“Probably,” Lucifer murmured in agreement as he gazed down at her.
“Are you mad?” she asked, hooking her fingers in his belt loops so that she could pull him closer.
“Furious,” he said with a smile as he picked her up and set her down on her feet.
“You seem it,” she said, going up on her toes so that she could give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I am,” he promised her, taking her hand into his and gave it a gentle tug that had her following him as he led her to the dance floor.
“Where are you taking me, sir?” she asked, loving that sexy grin of his as he continued to walk backwards, taking her with him.
“Are you scared?” he asked in a teasing tone as he pulled her into his arms.
“Petrified,” she returned with a laugh as she moved in close to her husband so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders and lose herself in his arms.
“You do seem to scare easily,” he noted as he wrapped his arms around her and began moving them around in their own little space on the crowded dance floor.
“What can I say,” she said with a forlorn sigh as she moved in closer to him, “you are a frightening man.”
“I know,” he said, chuckling as he leaned down and kissed her.
“So,” she said against his lips, “where have you been all day?”
“Did you miss me?” he asked, pulling back far enough so that he could look at her while they talked.
“A little,” she said with a heartfelt sigh.
“Only a little?” he asked, maneuvering them around a few of his cousins who were dancing with their wives.
“Mmmhmm,” she murmured, leaning up to kiss him again. “So, where were you?”
“Talking to a realtor with my Uncle Jared about buying the back lot so that we can expand the bar and dinning area,” he said, taking her by surprise.
“We’re expanding?” she asked, more than a little surprised.
“Mmmhmm, we’re going to need a bigger kitchen and then of course since you keep filling the place to capacity with a long line waiting around the block we figured that it would probably be for the best if we expanded,” he said, looking pleased as he rewarded her with another kiss.
“Is this what you want?” she asked, worried that she might have rushed him into something that he wasn’t ready for.
He nodded, leaning in to kiss her just as the first few chords of her favorite song began to play. But, instead of kissing her he leaned in close so that his lips were next to her ear as he began singing along with Sam Hunt. His voice was deeper, but God, could he sing.
She closed her eyes and held onto him as he continued to sing along with “Take Your Time,” loving this man more than she ever thought possible. He continued to sing for her ears only as he moved them around to the music as she lost herself in his arms, deciding that after this song they were going to have to go have a “Meeting,” about this renovation and maybe if he was lucky, she’d pull out her clipboard.
*-*-*-*
“How far along are you?” the middle-aged woman currently wrestling with a toddler, asked with a warm smile that helped calm her down a bit.
Well, it really didn’t, but she was willing to pretend that it did if it helped her get through this. Forcing a smile on her face, she said, “Six months,” still wondering why she’d taken so long to tell him.
Granted, the fact that she really couldn’t stand him probably had something to do with it, but there was also the fact that she was in way over her head on this one. Maybe she should have let Rebecca come with her. At least if Rebecca was here she wouldn’t have to worry about Aidan’s reaction, because her best friend would be there for her, ready to slap the crap out of him if he made her cry.
Oh, God…
What if she cried?
She couldn’t do this. No, definitely not today. Maybe tomorrow would be better, she thought as she grabbed her bag and decided that an email should suffice. She’d use a friendly font, double spaces and a casual tone and let him know that in three months he was going to be the proud daddy of a bouncing baby boy that was causing her to eat everything in sight.
Worrying her bottom lip, she shot a glance at the door and wondered if she had time to grab a burger before she met Rebecca for lunch. She could always ask Lucifer to whip her up one while she waited for Rebecca to finish her paper, she decided as she threw her bag over her shoulder and started to make her way to the door, wondering if he’d be willing to whip up a fried egg and bacon to go along with her burger.
If he was willing to do that and had the eggs out anyway, maybe he’d be willing to make her pancakes as well. God, she could really go for some pancakes right about-
“Melanie?” a very friendly looking nurse said as she stepped into the waiting room, “Dr. Bradford is ready to see you now.”
The Arrival of Darrin and Marybeth’s Babies
An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle
“Oh my God!” Zoe gasped in pain as she slapped her hand down hard on the kitchen island, leaned over and groaned as the contraction that she was pretending wasn’t happening nearly knocked her on her beautiful ass.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” Trevor asked casually as he leaned back in his chair, glad the kids were at their Uncle Jared’s so that they wouldn’t have to witness this sad display of bullshit.
Slapping a smile on her face, Zoe said, “Yes, yes of course it is.”
“Uh huh,” he said with a heavy sigh as he watched the stubborn woman take a deep breath, try to stand up only to lean back down, all while throwing him that tightlipped smile that really said it all.
“Do you want to eat now or wait until the barbeque?” she asked, clearly hoping to distract him with the promise of food.
“We can grab something at the hospital,” he said, deciding that this little charade of hers had gone on long enough.
“Why…” she started to say only to let her words trail off with a gasp as she grabbed onto the edge of the counter and tried to breathe through the next contraction.
“Fucking unbelievable,” he muttered as he stood up and pulled his phone out of his back pocket so that he could send Darrin a text message, letting him know that it was time.
“I’m fine!” the adorable little liar that was practically falling over thanks to that large belly that he swore was bigger than her, snapped, apparently dead set on pissing him off today.
“Let’s go,” he said, wrapping his arm around her body so that he could hold onto her as he helped her to the car.
“No, I’m fine,” she argued even as she settled against him and allowed him to guide her towards the garage door.
Thank God Marybeth had insisted on taking care of Zoe’s bag. It was normally something that he handled when Zoe was pregnant and usually ended up screwing up when it came time to go to the hospital. This time she was carrying his cousin’s children and the only thing he had to focus on was his wife.
It was a relief, but it was also pure hell, because for the past few months he’d been struggling not to grow attached to the babies that she was carrying. They weren’t his and he knew that, but it was difficult to feel that way when he held her at night and could feel the babies move against his arm or when he simply looked at her. He loved being a father and would give anything to fall asleep with a baby curled up in his arms one more time.