Except that’s not exactly true.I know him better than any man I’ve met, and that’s from information gathered in less than a day.He has shared more words with me than Presley did in two years.That old fart mostly grunted and barked orders.Aaric looks at me, too.Looks me in the eye, like he cares.
I like him.I don’t trust men, but I trust Aaric.He’s good to me.He was always good.Even when I was a young girl.
Memories flood back to me.I used to sneak over to the Gallant property sometimes.I would follow Rebekah.She was bolder.More outgoing.She would come right out in the open and interact with the Gallants.
I was too shy.Not brave enough.I think I was jealous, but not in a bad way.I was frustrated with myself that I didn’t have the nerve to talk to them.Not often.Sometimes, one of them would saunter over to me and say something nice or hand me something to eat.They were nonchalant about it.They would play it cool and act like they just happened to walk by and just happened to be carrying something to eat and just happened not to be hungry.
My sister always brought me food when she left.She was so kind to me.When I think back, I feel like the most interesting parts of my life happened here, on this land, me watching other people interact.Including Aaric.
He’s a good man.His parents raised him to be kind and decent.My mother was good.I suppose my father was, too, when we were very young.But when he found out we snuck over to the neighbors, he forbade us from doing so.He said the Gallants were uppity and thought they were better than other people.
I knew he was wrong.I knew them better than he did.I mostly watched, but they were nice people.They still are.My father was angry and bitter.He was hateful.He got worse after my mother died, probably because he blamed himself for not having enough money to get her proper medical care.
And then he sold me.
And now he’s dead.
And I’m glad.
“Breathe, honey.The baby needs oxygen,” Aaric teases, chuckling so hard that his body shakes mine.
I draw in a deep breath.I hadn’t realized I’d been holding it.He doesn’t know where my mind wandered.I shake off the sad thoughts.
“That’s better.I bet you need to pee again.How about if I go make breakfast?The baby is hungry.”His lips are so close to my ear, and I find myself gripping his hand over mine, not wanting him to move yet.
He must read my body language because he nuzzles my neck and scoots closer.“Everything is going to be okay, sunshine.I promise.”
His words mean the world to me.He’s calming me.The panic is ebbing.My brain is a jumbled mess.The fire-and-damnation side is shaking a finger at me for sleeping so close to a man who is not my husband.The newer side of me, which is starting to think all that nonsense is rubbish, is telling me to accept the attention and let myself experience kindness.
Why should I believe the words of an angry man who started a fire that killed two people and then sold me?Why should I believe the words of a man who bought a woman, let his son take advantage of her, blamed her, and threatened to let a baby die?
I shouldn’t.I should put those people behind me and listen to this man who is offering me the world.
He asked me to marry him.He said he would do so more formally today.If I sayyesand we head to the courthouse this morning, like he suggested, will it really be sinful that I slept in the same bed as him the night before?It’s not like we had sex.
He told me to erase the word sin from my vocabulary.It’s an awful word.I think I will.
My stomach growls, causing Aaric to take action.He gives my belly a pat and releases me to slide off his side of the bed.After rounding to my front, he bends over and kisses my forehead.He’s smiling, and I love his tousled morning look.
“Give me two seconds in the bathroom, then it’s yours.”
He shuffles away and closes the door behind him.I miss his touch.The way he kisses me is so sweet.And he’s so unbelievably handsome.He makes my heart race.
When he returns, I’m breathing heavily from thinking about him.
“Let me help you up, sunshine,” he says.“The stool might be handy after you’ve had the baby, but I’m not liking you using it until you can actually see your feet.”
I let him pull the covers back, and holy cow, it’s nice to have someone actually lift me upright.He tucks an arm under my shoulder, guides me until I’m sitting, and then grips my hands as I ease to the floor.
“Are you steady, sunshine?”
I clear my throat.“I think so.”
“Yell if you need me.Don’t do anything strenuous.”
I feel even more like a whale as he pads from the room.He’s still wearing nothing but sweatpants.His back is almost as nice to look at as his front.
Somehow, I manage to convince my feet to move and make it to the bathroom.The relief I feel after emptying my bladder is tremendous.It’s shocking how few hours I can go without peeing.I can’t wait for this baby to get out of me so I can have my bladder back.
