Page 96 of Falling for You

“Pregnant and irritable?”

My glare doesn’t affect him in the least. “We don’t know that.”

He raises an eyebrow at me in challenge. Okay, so I was right when I said we don’t know it. Because I haven’t taken a test yet but the fact that I missed my period is a pretty big clue. Besides, after the first night we were together and the condom broke, it’s not as if we abstained or double checked every condom before having sex. We were too busy having all the sex. All of it. A lot of it. I was walking bow legged for a few days, which was monumentally embarrassing. At the same time, I wanted to stampMy boyfriend Rex Matthews did thison my forehead for everyone to know he was off the market.

“Why weren’t we more careful?” I suddenly need to know.

He shrugs, goes to the fridge and fills a glass with water and hands it to me. “Wewerecareful. But, it doesn’t matter. I planned on being with you forever anyway. Knocking you up was inevitable.”

“I take back what I said about you being poetic,” I snap.

“Easy,” he says, calming me. “I was just teasing you. I would never call it knocking you up.”

Sighing, I take a drink, place the glass on the counter, and lean into him. “I know. But really, I feel like we were so careless. We’re better than this. Smarter. It’s not like we’re teenagers who can’t control their hormones.”

“Well, I can’t control them, but I’m definitely not a teenager.” He presses himself against my thigh and I shudder. Sex is constantly on both our brains.

“As much as I’d love to tear off our clothes and have sex right now, we need to plan for dinner.”

“We? What’s this we crap? It’s your family.”

“Reginald Davis Matthews. So help me…”

“Easy,” he calms me again. “Note to self, don’t tease Chloe when she’s pregnant.”

“You don’t know I’m pregnant!”

Chuckling, he looks down at me, kisses me on my forehead before taking a seat at the table. “Okay, baby. Here’s the deal. I know how to make a killer prime rib. And we can figure out the rest together. Liv will bring something and you don’t know this yet, but Paul is an amazing cook and I’m sure he’d be thrilled to help. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

My mouth gapes, stuck on what he first admitted. “How do you know how to make prime rib?”

“I was hungry for it and figured I’d learn. It’s not hard.”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I like to keep my girl on her toes.”

I’m definitely being kept on my toes. First, he calls Ethan, Liv and Paul my family, then he calls me his girl. Which, I knew, but it never gets old to hear.

“You’ll help me?”

“Of course. I’m not going to leave you to your own devices when it comes to Christmas dinner. It’s the most important meal of the year after Thanksgiving.”

“Rex!”

“Still no teasing, huh?”

I roll my eyes. I actually like the teasing but I like giving him grief about it. I love our relationship the way it is. Playful and fun, passionate and sensual… loving. So damn loving. Sweet and kind. Trusting. Our relationship is everything I want and more. He treats me with respect and care.

A few weeks ago he took me car shopping, because I refused to continue to mooch off him, even though I loved driving his car so much. When the salesman started treating me like I didn’t know anything — which I didn’t, but there was no way he knew that nor did he need to treat me that way — Rex grabbed my hand, politely told the guy where to shove it, and we went somewhere else.

I’m coming to find out, though, that Rex is far pickier about the car I drive than I am. It’s sweet, the way he’s concerned. Not in an overbearing or dominating way. He listened to what I want out of a vehicle, and has helped me find the perfect mid-size SUV. It wasn’t even on my radar for a vehicle until he pointed it out and then whispered in my ear how sexy I would be driving it. I don’t know how it would make me look sexy, but I practically yelled SOLD! before even test driving it.

When we got home, I jumped in his arms and he proved he can carry me, toss me onto the bed, and ravish me all without knocking my head into the ceiling fan.

“You called them my family,” I tell him, voice a little wobbly.

“I did. Is that okay?”

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