Reed straightened up and groaned while putting a hand on the small of his back. “I don’t have a broken leg and my arm isn’t in a cast. I’m pregnant and I can water my own plants.”
“Of course you can.”
Reed wasn’t getting much sleep as the baby kept him awake at night. And he’d confided his fears of being able to give birth and be a good dad. Combined, they’d increased his stress when he should be lying on the sofa nibbling chocolates or whatever he wanted.
“But how about you supervise and make sure I’m doing it right? I might drown the basil and throttle the sage.”
The irritation faded from his expression and I helped him into a folding chair. “I could provideexpertguidance.”
“Excellent.” I stifled an awww because he was adorable when he was prickly and I kissed him instead.
The past month my mate had been see-sawing between maintaining his independence and getting the rest that he and the baby needed. My job was to hover around like a shifter security blanket and makesure he didn’t overestimate his ability and hurt himself.
But once the herbs were watered, my mate yawned and I led him into our temporary home and onto the couch.
“Sweetheart, I’d love some toast if you’re making it.” He winked at me and adjusted the cushions behind him.
“Cute.” I returned his wink with a grin. “Toast coming right up.”
I waited because he never ordered just toasted bread with butter and jam or peanut butter.
“And what would you be having on that, sir?” I pulled out an imaginary pad and a pencil from behind my ear, ready to scribble down his order.
“Melted gummy bears.”
That was an air fryer recipe rather than a toaster one and I grabbed the candy from the cupboard.
“Do we have any more pizza crusts?” He poked his head over the edge of the couch.
We had a fridge full and I grabbed one and got a can of whipped cream from the fridge. My stomach heaved and my reindeer complained about the cream, saying I couldn’t eat it because he was convinced we were lactose intolerant.
Where did you learn about that? He picked up the strangest things.
That documentary on the TV when you and our mate fell asleep. I watched the whole thing.
I told him not to worry as it was for our mate, though my stomach heaved as I pictured the cream on the pizza. Thank gods we’d bought a double air fryer when Reed began developing cravings. If we’d have to wait for the pizza crust to cook in the oven, he might have been over that and onto the next craving before it was done.
The air fryer dinged with the toast and gummy bears and Reed devoured it while waiting for the pizza dough to cook.
“Pretzels in ice cream would be yummy or popcorn with thousand island dressing.” He finished the last of the toast and wiped crumbs off his mouth.
I’d anticipated all his favorite cravings but we had no pretzels or that dressing he wanted. My reindeer was frantic for him to stop combining foods that weren’t supposed to be and I reminded him life wasn’t about “not supposed to” but by diving in head first to new situations.
After delivering the creamy pizza on a tray, I picked up the keys and phone, saying I’d head to town.
“There’s no need to assign me a babysitter.” He licked cream off his fingers and my reindeer shut his eyes, saying he was going to be sick.
Fending off the pack when they werehovering around Reed wasn’t an easy task. Even if they agreed to keep their distance, one or more would make an excuse to knock on our door, saying they had to borrow a wrench or a cup of sugar. They didn’t fool either of us and while they would back off if their behavior upset my mate, they couldn’t help being who they were. And Reed had mostly learned to live with that and embrace it.
“I’ll pick up some antacids just in case.”
“You're the best mate ever.” Reed bit into another slice of pizza and I was glad I was leaving. I might not be lactose intolerant but cream was off putting. Ewww!
I had to go to three grocery stores because Red texted he wanted the chocolate kind of popcorn and the cheesy one. More ewww from me but I wasn’t eating it. Maybe all the pregnant omegas in town were demanding salad dressing with their popcorn.
When I walked in the door he was waiting for me, repeating, “Gimme, gimme, gimme.” He already had the ice cream out and dipped a pretzel in while I made the popcorn and melted chocolate and cheese separately.
With a bowl of cheesy popcorn and one chocolatey one and a bottle of dressing, I sank onto the sofa beside my mate. He squeed at the different options.
