“Shit, thanks man. I do need to talk with her.”
Max nodded. “Good. Now that we’ve got that settled, how about some food?”
23
Redefining Relationships
Maggie
I pulled myself out of the tub, avoiding Ranger as I stepped down. I’d left the bookstore earlier with visions of this gorgeous tub in my head. Emma, Ivy, and I had danced away the past hour at the store. I’d laughed more than I had for weeks. Ivy shared her secret chocolate stash with the two of us, and we pledged to have margaritas together next summer when tequila and I were acquaintances once again.
I paused, grabbing the fluffy white towel, and looked down at Ranger. “I will be friends with tequila again next summer, right?” Thinking about Bridget, my principal, and her wife Sam, I knew that parents drank, of course. We’d had margarita night often over the years. But with a newborn? Toweling off, I realized I hadn’t given a lot of thought to any changes to my life beyond the immediate ones.
God, I was an idiot. This baby was going to come out, and everything was going to change.Everything. A feeling of panic began to well up inside. My heartbeat thudded. I felt like there was pressure on my chest. My stomach rolled.Breathe, Maggie, breathe.
Standing there, staring in the mirror, I gazed at the woman looking back at me. I didn’t remember my mom, bits and pieces, really. I knew I resembled her from pictures my dad had. Twenty-nine. I felt behind, like I should already have life figured out by now. When I was in my teens, I assumed I’d be living in a big city by now, far away from a place where everyone knew my life story before I’d even met them. A place where my actions determined what others thought about me, not my past. God, I felt like a failure.
Dropping the towel, I turned to grab my pajamas, and then I did a double take. Looking back in the mirror, I turned sideways. Whoa. I ran my hand over my stomach. It wasn’t much, really, but it was there. It was just like I had eaten a huge meal and my lower stomach protruded a bit. No longer relatively flat, it was a visual reminder of what was to come.
My hand rested on my belly as I whispered, “Hey, little bean. Sorry for the waterworks today. Or maybe I’m not sorry. You’re contributing to that too, aren’t you? But none of those waterworks have to do with you.” I rubbed my stomach, my damn eyes welling up again. “I cannot wait to meet you, cannot wait to hold you.”
Looking up at the mirror, I caught my own gaze. What would my mother say if she was still here? I had a feeling she’d tell me I’d been far too hard on myself, but that was something I’d struggled with my whole life. I needed to be kinder to myself. I knew that. I felt like if everything could just pause for a few days, I could get my head together. That would be ideal but wasn’t going to happen.
Shaking my head, I pulled on my pajama shorts and a tank and headed to the kitchen. Today I’d begun the second trimester of this journey I was on. I hadn’t had any morning sickness for a few days and actually felt ravenously hungry right now. Ranger bounded ahead of me down the stairs and skidded to a stop as he slid across the floors to the kitchen island. Standing there, in all his smoldering glory, was Sully.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked. It was early evening, and I hadn’t expected him to be home. Usually he worked on Sunday nights, so I had figured it was the pup and me for dinner tonight.
“Switched shifts with Jake today because he had shit going on,” he answered. Leaning over, he gave Ranger a good rubdown and looked up at me. “When was he out last?”
“Right before my bath.” I glanced at the large wooden wall clock across from the island. “Less than an hour ago. But I haven’t fed him yet,” I said in response to the excited thump of Ranger’s tail on the floor. The dog knew what time it was and what he was waiting for.
Sully let out a low chuckle as he stood up. Mmmm.Down, girl,I told myself. His brewery T-shirt was worn and stretched across his shoulders. His jeans were faded, barely holding on in a few spots, and hung low on his hips. I licked my lips without thinking. Sully had starred in my fantasies since I became a teen, and living with him was making that even worse. I wondered what he’d say if I made a move, let my hand slide over his ass for a moment. He was holding back because I asked him too, right? Or maybe he was done with my ever-changing emotions. If I was in his place, I would be.Get a grip, Maggie.
“Is that it, boy? You want to eat?” he asked, pulling me out of my daydream.
Ranger spun around in a circle and let out a bark.
Sully smiled indulgently at the dog as he filled the bowl before looking over to me. “Were you getting ready to make something?”
I moved to the fridge, opening it and scanning the contents without really seeing anything. “Yeah, I was actually hungry today, so I figured I’d see what we have.”
Sully moved behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Do we have anything good in here?”
My heart thumped. Every part of my body came alive with him right behind me. I knew he didn’t mean anything by it. Hell, how many times had he stood just like this as I looked in the Sullivans’ fridge growing up? Sully and Emma’s parents had always joked that all of us spent more hours staring in the fridge than actually cooking or eating. My mind knew that, but my body was screaming at the nearness of this man. When I was a kid, his casual way of touching me never failed to make my heart race. It seemed that adult Maggie had the same reaction.
The heat building in my belly and flowing downward was not helping matters. Holy hell. Taking a breath, I tried for cool and removed. “Back off, Sullivan. Get your own food.”
Instead of moving back, he took a step closer. I could feel his breath on my neck. “Come on, Maggie. Play nice. Do you want me to cook for you? We need to feed this growing baby, right?” With that, his hands slid down to my belly. As they came to a rest, he stepped back and spun me toward him as he looked down. “Holy shit, Maggie.”
Sully looked me up and down before putting his hand on my lower belly again. “Is it my imagination or did you finally pop?”
I wrinkled my nose, biting back my humor. “Um, that makes me sound like a balloon.”
He pulled me in for a hug before standing back. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to get pretty excited here.” I watched in fascination as he dropped to his knees in front of me, pushing Ranger out of the way. Looking up at me, his voice lowered as he tugged at the hem of my tank, “May I?”
I cleared my throat, trying to make sure I didn’t clue him in on how arousing I thought it was to have this man kneeling before me. Glancing at my nipples, it seemed the entire body was not on board with the message. “Sure,” I whispered.
Slowly he raised my shirt, tucking it right below my breasts, and slid my shorts down to right below my small protruding belly. He ran his hands over my stomach, over and over, staring like he was trying to process something. Still looking at my belly, he whispered, “Damn, Maggie.” He sighed with a jagged breath. “I mean, clearly I know you’re pregnant. I’ve watched you puke, cry, and deal with shit for the past few weeks.”
