“You shouldn’t have walked out here. I would have carried you if you called.”
Jessie rolled her eyes, her hands landing on her hips as he pulled out the chair for her to sit in. “I’m not completely incapable of taking care of myself. Besides, it felt good to stretch my legs. And I could smell the rosemary… had to come see how it turned out before you tried to feed me dinner in your bed.”
His shoulder’s relaxed. “I do want you to eat in bed.”
“But I’m out here now.” She shook her head, scooting her chair closer to the table. “Let’s just eat at the table. I don’t want to make a mess of your bed.”
Hawk groaned, and Jessie sat back, her eyes closing a bit as she clearly studied his face.
“What?” she asked.
“Just thinking about how when you’re feeling better, Ihope we do make a mess of my bed,” he chuckled as the corner of her mouth turned up.
“Oh.” That was apparently the only response she could give, because she quickly reached for the cup of ginger ale he’d set out for her and brought it to her lips.
“I think you should move in.”
Jessie sputtered and lowered her cup to the table with a thud. “Maybe don’t–” More coughing. Jesus, should he be clapping her on the back? “Don’t throw that out there while I’m trying to swallow.”
“I thought you could tell that’s where I was going.”
He walked to the counter and grabbed the bowl of macaroni with butter.
“No. I wasn’t making the jump from spending time together in your bed to me moving in. What the heck would I tell my parents? My mom might be okay with me moving in before I got married to someone I’d been dating for a while, but I was a booty-call at best the first time we were together, and after the vow renewal, we were both scratching an itch.”
Her fork went into the bowl, stabbing at a few pieces of pasta before bringing them up to her mouth. Hawk watched as she chewed the meal he made for her. Jessie’s whole body seemed to relax the moment she tasted the food, and fuck if that didn’t make him feel like the world’s best provider. Over some pasta and butter.
Hawk leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table as he brought his hands together by his face.
“You’re pregnant with my baby, and I don’t want to play games, Jess. You, me, the baby. Together. Here for now. One day in a house with a big yard. I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.”
She sighed, sitting back in her chair before running her hands over her thighs. Shit. He should have waited until theywere on the couch. Then she could have been snuggled in his arms.
“We’ve only been exploring this thing between us for a few days.”
“And? I’ve been thinking about you and me and a cute little house in the country from the first time you came up to my apartment and let me finally have a taste of you.”
Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink, but his heart fell when she dropped her fork to the table and pushed away the bowl.
“Can you eat any more for dinner?” he asked.
“No. It was delicious, but I don’t think I can manage another bite. My stomach is protesting a bit. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m just happy you felt well enough to try it.” Hawk stood, taking the bowl off the table before the smell, or look, or something else, flipped her stomach back into spasms. With his free hand, Hawk tipped Jessie’s chin up towards his face. “Go back to bed. Get comfy. Think about what I said.”
She nodded, but as he made his way to the kitchen, she was still sitting at the table, looking stunned.
Move in.
I don’t want to play games.
I’ve been thinking about that for a long time.
Holy hell in a hand basket, her heart was beating out of her chest. Because Hawk Morgan was about to walk into his room and expect her to have an answer for him. And she wanted to say yes. She wanted it more than anything…
But her family wouldn’t understand. And she had a duty to them. It wasn’t fair to back out of her commitments.They’d been drilled into her from such a young age. Family first. Familyalways comes first.
Jessie needed a distraction. She flung her arm over the edge of the bed, flailing until her hand landed on the nightstand. After a few more seconds of banging around blindly, she landed on the cool glass of her phone’s screen. Bingo.
