She looks over her shoulder as she opens her door. “So kind of you,” she deadpans. “Stay out here, it’s too hot for you in my house. You might melt since you’re sugar and all that.”
“I’m all that with some spice thrown in there.” She snorts as she walks toward her bedroom.
I take a look around to see if maybe someone tried to break in while she was gone. When I walk into her room, she’s slipping on a sundress that hits her mid-thigh. It’s a light-yellow color and has thin straps that are taunting me. The bra area is tight with an elastic material that is under her breasts, and it flares off a bit, then it ruffles around her legs.
“You look beautiful.”
She looks over at me, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Thank you.” She avoids looking at me as she takes some clothes from the dresser. I don’t push her about taking more clothes, knowing we are coming back here tomorrow. I also don’t want her to just say no to staying at my place.
“Okay”—she picks up her bag—“I’m good to go.”
“Where are we going?” she asks from beside me as I drive down Main Street.
“Thatcher’s,” I tell her, and she looks out the window. “Is that okay?”
“Um,” she hesitates, “it’s fine. It’s just?—”
“Hey, you want to leave, you tell me, and we leave.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she mumbles as I pull into a parking space. “It’s people pointing at you and then feeling sorry for you.” She doesn’t give me a chance to answer before she gets out of the truck.
I walk around, joining her on the sidewalk and slipping my hand in hers, even though hers is stiff. I hate that she walks down the street with her head down.
When we enter Thatcher’s, she tries to let my hand go, but I won’t let her. My jaw clenches, and anger fills me as I look around. I spot Caleb and Sierra in the corner, sitting together side by side. Their heads are close to each other as he looks into her eyes. I make my way around the table toward them.
“Hey,” I say, as we stop in front of the table.
“Hey,” Caleb greets, getting up. “This must be Collins.” He smiles big and hugs her. I can see the surprise on her face, mixed with something else I don’t understand. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you too,” she replies, and I can see she’s holding her breath.
“Hi.” Sierra pushes Caleb away. “It’s so nice to meet you. Officially.” She hugs her, and Collins lets out a breath. “I wanted to come and see you before to thank you for helping that day I was?—”
“Shot,” Caleb finishes, making us all laugh. “That was fun, we should do that again, never.” He goes back to his chair to sit down, and Sierra walks by him, and the two of them share a word.
“Let’s sit.” I pull out a chair for Collins and wait for her to sit before I take my seat.
“You okay?” I ask quietly.
She moves her head to murmur in my ear. “I thought I was going to vomit on Caleb. His cologne is not good. The baby does not like it at all.”
I can’t help but laugh. Then, in the middle of the bar with probably all eyes on us, I lean in and kiss her lips softly before going back to whisper in her ear: “It’s a good thing other men make you sick.”
“I didn’t say other men make me sick. I said the smell of his cologne makes me sick.”
I look into her eyes, a huge smile on my face. “Same thing.” I kiss her again, and she rolls her eyes.
“Well then,” Caleb says, “I guess that answers most of my questions.” He takes a pull of his beer.
“I’m afraid to ask what questions,” Sierra says. “And whatever the questions were, it’s none of your business.” She turns to Collins. “So I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Um.” Collins reflexively puts her hand on her stomach. “Thank you.”
“How are you feeling?” Sierra asks.
“Good. A little tired at times, but other than that, I’ve only been sick a couple of times, and the first trimester is over, so that is a good thing.”
“Hey.” We look over to see Brady, one of the bar’s owners, coming to us. “Collins, this is a surprise. You rarely ever come in here.”
