Page 107 of Act Like You Don't Care
“I’m going to go get take out,” I decided. “You go back to bed. I know you’re tired.” I turned to look fully at him and lost my voice for a moment. He’d definitely just gotten out of bed and, if I hadn’t been thirty-six weeks pregnant and about the size of a hot air balloon—though sadly, not the weight of one—I would have gladly ignored my cravings for more time to spend ogling him. Since when did loose boxers ever look so good on a man? Though these had obviously been through the washer a few times—they’d faded and gotten that way that t-shirts sometimes did, where they clung to every curve and hollow. I swallowed awkwardly and made myself look away before he had that predictable effect on me.
The baby stretched and kicked as if to remind me there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Miles walked into the kitchen to lean on the island. “You sure you want to go out? Remember what happened last time.”
Yeah, that hadn’t been fun. Photographers everywhere, somehow, just to go to the grocery store. Rumor had gotten around within a couple of days of him moving in here that we were living together now, though no one seemed to know the actual setup. But since when had the tabloids needed facts to write their stories? I’d stopped looking at the stories after the first couple.
His mother had rescued us that day, driving in to send us home and finish our shopping for us.
“Maybe I can make something,” I said doubtfully and stared at the cupboards as if they held the culinary secrets of my heart.
Miles rummaged through the pantry, then came back out and opened the fridge to peer inside. “I don’t see anything here we could make Thai with.” He opened the freezer to poke through it while I ogled his ass. It brought back memories of that ass under my hands while he rammed himself into me, which made my cock twitch.
Hastily, I turned to put the peanut butter away and wash my hands, because I’d eaten at least one fingerful while I’d been daydreaming about grabbing him and throwing him to the floor. “I’m going to put on some clothes and go out,” I decided. “It’s the middle of the night. Who’s going to notice me? You go back to bed. Don’t you have a meeting tomorrow morning with the Sheriff’s department?”
He nodded and leaned one hip against the island again, arms crossed over his chest. The stance showed off those gorgeous biceps of his to perfection and only made me more determined to get out of the house before I made a complete fool of myself. “I don’t want you going out right now. Just in case. If you’ll call and place some orders, I’ll go pick them up and bring them back for you.”
“Miles, I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. Go back to bed. You didn’t move in here to wait on me hand and foot.” I thought about it for a microsecond, then threw caution to the wind and put a hand on one of those marvelous biceps. “Really, it’s okay.”
He chuckled and patted my hand, sending a flush of heat up my arm. “You can’t even run anymore. No, it’s okay.” He stepped away from the island, then turned and frowned at me. “Now I want Thai too. And churros. What black magic are you using?”
He’d meant me to laugh, which I did. “I don’t know. Pheromones, maybe?” I ran my hand over my belly, where the baby was starting to wake up again. “Tell Daddy to hurry home,” I said to her.
“We still need to come up with a name,” Miles said, his eyes glued to the rolling waves under my t-shirt.
“She hasn’t liked any of the ones we’ve tried on her,” I reminded him.
“We’ll find the right one soon,” he promised me.
I could tell he wanted to feel her moving. “You interested in being pummeled by your daughter?” I lifted the t-shirt so he could put his hands right over her.
He hesitated. “I should go get your food.”
“You can take a moment for your child.” I reached for one of his hands and spread it over the part of my belly that she seemed to be focused on tonight. “She does seem to be excited for Thai,” I commented drolly. My heart skipped a beat when he laughed. It felt right to say things that made him happy. And do things like this. I’d never gotten in the way of him touching his daughter, and he’d never abused the privilege.
The baby picked that moment to stretch, pushing her foot up against the top of my womb so hard we could see the shape of it. I grunted and watched Miles’s eyes widen with delight as he put his fingers over her toes and gently pushed back. “It won’t be long now, will it?”
“Better not be,” I groused, but I also took advantage of the opportunity to put my hand over his as he chased her restless twisting. He looked really good like this, head bent and expression intent on whatever our daughter was doing. I wished I had my phone to try to get a picture but I didn’t, so I did what I could to burn this image into my brain. It would be nice to be able to pull it out on bad days, to hold this feeling to my heart over and over again.
Eventually, even busy babies have to sleep. She slunk down to curl up in my pelvis and rolled herself up into a ball like a little armadillo, it seemed to me.
Miles let his hands fall away from my belly and sighed. “It’s so hard to believe she’s going to be here in just three weeks.” His eyes met mine and he seemed to freeze in my gaze.
I nodded silently, my eyes fixed on his mouth.Kiss me, kiss me.I waited, holding my breath, feeling the tension rise between us.
Miles dropped his eyes and turned away. “If you’ll put in the orders, I’ll go pick them up. Get enough for me too, please.”
“Sure,” I replied and headed for my bedroom to get my phone.
By the time I came back, Miles was dressed and waiting by the front door. I waved him off, feeling very like a nineteen-fifties house omega and wishing I was just a little bit braver.
Tam
Iwas at forty-one weeks plus three days and I was so done it wasn’t funny.
Miles and I and all twenty feet of my belly were sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for the results of some tests he’d run.
The baby, head firmly lodged in my pelvis and taking up most of the space there, decided she wanted to stretch out a little and that my liver and my lungs were in the way. I gasped and leaned over, but there was no way for me to breathe until she decided to relax.
