Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,69
change.”
He chuckled, leaned over, and placed a line of kisses across the back of her neck that left her shivering. “Have a good day, cougar.” Henry ducked out of the way, laughing as she tried to pinch his ear.
“Get,” she said. “I’m going to drink my tea and then go work on Bubba. I’ve been neglecting him.”
“Bubba?” He stood and walked to the door. “The truck?”
“He’s a ’64 Ford pickup. He can only be called Bubba.”
Henry winked at her and headed out. “Say hi to Bubba then. I’ll text you later.”
“Cool.” Toni lay in bed, listening to Henry putter in the kitchen for a second. He whistled a little before he paused at the door, opened it, and headed out of the house.
What is happening to you, Toni? You’re such a sap.
“Stupid hormones.” She sat up, pulled on a pair of sweatpants, and walked to the kitchen to see a mug of tea already steeping on the counter.
Tea. On the counter. Waiting for her.
She hadn’t asked him. He’d just made it because he knew she’d wake up and feel a little queasy. Toni’s phone rang in her pocket as she balanced on the edge of bursting into tears.
“Hello?”
“Toni?” It was Katherine. “Are you all right? I just had a vision of you sobbing uncontrollably. Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Did something happen?”
Okay, it wasn’t uncontrollable sobbing, but tears had started leaking down her face. “Henry made me tea.”
“Okay and…?”
“He just left for work and he must have made a mug right before he left.” She walked over, sniffing. “There’s honey beside it.”
“And?”
“Nothing.” She reached for a paper towel to blow her nose. “That’s all. He made me tea.”
“But why are you crying?”
“I don’t know!” She blew her nose loudly, set the phone on speaker, and put it on the counter. “When he’s around, I feel normal and steady—though admittedly a little less hostile to the general population than I’m used to.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“Yes, but then he leaves and I’m a disaster! Emotional and messy.” She took the tea bag from the mug and dumped it in the sink. “I swing from being worried to being angry to being unreasonably happy for no reason. What is wrong with me?” She upended the squeeze bottle of honey and poured a direct stream into the ginger tea. “Am I getting addicted to him or something? This is not normal!”
“I’m guessing this is completely normal for an empath who is newly pregnant and also recently realized she’s in love with the father of her baby.”
Toni hiccuped a cry.
“What’s wrong now?” Katherine asked.
“I forgot I’m in love with him!” She grabbed her phone. “What am I supposed to do with that? Just be in love with someone for the rest of my life?”
“Um… yes? Ideally, that’s how it works.”
“What if we end up making each other miserable and codependent?”
“I’m in a happy relationship. Do I look miserable or codependent?”
“No.” She wiped her eyes with another paper towel. “But you’re you.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I think a good rule of thumb—I can check with a psychologist if you really want me to—is that when you fall in love with a nice person who is healthy and brings out the best in you… don’t fight it.”
She sniffed. “I’m kind of used to fighting everything.”
“I have discovered that about you. But for now, consider not fighting this. Just thank the universe for putting that person in your path and appreciate that you’re going to live life together instead of separately.”
Toni wiped her eyes. “That seems way too simple.”
“I have little doubt that as you’re living life, problems will arise. Just plan on dealing with those later. Did I tell you that I never planned to get married?”
“No.” Toni had always planned to get married. Kind of. It was in the back of her mind. She was just a little too busy to meet anyone.
“Yes, I was quite determined that I would remain single forever. Which is an excellent path for people who enjoy their own company, which I think you do. But then I met Baxter! And I was surprised by my own feelings, and also I liked who I was when I was around him. And he made me coffee and added a great deal of good things to my life. So despite my own parents’ miserable marriage, I decided that Baxter and I were different and we could get married.”