I don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me or my family.
I don’t want to be a burden.
She had no idea where these worries were coming from. Single mom guilt? Too long being on her own without leaning on someone else? Hell, she would have told Rae to stay home, not wanting to risk infecting her. That’s what she had texted Rae when she’d remembered to send her an update. She’d brought up that same point when she and Mitch were already in the car, and he’d reminded her he probably had a better immune system than she did and told her maybe she should be the one to stay home. After that, she hadn’t pointed out any more reasons for him to stay away.
“He’s a good guy,” Julia murmured. Sitting next to Domi on the couch, one hand on her belly, which was more clearly rounded in her fitted shirt than it had been in the dress she’d been wearing last week, she winced as the sounds of Marcus throwing up again came from the bathroom.
Thankfully, Julia seemed the least affected, though that might partly be because she was already on anti-nausea medication for her morning sickness. She was running a fever, though, and was weaker than usual, so Marcus hadn’t let her help him in the bathroom. Then Ana had woken up and started throwing up, and Julia had called in reinforcements.
Now Ana was lying with her slightly sweaty head on Domi’s lap while Mitch helped Marcus in the bathroom. Even tucked under a thick blanket, she was shivering.
“He is,” Domi agreed, stroking her daughter’s hair. From Ana’s even breathing, she’d managed to fall back asleep, which was probably the best thing for her. Domi had already called the pediatrician this morning and been reassured the most likely cause was a stomach bug that seemed to be doing the rounds.
“I owe you an apology.” Julia’s words were quiet but sincere.
“You don’t.” Domi reached out to hold Julia’s hand. “I can’t imagine how difficult it was for you when I showed up with Ana, but you welcomed her, loved her, and never treated her as anything other than your daughter. That was all I ever wanted.”
“I could have been nicer… should have been.” Julia let her head roll, so she could look at Domi. “It wasn’t your fault, either. I was just so jealous… and worried. If you’d wanted to take Marcus from me, you could have. I knew he always felt guilty about not ‘doing the right thing’ and—”
“Hey, hey,” Domi cut her off, shaking her head. “Absolutely not. I love Marcus as a friend, but honestly, he’s more like a brother to me now than anything. We would have been miserable together. He was always meant to be with you.”
“Thank you. I’d like it if we could be friends, too. I’m sorry I wasn’t ready before. I think it took me a while to really believe you wouldn’t eventually want to make your family whole.”
“Well, if I’d known all I had to do was make you feel better was to bring a man around, I would have started dating ages ago,” Domi said, teasing a little. Julia laughed. It was a weak laugh because she was clearly exhausted, but it was still a laugh. “Seriously, I feel lucky Ana has such a wonderful stepmother. I think we have a great co-parenting relationship, and I’d love it if we made it even better.”
“And is Mitch going to be part of the family, eventually, do you think?” Julia’s fingers remained in Domi’s, keeping a loose but emotionally significant grip. It felt odd to be holding hands with the other woman but good—a sign of a better future together as a family.
“You know…” Domi winced as she heard Marcus throw up again and the low murmur of Mitch’s reassurances. It seemed Marcus had gotten the worst of the bug. “I really think he might be.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mitch
Helping Marcus back into the living room where Domi, Julia, and Ana were sitting on the couch, Mitch got him into one of the big armchairs. Honestly, he was more worried about Marcus than the rest of them at this point. The man needed to keep something down, or he was going to get dehydrated.
“How’s everyone doing?” he asked.
“Much better now that you and Domi are here,” Julia said, giving him a grateful smile. Mitch smiled back, hiding his surprise when he realized she and Domi were holding hands. “Thank you so much for coming. Marcus wouldn’t let me help him.” She gave her husband a mock stern look, but there was plenty of concern.
“You’re pregnant. I can take care of myself.” Clearly, Marcus’ feelings on the matter were pretty set.
“The pediatrician said it should only last about twenty-four hours,” Domi said apologetically. “There’s a bug going around.”
That was good news.
“Alright, I’m going to go call out of work, then I’ll get something fixed for lunch. Do you have any broth?” Mitch asked, heading to the kitchen, so he could wash his hands before handling his phone.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Julia protested.
“No, no, I got it,” Domi told her, and a moment later, he could hear her coming up behind him.
Reaching the kitchen, Mitch went straight for the sink, ignoring his girlfriend’s approach. He already knew she was going to try to convince him he didn’t need to be there, and he’d already decided she was wrong. If nothing else, neither she nor Julia was going to be able to support Marcus if he got any weaker. Marcus wasn’t a huge guy, but he was big, and Julia shouldn’t be lifting anything, and Domi was… very petite. Though he knew better than to tell her, she couldn’t do something.
“You don’t need
