Picking up her hand, he took a minute to analyze it. “Little hands, little feet.”
“That’s only for guys, big hands, big… you know.” She blushed as she said the end, or didn’t say it, in this case.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” He was still holding her hand, unable to let go.
“I will tell you in my book report.” She pulled her hand free as he stopped in front of their building.
“Me and my big hands look forward to it.”
She opened her door and jumped out. She didn’t acknowledge what he said, and he wondered if she heard him at all. Probably not.
At a slower pace, he got out of his pickup and followed her up the stairs to the second floor, above her clinic. She was already in her apartment when he got to the top of the stairs. Glancing at door two, he wondered if she would be up for watching something on TV. Maybe he would change and see if she wanted company. He wanted to spend more time with her.
CHAPTER3
Finally,she could crawl into bed and hide under her covers like she had wanted to since she had gotten the call just after lunch that Tess had given birth. She had known Tess was in labor since the 4:00 a.m. call from Math. And it had been no surprise since she had been admitted the moment she got to the hospital. So, in reality, Amanda had figured she had more time, even just a few more hours. But it still wouldn’t have been long enough. Days wouldn’t have been long enough.
With a groan, she climbed out of bed and took off her tight pants that didn’t seem too tight that morning.Last day for those, she decided and threw them on the closet floor. Her pile of clothes that didn’t fit was growing. Of course, that meant there was a limited selection of ones that did. Deciding to take off her shirt, she threw that in the same pile. People must be thinking she was gaining weight at an astonishing rate, and she was.
As the weeks had worn on, she had started to eat better because she would lose the baby any day, and she wanted to take care of it for as long as she had it. The burger tonight had been crazy good, but crazy greasy and fatty. She had been fighting cravings for months now and had won most of the time, but today a burger was all she needed to be happy. A burger and Hue.
Climbing back into bed, she snuggled deep into the covers as she thought about Hue in his tight jeans and gray shirt. She would definitely love to give him step-by-step instructions on the actions in the steamy book. Though her book club was not reading the book and never would, she had read it and remembered enough of it to make Hue’s toes curl. And hers too.
Flopping on her back, she couldn’t believe that she had forgotten that Hue had given her a ticket. She had been coming home from Grand Forks and was speeding to get back since it was after midnight, and she had to work the next day. It was the last time she had slept with Paul before breaking it off with him again the next week. But it was that time that she had conceived the baby she was now carrying. It had basically been breakup sex since she knew it was over when they were together. It just took her a week to gather the courage to tell him. It wasn’t the first time they had broken up, just the last time.
The disastrous relationship, if you can even call it that, had been on and off for three years. Mostly on, even though she hated that she was weak enough to be the other woman. And he was never going to leave his wife of twenty years. But she stayed because she thought that he loved her. In reality, what he loved was having someone who would come to him when he wanted sex. It wasn’t her who was special.
Before she had taken the position in Landstad, she had miscarried his child, and he had accused her of trying to trap him. He had been all too happy when her so-called trap hadn’t worked. It hurt even worse because he knew her medical history, and he knew she would lose the baby. But after moving here, he had called and called until she went back. Month after month, until she finally ended it in mid-June. At that point, she had finally had enough.
This time, there had been a parting gift. It wasn’t until late August when she realized something wasn’t right. After taking a home test, she was heartbroken she would have to go through it again. Since that day, she had waited for the inevitable end to this pregnancy. But this one had seemed more stubborn, and at twenty weeks, she was still carrying it.
So far, she had not seen a doctor about it. What could they do that they hadn’t done before? There was no way to stop any of her other miscarriages. This one would be no different.
Except by next week, the pregnancy would be viable. This was one of her specialties, premature births, back when she was an OB nurse in the NICU. Next week, everything would change. If she could make it that long.
Turning her mind away from her sad future, she thought about her sexy neighbor and his big hands. He had held her hand twice today. While he held hers in the pickup, she felt liquid heat rush through her body. Her sudden interest in Hue Strong was definitely due to pregnancy hormones.
Sure, she had thought he was a nice-looking man over the years, even in high school when she had tutored him. She had daydreamed of him kissing her, but that had been a nerd’s dream of having a football player. Now it was the nurse’s dream of having the cop like her. In the end, it was just a fantasy.
Because to Hue, she was and would always be boring old Amanda Nordskov. He put up with her because he was friends with her brother. He treated her no different than he treated her other sisters.
Rolling over, she hoped her nurse’s fantasy would follow her into sleep. Because her dreams had become way more erotic as her pregnancy went on. One of the only positives.
CHAPTER4
It had beenfive days since Hue had driven Amanda home from the hospital. Five days since he had talked to her. He had seen her around town and in passing a few times, but he hadn’t been able to spend time with her. It was time to change that.
Today was Sunday, and he talked to Math, who said there would be no watching football for the new father. He also mentioned in passing that Mandy wasn’t going out to see the baby today, which meant she was most likely in her apartment. And that was across the hall from him.
Grabbing a beer and a few bags of chips, he headed to her apartment. At his door, he looked at the chip selection, took out the ranch-flavored chips, and tossed them on the table by the door. Those were not welcome in her apartment. Not since the first time he had gone over there for football season in September.
They had been watching baseball for months, but football was different. So much better. At that time, she usually provided snacks, and he provided beverages. On that particular day, she was out of chips, which was a crime in itself, so he had volunteered to grab what he had from across the hallway.
Back in her apartment, he had tossed the bags between them so she could inspect them. Pulling the bag of the ranch chips out, she said, “You can’t eat these here. Just the smell of them is making me sick.”
At her words, he took the bag from her and opened it, making the smell fill the room. He looked at her to make some smart comment, but she had gone completely pale and already had slammed her hand to her mouth. She had barely made it to the bathroom before she was sick. Apologizing by bringing her a glass of water, he then tossed the chips in the hallway, not wanting to leave her. The instant sickness the chips had caused made him never bring them back.
Without knocking, he walked into her apartment. If she didn’t want him there, she would have locked the door. It was Sunday, after all. The surprised look on her face as she watched him walk into her apartment as she sat at her table eating a sandwich made him chuckle.