Still, I didn’t argue, just got up and let him steady as we started walking slow laps around the villa.
I kept sneaking glances at him as we walked. His expression was so serious it was almost comical, as if he were pondering so grave philosophical problem.
Then, as we passed the conservatory, he suddenly stopped. I stopped too, confused.
‘We need two nas,’ he said, thoughtful. ‘For both girls and boys. And not Maple.’
I stared at him. So that’s what he’d been thinking about all this ti.
‘Fine. Not Maple.’ The na had been sothing I’d made up on a whim ages ago, never ant to be permanent, but apparently he’d taken it to heart.
‘So,’ I asked, ‘have you co up with any good ones?’
‘I’ll think about it properly when we get back,’ he said.
I could only sigh. So all that brooding was for nothing, then.
We finished our walk, headed back inside, and later I lay in bed listening to soft music, doing so prenatal bonding with the babies.
After a while, I realised sothing was odd. Ashton wasn’t there.
I sat up, got out of bed, and glanced around. The door to the study down the hall was slightly ajar, light spilling out through the gap.
Assuming he was working, I padded over quietly, peeked through the half-open door, and craned my neck just enough to see. I ant to take a quick look and leave, but what I saw made freeze.
Ashton wasn’t working at all. He was on a baby na website.
I couldn’t help walking in. He was so absorbed he didn’t even notice . I watched him scroll through long lists of nas, occasionally jotting down the ones he liked into a Word docunt, his brow furrowed in concentration.
‘You’re really doing baby nas now?’ I said.
He startled, hand pausing mid-click, and looked up at with those dark eyes of his.
He put the mouse down. ‘What are you doing up?’
If I’d looked closely, I’d have noticed his ears turning faintly red.
‘I saw you hadn’t co back to bed, so I ca to see what you were doing.’
His expression softened with sothing gentler, almost tender. He reached for , pulling over to sit on his lap.
He held close, his arms circling carefully around my waist as his hands ca to rest on my stomach. He stayed that way for a while, trying to feel the tiny life moving beneath his palms, his chin resting lightly on my shoulder.
Then he asked quietly, ‘Do you have any nas you like?’
I turned to look at his laptop and saw the docunt open on the screen, filled with nas.
Ashton had split the list into two sides: boys’ nas and girls’ nas.
On the left: Leo, Finn, Oscar, Alfie, Noah, Elias.
On the right: Isla, Ava, Florence, Violet, Alie, Lucy.
It wasn’t a long list, but clearly he’d spent quite so ti on it. If I hadn’t walked in, he’d probably still be scrolling through that baby na site.
‘Leo, Finn, Oscar,’ I read aloud, then, ‘Isla, Ava, Florence.’
I frowned. They all sounded nice. We only had two babies, and we didn’t even know the genders yet, so choosing now felt impossible.
‘Pick whichever you like,’ Ashton said lightly, handing the decision to .
‘Then I’ll need so ti to think about it,’ I said seriously.
‘So you’re not naming them Maple and Captain Crunch after all?’ he teased, giving a sideways look.
‘What’s wrong with Maple and Captain Crunch?’ I said defensively. ‘I’ve decided, once they’re born, their nicknas will be Maple and Captain Crunch. The first one’s Maple, the second’s Captain Crunch. Boy or girl, no objections allowed.’
Ashton blinked, looking as though he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
His reaction pleased .
But those were nicknas at best. We still had to pick two proper nas.
Choosing nas was truly a nightmare.
We ended up spending half the night in the study, going back and forth over baby nas. In the end, we gave up, exhausted, and decided to get so sleep instead.
Ashton pulled into his arms. Eventually, his eyes closed.
Suddenly, I sat bolt upright. ‘I’ve decided,’ I said.
He cleared his throat. ‘Decided what?’
‘If they’re both boys, the older one’s Owen, the younger one’s Miles. If they’re both girls, the elder’s Eliza, the younger’s Es.’
‘And if it’s one of each?’ he asked.
‘Then the boy’s Owen, the girl’s Eliza. Nicknas Maple and Captain Crunch.’
Having made my decision, I suddenly felt lighter, as if a great weight had lifted. I looked straight at Ashton, eyes bright. ‘What do you think?’
From my tone, it was obvious there was only one acceptable answer.
Ashton thought for a mont, then smiled. It was simple, straightforward, and most importantly, it spared him another round of endless decision-making.
He nodded. ‘I think they’re great nas.’
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