounds okay. I just feel like I picture the character from the show when you say it. I don't want our daughter having an identity crisis."
"That character from the Big Bang Theory has the name Penny. Does seeing that show give you an identity crisis?" He let his hand drop from my stomach.
"No. But I look nothing like her."
James laughed. "So if our daughter comes out with red hair, which she probably will given our last one, we can name her Arya since she'll look different from the character?"
"That's not what I said."
"But we couldn't name her Sansa because they'd both have red hair and it would be super confusing for her growing up."
"I don't know. No one had my name growing up. The Big Bang Theory didn't come out until I was in high school."
"Well, plenty of kids had the name James and I turned out fine. By the way, Liam is on the top of the list for boy's names this year, so doesn't that kind of count that name out?"
"You've been looking at the list of most popular boy's names?"
"I mean...I may have glanced at it."
I smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling it back to my stomach. "I swear to you, this is a little boy."
His eyes twinkled as he spread his fingers out. "You said that last time."
"Everyone likes to rub that in my face. But now I have experience. And I'm telling you James, I feel it. He's stronger and more energetic and he's just...he's a he."
"I'm kind of used to coming home and asking how my girls are doing." He stared at my stomach. "What if it is a boy? What if I mess him up?"
His words hurt me because I knew what he was referring to. But how could he think that? He was so good with Scarlett. He'd be good with a son too. "You're not your parents, James."
He continued to stare at my stomach.
"And you're the best father I know. You know, my dad never played Pretty Pretty Princess with me."
James laughed. "God, I really want it to be another girl." He leaned down and placed a kiss against my stomach. "But I guess the name Liam isn't so bad if it's not."
I touched the bottom of his chin so that he'd look up at me. "You're a great father. The s*x of the baby doesn't matter. It's the love that you have that makes you so wonderful."
A pounding on the front door made me jump.
"Who could that be?" James said as he stood up. "If it's Rob dropping more children off, I'm not letting them in this time."
I laughed and followed James to the door. I did not expect to see Scarlett being held out to us when the door opened.
"I believe this little girl belongs to you." Porter, the head of our security detail, set Scarlett down in the foyer. He patted her head affectionately.
"Scarlett, how did you get out of the apartment?" James said sternly.
"The door." She pointed to the very obvious answer behind her.
"You know you're not supposed to leave without an adult," I said. Or at all. Seriously, how was she getting through the child locks?
"Mr. Porter said I wasn't in trouble." She blinked innocently up at us.
"Did he?" James said and knelt down in front of her. "Pumpkin, why did you leave without telling us?"
"I saw a real butterfly outside. And I wanted to catch it. I was supposed to get to play with the animals today."
"You should have asked us to come with you."
"But you would have said no! Mommy can never do anything because the storks haven't come yet. It's not fair!"
"I'm just going to..." Porter's voice trailed off as he walked back into the hall and closed the door behind him.
"Pumpkin, Mommy will do whatever you want as long as we stay inside, okay?" James said. "It's just too hot out today."
"It's not fair!" Scarlett screamed again. "Grandpa was going to take us to the zoo today. You promised! I want the zoo!"
"Scar," I said as soothingly as I knew how. "I'm sorry about the zoo. But we can go a different day, okay?"
My words didn't help at all. She just looked at me and shrieked at the top of her lungs. Tears immediately started falling from her eyes.
"Scarlett," James said sternly. "That is enough. Plans change. We'll go a different day."
She screamed even louder. It was like a chain effect and in a second I heard Sophie crying from the other room.
Damn it. One crying kid was bad enough. "Please look at Mommy," I said as I knelt down next to James. "I promise you we'll go a different day. We can even take Sophie and Axel with us."
"You're a liar! You're a mean mommy!"
Ouch.
"Scarlett Hunter, go to our room right now," James said. His tone probably would have made me go to my room.
"I hate the baby! I hope the storks cook her too long in the oven!"
"Now," James said.
"Fine! But you're a mean daddy too!" She screamed at the top of her lungs again and ran past us.
- Writer
