His gaze drifted down to my hands, his smile widening. “I’d like to see a picture of you pregnant.”
No, he wouldn’t. I didn’t know what type of fruit-based fantasy was playing in his head right then, but I could guarantee the preggo version of me that he was picturing was nothing even remotely close to the bloated, swollen, hot mess that was the real me back then.
“Who’s pregnant?” Natalie asked, joining us from the living room. She wore a long-sleeve pink thermal shirt that made her lips look rosier than usual. Her hair was loose, curling down her back. Her jeans were faded, hanging low on her hips. She glanced down at my stomach, grinning. “Is the kid Doc’s or some Hungarian devil’s?”
I leveled a fake glare on her. “I was talking about a food baby, smartass.” I chanced a glance at Doc, who was still focused on my chest. Or were we?
“Whew!” she said, pretending to wipe sweat from her brow. “After ending up in jail down in Arizona over New Year’s because of a crazy pregnant woman, I’m not ready for any more baby hormones to ride roughshod through my life.”
“You were in jail in Arizona?” Doc’s focus shifted from my imaginary melons.
“Only once this time, but Coop sprang me.” She crossed her arms. “Now, what’s this I hear about you guys having a little texting club that doesn’t include me.” She hit us each in turn with a hard glare.
Harvey must have been doing some chin-wagging.
“It’s Cooper’s fault,” I said, throwing her loverboy under the bus. Better him than me when it came to Natalie’s vengeance. “He didn’t want you to get hurt.” That wasn’t exactly the same thing as Cooper’s “too many cooks in the kitchen” comment, but it was gallant of him to want to keep Natalie safe, which I assumed was part of his reasoning.
Doc looked from me to her and back. “I’m going up to wash my hands for supper.”
“Chicken,” I called to his backside.
He pretended to flap his wings and headed upstairs.
I turned back to Natalie. “What’s for supper?”
“Cheesy bacon potato soup and fresh-baked sourdough bread, but don’t try to change the subject.”
“I wasn’t.” I lied, but I really was hungry.
A door closed overhead. I frowned up the steps. Had Doc been fishing about having a kid? Or was I reading something more into that?
Maybe.
Probably.
Or not.
Gadzooks! The idea of being pregnant made me want to hide in the hall closet along with the mirror. Growing a baby was not for wimps. Even though Doc wouldn’t leave me high and dry with a kid—or another set of twins—on the way, I’d sooner fight off a pack of Chimera than go through years of teething again. Not to mention all of those sleepless nights. Without enough beauty rest, I could give Medusa a run for her money.
Although Doc would make a good father, and he’d certainly want to get married if …
What in the hell was I doing? I couldn’t bring another kid into this world, being the killer that I was. Look at the nightmares I already had about monsters coming for my kids. I couldn’t imagine having to take care of a baby while …
“Earth to Vi.” Natalie waved her hand in front of my face, bringing me back from the brink of baby madness. “Is anybody in there?”
Jiminy Cricket, I must be ovulating. “What?”
“I asked what happened tonight. You’re wearing Doc’s T-shirt.”
Oh, that. “Doc and I played back seat bingo in Rosy’s garage.”
She reached out and flicked me on the forehead.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“I wasn’t talking about what happened with you two.” She grinned. “But Coop would cringe if he knew that you of all people had sex in his man cave where he kept his shiny Harley all those years.” Chuckling evilly, she rubbed her hands together. “I can’t wait to tell him.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t. He’s been looking for an excuse lately to shoot me.”
“Fine. But if he pulls this ‘don’t tell Nat’ shit again and you listen to him, I give no guarantees.”
“Deal.”
Apparently, she wasn’t done harping about being left out because she continued with, “Just because I had wild monkey sex with Coop doesn’t give him the right to run my life.”
“Had?” I repeated. “Why did you use the past tense?”
“Because I’m pissed at him right now.”
“So, you’re going to withhold sex as punishment?”
“Don’t be silly. That man is dyn-o-mite in the sack. He’s so good that even the neighbors have a cigarette afterward. Sleeping alone would be a waste of all that testosterone and sexual talent.”
“Okay, okay. I get it.”
She huffed. “I’ll just have to figure out some other form of punishment for him. Handcuffing him to the bed is too cliché, especially in his line of work. Maybe I’ll …” She focused back on me. “Anyway, what’s this business Harvey told Zoe and me about you letting the lidérc attach to you? He said Prudence showed up and helped you trap the thing in that mirror of yours.”
“That’s pretty much what happened in a nutshell.”
She held up her fist in front of my face. “Don’t make me tie you up and pluck your nose hairs one by one. You know I’m looking to vent some aggression after being left out of your texting club.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “No nose-hair plucking, please. I’ll tell you the full story after supper when Aunt Zoe is with us so I don’t have to repeat it, and I’ll add your name to the Paranormal Posse list on my phone.”
She lowered her fist. “Did you say ‘posse’?”
“Yeah. You remember when we were kids
