Her head popped up, mouth hanging open before she shook her head to clear it. Had her thoughts gone where mine had? I waited, eating some of my own steak, getting to savor this bite. She took a deep breath before saying, “Her name is Delia. She’s my oldest friend.”
It wasn’t a guy, which was a small relief. The way she said the girl’s name, I could hear how much she cared about this friend. It made me want to know everything about this person who might know the mysteries of Kate.
“You called her to tell her about the twins?” She nodded, which meant even though this friend wasn’t around, she still confided in her. “Where is she?” I had to ask to see if she would keep sharing.
Her lips became a thin line. “She lives near my hometown.”
“Which isn’t here?” She shook her head. “Not in Tennessee?” Another shake of the head as she cracked her knuckles. I felt like I was playing twenty questions but pushed a bit more. “Where would that be, then?” I held a hand out.
Another damn head shake. But with the set of her mouth, the hardness of her eyes, I knew there was no way she would tell me.
This new information stewed while we finished our meal, which she actually did finish, and ordered some chocolate cake. It reminded me of the barbecue at my parents’ when she ate three pieces of Mia’s torte.
When she was done, I smirked. “Want a second piece?”
Lips pursed, she glared. “Don’t make fun of me.”
“I ain’t, toots. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you eating something.” Her cheeks flooded with color, doing something to my insides I had to ignore. She didn’t have to be so freaking cute. “You gonna be okay with my parents coming in next week?”
With a timid smile, she nodded. “It’ll be great. We could get one of the ultrasound pictures framed for them or something. I think your mom would like that. That one of them with their faces smooshed together.”
She was beaming. It took my breath away.
“She would love that.”
We stayed for one more drink before her eyelids started drooping. When we got back to her place and she asked me to share her bed again, it made my entire night. Finally, a successful day of us not ripping each other apart and her not freaking out about every little thing I said or did.
12
Kate
Over the next week, we had an easy time of things. The tightening was still coming and going, so the doctor suggested I not overdo it. Kai then talked me into just working once a week, but told me it was totally up to me. I jumped at the opportunity. Now that he wasn’t being a dick about it, I understood why it would benefit the babies and me if I wasn’t pushing myself too hard. When I wasn’t at school, we would hang out and watch kung fu movies or The Walking Dead. Most of the days Ava didn’t have work or school, she and Cade would come over and hang out with us as well.
Being with Kai, talking with him, just being, was really easy. It scared the heck out of me. We fell into a routine with showers, and mealtimes, and going to the store. We’d even gone and picked out a giant truck for him that had six seats and was dark blue. He’d tried talking me into a different car, but I still wouldn’t budge there.
He always touched me, hugging me, holding my hand, rubbing my belly that had grown even more in only a few days. The babies were constantly moving, kicking and spinning, which tended to get in the way of my sleep, but I was okay with that. It was the best feeling in the world. I still had the pump, still didn’t have much of an appetite, but he often made me steak or peanut butter sandwiches to get me to eat. It was life, just two people living together, and it was amazing.
I enjoyed every second of it, of picking on him, pushing him on stupid stuff, but it was all in fun. Nothing like the fighting we’d gone through in those first couple days. Sure, it was only a week, but it was an amazing week. One of the greatest weeks of my life, in fact. Which wasn’t saying much, since my life had sucked, but it meant everything to me.
His parents showed up at our house the next Thursday, Mia in tow with them. She’d wanted to tag along since Pierce was doing another investigation that required him to be away for a few days. They’d driven over instead of flying, though I wasn’t sure why, but whatever. Some people liked long drives, I guessed.
Nonetheless, the three of them stood in our doorway Thursday afternoon, his parents eager to give me congratulations in the form of big hugs and smacking kisses on the cheek. I was feeling enormous, my lower back was killing me, and my feet had swelled up like balloons due to the hotter temperatures that had rolled in. But I refused to let those things dampen my bright mood.
“Come on in, y’all!” I waved them into my clean apartment.
The swelling may have also been in part from the fact that I refused to have the apartment be a mess. I’d spent two days straight deep cleaning. Kai offered to help, but he
