Page 16 of The Bride's Desire

“Would you tell me if you were sick?”

Emotion clogged his throat when she looked up at him and then nodded. She was so damn beautiful, and he kicked himself every day for fucking up.

“Stand up and let me see if you’re steady,” he said.

She moved slowly, but she didn’t look ready to pass out this time. He nodded. “Okay. I’m going to wash up. I don’t want you to worry about dinner. I can always make soup and sandwiches for us.”

“There’s no need. I have everything ready for spaghetti. It won’t take me any time to finish it.”

“Fine. Just take it easy.”

“I will.”

He walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later to see her setting a bowl on the table.

“Let me get you a glass of milk.”

He watched her walk away before he sat.

She sat next to him like she did every night, but the fact the tension wasn’t there gave him hope.

They made small talk as they ate, and he even helped her clean the table.

“So, if you need nothing, I’ll be in my office doing some paperwork.”

“All right. I’m going to shower and lie down.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning unless you need me.”

He worked in the office for a few hours. He locked the house, trudged upstairs, and opened the door to check on her.

His heartbeat accelerated, watching her sleep. She was so damn beautiful, and he could still kick himself for ruining what they had. There were signs she might be forgiving him, so he would bide his time and keep going slow and easy.

He walked into his bedroom and stripped before sliding into bed. Joe lay there for the longest time, not able to sleep and staring up at the ceiling. Pictures of her different expressions and how gentle she was mixed with her beauty made the thought of losing her terrifying.

He thought of all the things he could do to make her happy. Fuck, he lived on the ranch his whole life and rarely dated. Hell, the last date had been with a girl from his high school class, and that had been … fuck. Now that he thought about it, he could count the times he’d had sex on both hands. Pathetic. And the times he’d been able to get laid was picking a woman up at a bar and finding a motel close. He’d never had a woman on the ranch.

The idea of Naomi being the only one to set foot on his land made him feel satisfaction. He felt sleep start to pull him down, but his last thought was of her.

Chapter Ten

A few weeks passed, and Naomi started getting some energy back. She wouldn’t push herself again as she had. The funny thing was she hadn’t thought she was overdoing it.

The atmosphere between them had settled into a nice, calm friendship, which she was glad for because she missed him. Even though he was there, they’d both stood back emotionally, keeping their walls up.

She had a come-to-Jesus meeting with herself. She had decisions and choices. She could either stay with the man she had fallen in love with and have just a friendship, or not have anything to do with him and leave. The thought of never seeing him again made her stomach tighten.

Her decision was she’d take whatever she could get with him.

The sun was coming through the drapes when she made her bed. It was amazing what a little rest could do for a person. She felt energized and ready to tackle the day.

She took the chicken out of the refrigerator and started cleaning it. The feel and the look of it made her stomach heave. She raced for the bathroom and threw up what little was in her stomach. After flushing, she washed her hands and rinsed her mouth out before sitting on the toilet seat.

“Oh God,” she cried and thought back to when they had sex on the kitchen floor. She realized she hadn’t had her period since before that happened, and she should have had two already.

She pressed her face into her hands. She was pregnant. Her hand pressed against her stomach. Having a baby was something she had always dreamed of, but not like this. She’d make sure she was right and run into town with one of the hands and get a test, but she didn’t need it. She knew. Everything she’dbeen feeling, like the tiredness, nausea, and sensitive breasts, confirmed it.

She took several breaths to help calm her heartbeat. Fear was quickly taking over, and she fought it back. Maybe if he knew about it, he’d be happy.

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