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“I hope you’re as different as is physically possible from him. I was serious when I said I didn’t want to be alone. You’ve known me since I was a kid, Phil. I’ve got nothing to hide from you. I’ll do what I can to make you happy if you’ll give me a chance.”
“You might get bored with me. I can almost guarantee it.”
“I doubt it. It’s possible the opposite will happen. You tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you what I want.”
“Okay, that’s fair enough. I want loyalty. First and foremost. That’s been a problem in my relationships. I’m not big on companionship, I guess, so they look for it elsewhere. I’ll take you to Europe for a vacation, but I won’t go into Cypress Cove or even New Orleans for Mardi Gras. That has no appeal for me.”
“Been there, done that,” she said, laughing. “As for loyal, I can befollowed by aprivate detectiveloyal. It’s part of my record somewhere.”
He laughed again. “I like a woman to be available to travel at the spur of the moment, which I often have to do for business. If a woman is career oriented, that usually doesn’t work.”
“I’ll quit school tomorrow if that will make you happy. What else? What about sex?”
He didn’t flinch. “Sex. I’m insatiable. I’m not kinky either. Straight sex will do it. I’m big on breasts, and I like a girl to be natural”—and here, he pointed to her below the waist—“down there. I’ll try anything once, and I’m big on oral, give and take.”
Amber had the sensation of falling back in her chair, so she grabbed on to the table.
“You okay?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
“I got a little dizzy there for a moment,” she said, making him laugh.
Looking around to make sure they were alone, she pulled one large, slightly pendulous breast out of her dress. Blood surged immediately to his groin, and he gasped, leaning forward for a closer look. They were real. She tucked it away for another time.
“And this, Phil. Natural.” She pulled her dress up, with her legs slightly apart, and since she wore no underpants, flashed her unshaven lady parts, biting her tongue so she didn’t burst out laughing when his eyes rolled in the back of his head. When she was finished trying to tantalize him, and succeeding, she straightened her clothing and went back to eating her dinner. He sat speechless, his steak growing cold, the bloody juices coagulating on the plate.
“Well, Phil, I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
Chapter 12
The scene was out of a romantic comedy. Two pregnant women, one further along than the other, were at the bedside of their best friend while she labored. The father was waiting out in the waiting room, grateful that he wasn’t being forced to participate in the birth.
“Annie, I’m sorry,” he had sobbed. “I just can’t do it. I don’t want to see a baby come out ofthere. I should have found a way to tell you before.”
They were in their bedroom at home. She was moving slowly around, packing her little suitcase for the short hospital stay, less than twenty-four hours. She stood at the side of the bed, panting, her hands in fists supporting her on the mattress.
“Here comes a contraction,” she muttered. “Can you rub my back?”
She made little mewing sounds as the pain built, and Steve did as she asked, rubbing her back, giving her ice chips. He’d be a great labor coach, but that was it. As the contraction slacked off, she looked at her phone. They were five minutes apart now. The doctor had said to call when they were five minutes apart, so while she had the break, she quickly called. The answering service picked up. Five minutes later, with Annie unable to speak, they called back and said to head to the hospital. “Did you hear me, Mrs. Casson?” And she squeaked out, “Yes.”
When it was over, she rushed around getting everything she needed. “The girls want to be there with me,” she said. “I’ll call them to meet us there.”
“I’m glad you won’t be alone.”
“Steve, it’s okay. On second thought, I wouldn’t want you to see that, either.”
Calista had told her she shit herself when she delivered, and Annie knew that would the end of their sex life if Steve had to witness it. He was a child. She couldn’t expect a child to be a man just because she was having their baby.
She sent Maggie and Katrina a text that they were headed to Saint John’s Parish and that her contractions were five minutes apart.
The ride to the hospital wasn’t horrible, the pain wasn’t that bad yet, and it only lasted for a minute. Steve was solicitous and apologetic.
Once at the hospital, she dismissed him, telling him to call his family, and they could wait with him. She had no idea how long it was going to be.
Shortly after she got into a hospital gown, her girls arrived, hugging her, scared and exhilarated. Maggie was clearly pregnant, and Katrina was getting there, and the nurses teased them about being there too early.
They helped Annie relax, and after an hour, the nurse examined her and announced she was ready to go. She could go along with the urge to push. With her friends up at the head of the table, they could see that if Steve was there, he wouldn’t be able to see anything unsightly.
“I’m telling that asshole to get in here,” Katrina said, leaving.
