A Frozen Man's Sun

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I retired from modeling and started handling half of my father's business. I had enough saved from the shoots and campaigns to buy us a place of our own when the time was right. I also asked Eral to stop working for now. She didn't agree at first—argued, glared, tried to negotiate—but I found a dozen quiet ways to convince her, and eventually she said yes. Not because I forced her, but because I promised her I'd be present. Really present.

Today we would find out our baby's gender.

It shouldn't have mattered-boy or girl, healthy was all I wanted-but the truth is, the guessing had become a game between us. She insisted on girl. I said boy. We'd argued about names with the childish stubbornness of people who were terrified and excited at the same time.

In the dim ultrasound room, the gel on her belly shone like a thin silver sheen. The machine hummed softly. I stood beside her, fingers laced with hers, trying not to let my grip betray the nerves in me.

After a few moments of searching, Dr. Lazo smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Apolonio de Mayor. You'll be having a baby boy."

I looked at Eral. She looked at me. Her lips parted, then curved into a smile that felt like light.

"So he's a he," she said, exhaling a laugh. "And his name will be Frost. Okay... maybe next time we make a Flemeral the Second."

I laughed and pulled her into a careful hug. "How many do you want?"

Her cheeks flushed, and she swatted my arm. I bent and pressed my ear to her bump.

"Hi, Frost. It's Daddy," I murmured, feeling ridiculous and not caring. "I can't wait to meet you."

When I looked up, Eral was watching me with something soft in her eyes—the kind of look that made my chest feel too warm. We talked with Dr. Lazo a while longer. She went through the do's and don'ts, the vitamins, the positions that would help Eral sleep, the foods to avoid no matter how intense the cravings got. She printed a photo from the screen—our son, all shadow and light—and handed it to us like it was proof that the future had already started.

After the appointment, I drove us back to her house. For now, we were staying there while I scouted properties. She didn't know that part yet. I wanted the decision—the keys—to be a surprise.

At the porch, I stopped. "Eral."

She turned, hand already on the doorknob. "What?"

I cleared my throat. My tongue picked that moment to fail me. "We... have a date tonight."

It came out stiff and graceless. I should have said, Will you go out with me tonight? Something like that. I hated how much my pulse sped up waiting for her reaction.

Her eyes widened, then softened into a grin like sunrise. First time I'd asked her to go out. She leaned in and kissed me quick on the mouth, then darted upstairs, humming like she could bottle this day and drink it later.

My phone rang. Work. "Hello?"

"Sir, your small cruise ship is ready," the woman on the other end said. "We're decorating it now."

"Okay."

"Do you want anything else added, sir?"

I slipped a hand into my pocket and touched the small box there. "No. I'll handle the rest."

When I peeked into her room later, she was asleep, one arm thrown over her eyes, the other resting protectively on her belly. I set the red dress I'd bought yesterday on the bedside table with a note: Wear this for our date later. Then I left before I was tempted to wake her just to watch her smile.