"How many times did I ask you to go to dinner or for coffee or anything at all after Cam's wedding?"
Several. He'd made it clear he wanted to see me again and often.
"A few," I answered.
"I don't feel like I have to do this. If anything, I'm hoping you feel obligated to let me spend time with you."
I gaped at him. "What? Why?"
He walked closer, which set off my motion sensor lights. I could see his face now, and he was wearing his stubborn expression.
"Because I didn't want a one-night stand, Lee. I wanted to know you. I wanted to spend time with you, and you shot me down. Now, I have a second chance and I'm not going to fuck it up."
I sighed when he swore but didn't say anything about it because that wasn't the issue right now. "How do you always know exactly the right thing to say to get me to do what you want?"
He grinned at me. "You forget, I've known you for years. I've seen exactly how your mind works."
"I always thought you didn't notice me all that much. You were nicer than my brothers' other friends, but still..."
"Well, I was a teenager, so you'll have to excuse some of my obliviousness."
The light went off again, leaving us in the dark.
"So, can I make you dinner and thus show off my culinary prowess and impress you enough to let me do it again?" he asked.
I laughed. "I suppose it sounds better than the cheese, crackers, and fruit I was planning on having."
"Another reason I came with food. You've lost weight." He raised a hand when I started to speak and the light came back on, revealing his face once again. He was smiling. "I know that's common for a lot of women if they have morning sickness, but please don't blame me for worrying."
There he went again. Saying all the right things. Doing all the right things.
"Let's go inside. I'm hungry." He moved past me toward the house, waiting at the base of the steps for me to unlock the back door.
As soon as we were in the kitchen, I glanced down at my clothes. I had splotches of ice cream on my shirt and the bottoms of my jeans. I was also a bit sweaty from running around all day.
"Do you need any help?" I asked him.
He glanced at me. "Nope. Why don't you put your feet up and pretend you're impressed with my mediocre cooking skills."
I laughed and fingered a sticky stain on the bottom edge of my tee. "Actually, I'm gonna jump in the shower if you don't need me to show you where everything is."
J.J. waved me away. "I'll figure it out. Go clean up. Get comfortable."
I left him rattling around in my kitchen, humming under his breath as I walked back to my bedroom. I stared longingly at my bed, but my stomach growled, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I ate something anyway.
I'd also found that eating a satisfying dinner the night before helped the nausea when I woke up. It was just nice that I didn't have to cook tonight.
With one more glance at my bed, I went into the bathroom, stripped off my clothes, put my hair up in a bun on top of my head, and jumped in the shower. The hot water loosened the muscles in my neck and back. I wanted to stay there until it ran cold, but the knowledge that J.J. was waiting on me in the kitchen kept me moving.
Within ten minutes, I was clean and dressed in a loose pair of light cotton pants and a t-shirt. My waist was definitely getting bigger, so I found myself reaching for elastic waist shorts and pants and swingy sundresses more often than not.
I didn't know how I would afford to buy maternity clothes when the time came because all my money was likely going to pay for my medical bills.
Maybe I could find some things at the Goodwill one town over.
I walked out of my bedroom and was immediately assailed by the scent of cooking meats, herbs, spices, and vegetables. My stomach growled again.
My steps quickened as I came down the hall and walked into the kitchen to find J.J. making enough food to feed a small army.
