Chapter 71 New Home In Papeno
**Rosalie‘s POV
A little foot kicked me right in the rib cage as I finished slipping my shoes on in the morning.
“Oof,” I mumbled as I sat down on the edge of my bed to catch my breath.
“Are you all right?” Seraphine asked, an amused expression on her face. She was tidying the room, even though that wasn‘t her responsibility.
“Yes, I‘m fine,” I told her, laughing as I rubbed my belly. “This one sure knows how to find Mama‘s ribs, though.”
I sat there for a few minutes, feeling the baby kick, thanking the Moon Goddess that I was so blessed to have this wonderful child growing inside of me.
For a moment, I let my mind wander to Ethan. It was something I tried not to do. I tried not to think of him at all, if I could help it.
I could imagine him sitting next to me on the bed, his enormous, muscular hand engulfing my abdomen as he waited for the baby to kick his palm.
Would he smile? Would he laugh along with me at each little jab of the baby‘s foot?
I wasn‘t sure if Ethan would be like other fathers and marvel at the growth and milestones of his baby along the way, or if he would just look at the child as his heir and otherwise ignore this precious bundle of joy I was growing inside of me, even after I‘d given birth.
It didn‘t matter now. I would never know…
“Are you okay?” Seraphine asked, breaking me out of my trance.
“Yeah, I‘m fine.” I smiled at her and then added, “Just thinking about the baby.”
“Ro, what are you going to do about Mr. Soren‘s offer?” Seraphine asked me as I got ready to go downstairs and get some fresh air.
It had been in my mind for the past few days. I hadn‘t made a decision yet.
With Derek on this island, I had decided to leave as soon as I could, but where would I be able to go without money? Especially when I was pregnant.
“Seraphine,” I told her, “I‘ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Do you think I should take it?”
“I do, dear,” she said with a nod. “It‘s a good job for you to take, especially with the baby. You could raise your child and care for his home… Also, I am from Papeno too, remember?”
I nodded. I did remember that, and it was an important factor.
“It‘s just… I don‘t know him that well.”
“He seems like a good man. He takes care of his people.” She put her hand on my arm. “If I were you, I would take the job.
He had been kind to me, and I agreed with what Seraphine was saying. “But I‘m also worried that I can‘t do the
job right.”
“Have you done housework before?”
“Yes.”
know
“Yes.”
care of other
“Yes…”
don‘t see a
no reason for me to
I needed
***
from Soren, wearing a simple green
was tired. He had been away from the house all day, and I had heard from Lola that he
“Have you been
about that,” he said, waving a
brought our food in and set it down in front of us, and I tried my
linguini with clam sauce. This is one of my favorite dishes, but the chef doesn‘t
response to that, so I took
when he started talking again. “I love
that,” Lola said, a twinkle in her eye as
just poison me, did you?” he asked in a
I said, “This is
he continued to look from Lola to me.
passed my test. Now that you seem to like my cooking, I‘ve decided to
plate as it fell out of his hand.
me?”
right,” I nodded. “If you would still like me to
said, still smiling. “I thought I was the one who was hiring! How did I end up being interviewed? But I like it!” His eyes were bright. “Yes, yes!
felt my face heat up as my
hastily. “I know you, Ro. We‘ll go there, and I‘ll show
it.”
I said with all my heart. “Thank you
be formal made him laugh
there, and so will your child.
looked across the table and met his eyes, those familiar eyes that were the same as Ethan‘s, yet so very different from the ones I was so used to
I trust you,” I
reached across the table and
haven‘t known each other that long, but you‘re like a breath of fresh
strange moment passed between us before he said, “Now, back to
I knew he
between us, and that was great, because I was absolutely certain I wasn‘t ready for anything
never be
had my baby, and that was
***
to check it
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