Then I rested my cheek back on his chest, and he pulled me closer with his arm tucked tight around me. At some point, I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing. The familiar rhythm was the only way I could get any sleep as of late.
The next morning, he drove us to school.
And the next day, he brought me the wool blanket from the end of his bed.
5
BECKHAM
Did she even still like fettuccini Alfredo?
I mean, she had to, right? It was the only dish I knew how to cook as a teenager, so naturally, when she’d come over and I could practically hear her stomach growling, I’d make it for her. She always loved it, but now, as I stood at the stove stirring the homemade sauce, I realized maybe she only tolerated it because it was the only meal I was capable of not ruining.
I should’ve asked her before I’d run out of her room like I’d seen a ghost.
But Ihadseen a ghost.
I had convinced myself I’d never see her again. I was certain of it. Not a chance in hell had I ever thought her father would pass and his funeral would be held in Bell Buckle and she’d come back. Not only come back, but be willing to stay. Although the verdict on that was still upin the air. She’d admitted she wasn’t sure how long she was staying here, but that meant she had nowhere else to go. Right? Or did she, and she had no deadline on returning?
These are the questions I should have asked, and yet when it came to Parker, my brain malfunctioned. Words went out the window and I couldn’t do so much as form a coherent thought in her presence.
I thought about her constantly, but when I saw her standing there earlier today?
Fuck, I thinkIwas the one that went to heaven.
As if my thoughts called to her, I heard her door open at the end of the hall, followed by slow footsteps coming this way. I focused on stirring the sauce, as if that would disguise the fact that I was thinking about her only seconds ago.
Her steps came to a stop, and I looked over my shoulder to find her rubbing her eyes.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said, her voice slightly groggy. “Sorry.”
She was so fucking beautiful, standing there in an oversized T-shirt, black leggings, and fuzzy socks. She must’ve changed into them before her nap, if the wrinkles in the fabric were any indication.
I forced my eyes back to the stove, because otherwise, I’d stare at her all night and ruin the meal. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she was really here, standing in my house.
Pregnant.
“Don’t apologize. It’s been a long day. Why don’t you sit down?”
Feet shuffled behind me before a stool scraped across the floor.
“Where’d you go earlier?” she asked.
I grabbed the drained noodles from the colander in the sink and brought them over to add to the pot with the sauce. “Had to stock the fridge.”
“It wasn’t stocked before?”
I shook my head, tossing the noodles and Alfredo together. “Just for me.”
“You didn’t have to buy me food, Beckham.”
“You’re pregnant.” I opened the cabinet to grab two bowls, setting them on the counter before tugging on a heat-proof mitt and opening the oven. I slid out the tray of garlic bread, placed it on the stove, and turned off the heat. “I’m not going to make you shop for your own food here.” I piled a hefty portion into a bowl, set a slice of bread on top, and slid it across the counter to her. “Parmesan?”
She blinked, like the question of whether she wanted cheese or not had taken her off guard. “Sure.” She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts while I grabbed the block and began grating it above the bowl.
“Say when.”
Her lips parted and snapped shut twice before she said, “When.” Then her penetrating gaze landed on me, and I had to force myself to turn around to dish up my own bowl while somehow not dropping it all over the floor. “You don’thave to feed me.”
