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time?” she asked.
Mrs. Reynolds turned with a smile, no doubt thinking of her commission. “Of course, dear. I’ll join you. By the way, are you thinking of starting a family? Because if you are, you’ve got to see the attic. It would make a fantastic playroom.”
As he watched Mrs. Reynolds accompany Lexie upstairs, he wondered if she somehow realized that he and Lexie were already well past the thinking stage.
He doubted it. Lexie was still keeping the pregnancy under wraps, at least until the wedding. Only Doris knew, which he supposed he could live with, except for the fact that lately he’d found himself getting involved in the strangest conversations with Lexie, some of which he would have rather she shared with friends. She might be sitting on the couch, for instance, when she would suddenly turn to him and say, “My uterus will be swollen for weeks after I give birth,” or, “Can you believe my cervix is going to dilate ten centimeters?”
Ever since she’d started reading books about pregnancy, he’d been hearing words like placenta, umbilical, and hemorrhoids far too often, and if she mentioned the fact that her nipples would get sore while breast-feeding one more time-“even to the point of bleeding!”-he was sure he’d have to leave the room. Like most men, he had only the vaguest knowledge about how the whole “child growing inside you” thing worked and even less interest; as a general rule, he was far more concerned about the specific act that set the whole thing in motion in the first place. Now that he wouldn’t mind talking about, especially if she were staring at him over a wineglass in a candlelit room and using her sultry voice.
The point was, she threw out those words as though they were ingredients listed on a cereal box, and instead of getting him more excited about what was happening, more often than not the conversations left him feeling queasy.
Despite those conversations, he was excited. There was something thrilling about the fact that she was carrying his child. It was a source of pride to know that he had done his part to preserve the species, thereby fulfilling his role as creator of life-so much so, in fact, that half the time he wished Lexie hadn’t asked him to keep it secret.
Lost in thought, it took him a second to realize Lexie and Mrs. Reynolds were making their way back down the stairs.
“This is the one,” Lexie said, glowing as she reached for his hand. “Can we buy it?”
He felt his chest puff out a bit, even as he realized he’d have to sell a substantial chunk of his investment portfolio to make this work. “Whatever you want,” he said, hoping she could hear the magnanimous tone he used.
That evening, they signed the papers; their offer was accepted the following morning. Ironically, they would close on the house on April 28, the same day he’d be heading to New York for his bachelor party. Only later did it strike him that in the last month he’d become someone else entirely.

At First Sight
Five
You still haven’t reserved a date at the lighthouse?” Lexie asked.
It was the last week of March, and Jeremy was walking with Lexie toward the car after work.
“I’ve tried,” Jeremy explained. “But you can’t imagine what it’s like trying to get through to these people. Half of them won’t talk to me unless I fill out forms, the other half always seem to be on vacation. I haven’t even completely figured out what I’m supposed to do.”
She shook her head. “It’ll be June by the time you make the arrangements.”
“I’ll figure something out,” Jeremy promised.
“I know you will. But I’d really rather not be showing, and it’s already almost April. I don’t think I can make it until July. My pants are getting tight, and I think my butt is already getting bigger.”
Jeremy hesitated, knowing this was a minefield where he had no desire to tread. In the past few days, it had been coming up with more frequency. Speaking the truth-Well, of