Free Autumn Adventure (Summer Unplugged #6) by Amy Sparling

what we should name him. I thought for sure after the wedding, Jace would bring it up. He was so adamant about only allowing ourselves a small amount of stress for the wedding, and leaving the baby stuff for after. Well, now it’s after. It’s been two weeks. I am ready to stress about this now.
    Why haven’t we talked about it? And why is this such a weird topic? I mean, we’re having a kid together. I should be able to just bring it up. Just say hey Jace, what should we name our kid?
    I guess that deep down I’m scared. Worried he’ll want a name I don’t like, or vice versa. I haven’t really put a lot of thought into the idea myself, which I know is crazy because most girls have their future kid’s names pick out before they’re even conceived. But it’s never really been a big deal with me. I’m not even sure I wanted kids before I met Jace. And now that we accidently got pregnant, I’m so excited I can’t stand it. Now, I can’t picture a life where it isn’t Jace, me, and our son.
    But that son needs a name and I need to talk to my husband about this. Come on, Bayleigh. You can do this.
    Big Al’s Seafood has the world’s greatest hushpuppies. It doesn’t say that on their menu or anything, but I have given myself the authority to declare them the greatest hushpuppies in the entire world. I’ve never liked them before in any other restaurant, but here, they’re to die for. Golden little balls of cornbread and seasoning and whatever the hell else they use to make them. They’re amazing.
    “I can’t believe you ordered a basket of hushpuppies for lunch,” Jace says as he takes a massive bite of his po’boy sandwich.
    “I also ordered a Coke,” I say, lifting up the glass to give it credit. “I can’t help myself. They are too good to be the side to an entrée. They should be an entrée all by themselves.”
    “I’m pretty sure there’s no protein in those things, so they make an awful meal.”
    “You make an awful meal!” I stick out my tongue playfully and he rolls his eyes. “Besides,” I say, finding a way to bring up the topic that’s been bugging me. “I’m a pregnant lady with weirdo pregnancy cravings so you just have to put up with me and do what I say. And if I want to order twenty hushpuppies and eat them all in one sitting, I will.”
    Jace raises his Dr. Pepper in a salute to my declaration of food love. “Damn straight,” he says. “Eat up. I want my son to be big and strong and kickass like me.”
    Okay, now’s the time. “Yeah, so about that,” I say in an incredible display of being not the least bit smooth about it. “What should we name our son? We’re running out of time to decide on something.”
    His expression turns thoughtful and I’m glad, because this is something he should be thinking about. “What did you have in mind?”
    I shrug. “I don’t know. What about you?”
    “Seriously?” His head cocks to the side as he studies me. I shrug. “Yeah?”
    “I don’t know, I just assumed you had like fifty names picked out already.”
    I frown, feeling like a terrible mom-to-be. “Not really,” I admit. “I mean, I think about how we need a name but I never think of what we should name him. Honestly, I’ve been wondering what you think.”
    Jace finishes his sandwich in one massive bite and I have to give him credit because the boy can eat a ton of food in record time. Maybe we should enter him into eating contests—that can be his new claim to fame besides the motocross world. “Am I total asshole if I say I haven’t really thought about it? I just kind of assumed you’d pick the name and tell me when you knew it.”
    “Why does it have to be all on me?” I ask.
    He shrugs. “Because you’re my woman and I trust you to make these kinds of decisions.”
    I realize I’ve been tearing my napkin into tiny pieces. “I don’t know, Jace.” I have more to say, but an overwhelming feeling of sadness falls over me like a thick blanket.