“No,” she garbles. “The...smell.”
Right. I do stink at the moment. Mindless of the temperature, I carefully pull my shirt off—it will do neither of us any good if I get vomit on me—and toss it to the ground. Ignoring the chill in the air, I draw the curtain of hair away from her mouth and make soothing sounds. “Easy, now. It’s okay... I’ve got you. I’ve got you, kitten.”
Tears stream down her face as it continues, broken cries sounding between heaves. She’s tearing my heart in two. Other than holding her hair back and offering her words of comfort, I’m completely useless right now. I hate it. When it finally subsides, she lifts a trembling hand to wipe the tears and winces as she sees me.
“Oh, God! I’m so sorry. I hate...throwing up. It gets in...my nose.” Her words haltingly leave her. Poor thing still looks like she may upchuck again at any moment. “Your shirt...”
There’s vomit on hers, too. Why isn’t she wearing a jacket again? “Don’t you worry about that. I’ve got an extra in my truck. Are you okay? Do you think you can drink some water?”
Without waiting for an answer, I move a few steps and grab a bottle of water and my shirt. Shrugging it on, I unscrew the cap for her. “Try taking a few sips to get the taste out of your mouth, and then I’ll take you to the doctor. Oh—” I pat my pocket. “Here’s a breath mint, too.”
She takes the bottle from me with a grateful look, wrinkling her nose when she sees the mess on her shirt, and then takes a cautious sip. My mind runs, spinning up our next course of action as I go into full-on caretaker mode. I’ll let her boss know she’s not feeling well and needs to go to the doctor. We’ll stop at a pharmacy on the way back in case she needs to get a prescription filled, and then she’s going to go home to get some rest.
I wonder ifSilaswill be there and how he’ll react to another man taking care of her. As if the scumbag ever did before. My jaw tightens in anger when I remember the fingerprint-shaped bruises, and I run my eyes over her covered arms, fighting the urge to roll them up and see for myself if there are any new marks.
I almost hope heisthere, because I’d love to see him turn into a sniveling coward when I step into the house with Rosanna safely behind me. Then I’d kick him out with some bruises of his own, except I wouldn’t leave them on his arms. No, the phlegm wad deserves to have his nuts twisted and bruised by someone bigger and stronger than him, and I’m more than willing to step up to the plate.
Even if it means touching another man’s junk.
“Are...you okay?”
Rosanna’s voice snags my attention. “All good. Why?”
“You looked mad and were making a growling sound.”
Because I was thinking of that shithead. I make a noncommittal noise and wait for her to finish drinking. When she screws the cap back on, I bend to pick her up gently and carry her to the passenger side of my truck. “Let’s go get you checked out.”
“No doctor.” Rosanna’s soft words stop me in my tracks. “I just came from one.”
“You just came from one?” I repeat slowly as I straighten, arms empty.
Through the misery clouding her face, half of a smile shines through. “Yeah. I’m good. Everything’s okay.”
I don’t believe her. If everything was all right, she wouldn’t be throwing up. Or smiling about it. “Then why—”
Her hand pulls my gaze to her flat stomach as she brings it to rest there. Cradles it, even. Like she did the first time I met her. Not as if she’s in pain, but as if there’s something precious inside. Something like...
I swallow down a growl and reach down for what she’d dropped before puking her guts out. My eyes travel hotly from the pictures in my hand to her abdomen, passing two wet spots of puke before landing on her blossoming smile that brings a splash of color to her still-wan face.
“It’s really too early for anyone else to know, but I don’t have many other people who’d care about it. And, well...you’re holding the pictures, so...” Her perfectly straight teeth sink into her lower lip before she confirms my suspicions to me with a sparkle in her stormy gray eyes. “It’s twins.”
The news slams into me, harder than a kick to the balls. She’s going to be a mother. “Two babies,” I roughly whisper, looking between her and the pictures in awe. “That’s...that’s wonderful, Rosanna.”
There’s the proof, right there in the black and white images, spiky heartbeats decorating the bottom. Baby A and Baby B, both just tiny little things that don’t even look real yet. Reverently, I hand them back to her with elation, lust, and jealousy warring within me.
Elation, because it’s as if my vision from last night came true, but she’ll be swollen withtwobabies and glowing from the inside out. She’ll be divinely gorgeous, no doubt. And I’m one of the first to know her secret.
Lust, because there’s nothing more sexy than a fertile woman getting knocked up. It makes me want to carefully pin her down and see if I can add another one by sheer force of will alone.
And jealousy, because I didn’t do the first knocking up. It races through my veins like fire, threatening to burn my heart. But one thing we Shays refuse to do is kidnapping married women or mothers with kids. I focus on the present again when she places the pictures in her car and moves to the entrance of the shop. “Where are you going?”
Rosanna grimaces. “I need to tell Mr. Wright I’ve got to run home to change. Were you bringing more furniture or something? We haven’t sold any of your pieces yet, but I...aghh”—she groans and hunches over a little bit—“can help him get it inventoried when I get back.”
“You’re coming back to work?”
“I have to.” Her eyebrows and tone suggest I’m not the brightest for thinking otherwise. “Life doesn’t stop for every new mom-to-be, you know. It still takes money to make the world go ’round. Besides, I think I’m going to be okay for now. Apparently, my babies”—a dreamy smile spreads over her luscious lips—“don’t like certain smells.”
So that’s what she meant when she pushed me away.The smell,she’d said. It wasn’t because of the vomit on my shirt. It was my aftershave. Before I can argue with her any more, she leaves me staring in her wake as she straightens and reaches for the door.
