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“Nope, I’m having trouble.”
“Yep, wet denim is a bitch,” Adam agreed.
The pain rounded around my front and gripped my abdomen in a vice, and I gasped.
“Fuck!” It was a bad one. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ride out the contraction.
“You’ve got this, Zoe. In and out. Slow breaths. You’ve got this.”
I zeroed in on Adam’s voice. Concentrating on it like it was the only thing in the universe that could blank out the pain monster that was trying to eat me alive.
I breathed in and out, just like he told me to do. When it was finally over, I slumped back against the backseat, trembling.
“You did good.”
I snorted. “Yeah, sure.”
“When you yelled, ‘fuck,’ my kid couldn’t hear it over the movie. That’s a win in my book.”
This time, instead of a snort, I laughed.
“Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re going to have to peel me out of my jeans.”
“Not a problem, Zoe. All part of the roadside delivery service.”
“You work for Triple A?”
“Triple B. Birthing, Babies and Beyond. Dealing with stubborn denim goes under the beyond category.”
I did a double-take. The man was quick. I liked that. Add in the blue eyes, and the nice-looking hands that I could now see since he had taken off his gloves, there was a lot to like.
Down, girl. You have no chance with a man who has to be up-close to your female bits under duress on a first date. So no getting all impressed.
“Yeah, well, the denim is beyond my capabilities, so I’ll appreciate any help you can give me.”
Adam settled the blanket around my hips.
“Let’s start with the boots.”
“Shit, I should have thought of that to begin with,” I muttered.
“You’ve got a lot on your mind.” He knelt down on the floor. It was a tight fit, but he managed to get down on one knee and untie my boots and take them off. “I’m going to put them in the back. The more stuff we can clear out of the way, the better off we’ll be.”
He reached over my head and dropped the muddy boots behind the backseats.
“Your socks are dry, that’s a good thing.”
“Let’s keep score. Dry socks. Headphones for the kid. Two things in the good column.”
“How about a pregnant woman who can keep calm? I’d say that’s at least worth five points.” His blue eyes sparkled up at me in the dim light of the cab’s interior. “You ready for my help with your jeans now?”
I nodded.
He reached under the blanket and found the waistband of my jeans and panties, then competently tugged them down and off my body. I blushed, and then because I was so mortified that I was blushing, I blushed even more. Thank God it was dark in here.
