Page 38 of His to Love
“I’m doing okay, I guess. I mean, the doctor just started talking about what would happen if the baby’s premature. It sort of frightened me.” She let out a long, sad sigh.
I took the place next to her, taking her hand in mine. “Don’t let that upset you. You and I both know that we’re doing everything we can to make sure this baby is going to be healthy and happy. And that’s all we can do.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “Yes, that is all we can do.”
Luci looked at me with a weird expression. “I’m going to grab myself a beer. Want one while I’m up, Patton?”
“Nah.” I jerked my head at the glasses on the coffee table. “We’re drinking some herbal tea.”
Alexa patted my hand. “Patton likes to eat and drink healthy with me. He’s incredibly supportive.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” He walked to the bar, going behind it to get a cold beer from the built-in mini fridge.
He hadn’t been over for the last couple of months, and he seemed to be a bit confused about the way Alexa and I were getting along. We’d been together every day, all day long. And we both had a fair amount of concern for the baby. That had given us something to bond over. And I supposed it showed.
Not wanting to make Luci feel uncomfortable, I got up. “I’m going to go see what we can make for dinner tonight since we have a guest.”
“I don’t want you to go to any trouble for me, Patton,” Luci said as he came to sit down with the fresh beer in his hand. “Whatever you have on hand will work just fine for me.”
I wanted to give the two of them some time alone to talk. “Okay, I won’t go out of my way or anything then.”
Going to the fridge, I opened the freezer to find some steaks, chicken, and sausages in there. Pulling out the chicken, I put it in the sink then went to see what else I could find to go with it.
I loved making healthy meals for Alexa and the baby. I’d always cooked for myself, but never for anyone else. It turned out that I loved cooking for her.
Maybe it was because she was always so pleased by everything that I made for her. She would gush about it, no matter what it was. And she would always thank me for making it for her.
Alexa was just about the most grateful person I’d ever known. She thanked me for the smallest things. It was just one more thing that I had come to adore about her.
That I’d come to love about her.
I loved her and knew that with a certainty I’d never had before. But I wasn’t sure she shared the same feelings for me. Not that it mattered all that much just then. Sex was off the table anyway, what with the problems with her pregnancy. But it would matter later, after the baby came and we had to decide if we were going to stay together or stick with the plan of breaking up.
I couldn’t see my life without her in it. And once the baby came, I knew both of them would become my life. I didn’t want it any other way.
Leaning over, I opened the vegetable bin inside the fridge and pulled out some carrots and broccoli. When I stood up to put them on the counter, I found Luciano coming into the kitchen with a grim expression on his face.
I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I figured he wasn’t happy about how I was practically all over his sister. So, I tried to steer clear of that conversation. “So, stir fry chicken sound good to you? I’ve got fresh carrots and broccoli. I think I’ve got fettuccini I can make too. That sounds healthy, right?”
“Sure.” He leaned back against the island bar.
The vibes he gave off were so strong that I could practically see waves rolling off him. It wasn’t anger. It was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. And I didn’t want to talk about it either. “You can help me cook if you want.” I slid a cutting board to him then a knife and the veggies. “Care to cut these up while I defrost the chicken?”
“Sure.” He took the knife in his hand then looked at me with wide eyes. He looked a little on the crazy side.
Immediately, I knew giving him a knife was a bad idea. “Or you can defrost the chicken and I’ll cut up the veggies.” I wasn’t going to move any closer to him than I had to. “Here you go.” I held out the package of frozen chicken. “Just slide those things over here and you can put this into the microwave behind you. That makes more sense, anyway, doesn’t it?”
He held onto the knife, his eyes glazing over as he stood there with his mouth slightly ajar. He moved his mouth a few times before any words came out of it, “She’s in love with you.”
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t have heard him right. “She’s what?”
“My sister is in love with you, Patton. I can see it in her eyes. It’s not only that she adores you; she isn’t just smitten with you. She is in love with you—heart and soul.”
I froze. I had no idea what to say to him. Not because I was worried about what he would think or say back to me. I was frozen because I hadn’t seen the things he’d seen in her eyes. I hadn’t seen the love he spoke of.
Have I been blind all this time? Is Alexa really in love with me?
