She nodded. “And you’re mine.”
Chapter Seventeen
Gavin caught Alexa moving food around on her plate again. He’d seen her do it a lot, and at first, he thought it was just the way she ate, but now he had the feeling it went deeper.
He’d noticed the weight she’d lost and had thought it was because she was always busy, but now he guessed that wasn’t the only reason.
“Baby.”
She looked up at him.
“I want you to eat everything on your plate,” he said.
He saw the panic in her eyes.
“But, I’m not hungry,” she said.
He set down his fork. “Do you know how much I love your body?”
She bit her lip and shook her head.
“I love everything about it.” He could tell she didn’t believe him, and he wondered how he was going to get through to her.
“What do you see when you look in the mirror?”
“I … I see muddy brown hair and big lips.”
“What about your body?” he asked.
She looked away from him.
“Answer me.”
“I see fat.”
He sighed and sat back. “That makes me sad.” An idea built in his brain. He stood, pulled her up, and tugged her back to the master bathroom. He pulled out the scale.
“Get on.”
She looked horrified and struggled to get away from him.
“Now.” He knew he’d have to take drastic measures to get through to her. She had tears in her eyes as she stepped up onto it.
“Look at that number.”
“No.”
He tilted her head up. “Baby, please. I’m trying to get you to see I love you the way you are. Now look.”
“What’s it say?” he asked.
“One hundred and nineteen.”
“That’s right,” he said. “I’m going to make you weigh yourself periodically, and if I see you’ve lost even one pound, you’ll be punished.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to lose weight. In fact, I’d like you to gain the pounds you’ve lost back.”