“Is it supposed to hurt?” The fear in his voice melted some of the ice encasing my heart.
“No, it doesn’t hurt. But it can get uncomfortable as hell sometimes.”
He reached for the water, then stopped himself. His eyes, loaded with a silent plea, locked with mine.
I nodded, exhaling slowly as his fingers breached the surface and whispered across my stomach.
“Jesus, Clover,” he rasped, his hand gliding over the taut skin, following the baby’s movements. A limb protruded, and his eyes grew two sizes, stealing a laugh from me. “That’s insane.”
I shifted in the tub. “He doesn’t seem to want to quit, especially when I’m trying to relax.”
“He’s a tiny dancer.” A soft smile lifted Everett’s lips, his attention fixated on my stomach. “How is it possible to love someone you’ve never even met?”
Something clogged my throat, quaking my response. “I know.”
“Hey, little buddy,” he crooned, some of his long hair falling to curtain his face. I wanted to push it back, to see every slice of emotion that harnessed his features. “You need to settle down.”
He was met with a kick, and I laughed.
My laughter broke when Everett started humming a slow melody, voice rough and jilted from disuse. His hand rubbed and lulled me into a state of relaxation. The kind I hadn’t felt since before he’d left.
I never wanted the sun,
I only needed a little warmth
And you said oh, darling,
You live in a world where you can have both…
Silent tears flowed as he sang. There was no way to stop them, so I didn’t. I let them tumble. And then I let Everett help me out of the tub, wrap me in a towel, and scoop me up.
Lowering to the floor, he didn’t try to placate me.
With his arms tight around me, unyielding, I fisted his shirt and sobbed into the skin below his neck.
I hauled my bag out to the car and into the trunk, rearranging gift bags full of presents. It was too awkward, so I hadn’t bothered with wrapping this year, but I doubted anyone would care.
“Shit,” I hissed when I remembered I’d forgotten my heartburn medication.
I spun smack into Everett’s chest. “Looking for these?”
I snatched the bottle from him and tucked it in the side pocket of my overnight bag before shutting the trunk.
He stopped me, gently moving me aside to find a spot for his own bag. “What are you doing?”
“Were you just going to head home and not have me go with you?” He closed the trunk, brows raised.
“Well, yeah.” I’d figured if he was joining us for Christmas, he’d grab a ride with Hendrix or someone. “And how’d you get my pills?”
“I’ve seen you take one after dinner whenever I’m here, so I got you some more.”
He’d been coming by at least four nights a week to cook. After the third time, I gave up trying to send him away. He could cook, and I couldn’t handle being on my feet for long after three in the afternoon. Adela was all for it, the traitor, and even made remarks about stealing him from me.
Everett didn’t seem to care when I said there was nothing to steal. Nothing seemed capable of swaying him and his overbearing presence.
Almost every day, he continued to insert himself in front of me. Part of me wondered if it was merely because I was carrying his baby, or because he was trying to make up for the way he’d continuously damaged me. Either way, I didn’t have the energy to overthink much these days and often passed out with my computer right after dinner.
“Thank you.” I backed up, then went to lock up before climbing in the car.
Of course, he was in the driver’s seat, but I wasn’t going to protest when it was getting harder to maneuver the watermelon that was my stomach behind the steering wheel.
“How are you feeling today?”
“Huge, tired, and eternally hungry.” My grumbling made him smile, which he failed to hide.
My nose twitched as I caught a whiff of his clean scent and the undertones of tobacco. He still smoked but was careful not to do so around me anymore.
“One more month,” he reminded me.
My cheeks vibrated as I blew out a huge breath and rubbed my bulge. “It’s going too fast, but at the same time, I can’t wait to have my body back.”
“You still doing the birthing classes?”
Adela had told him when he’d asked over dinner the week before last.