arrive?”
She shifted in her seat. “I’ve been trying to keep my schedule full. I’ve missed several whole days because I felt too bad to work, and yeah, I won’t be tattooing at all for a while in a few months.”
The note of anxiety in her voice reinforced what he’d already known.
“I think you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to take it easier, for your own sake and the babies’. I don’t want you to wind up in the hospital again with something worse going on.”
“My work has been my life for the past several years. I know that’s about to change, but it’s a hard transition to make. I can’t stand to let my clients down – some of them have been coming to me for years, too, and then there are my cover-up clients. I can’t turn away someone who desperately needs a cover-up. I just can’t.” She huffed, clasping her hands in her lap, below the swell of her belly.
“It’s your health that’s at stake though, baby.” He tried to be tactful, though his determination didn’t waver. “And our kids’, too. I hate seeing you walk around with dark circles under your eyes, leaning on walls and furniture like you’re too tired to stand up on your own.”
“I hate it too, sometimes.” Her voice had softened. “I just… It’s not just about my clients. I need the money. I hardly have anything saved up, and I’m not sure how I’m going to afford two sets of baby essentials, let alone several months of rent and utilities while I’m out of work.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Why don’t you go ahead and move in with me?” He’d been thinking about it a hell of a lot, actually.
She turned to stare at him, even leaning forward in her seat a little. “You want me to move in with you? Now?”
Why did she sound so surprised? Surely she’d realized it was the only reasonable solution, that it would have to happen sometime within the next few months.
“It has to happen soon anyway. We’re together – it’s not like we were going to live under separate roofs, shuttling the babies back and forth for no reason. You’re almost halfway through this pregnancy, and I think it’d be pointless to wait any longer.”
He wanted her where he could keep her safe, wanted to give her a home that wouldn’t be a burden to her.
When she didn’t answer immediately, he looked away from the road to meet her eyes. “Is it what I told you in the hospital – does that change things?” Doubt crept into his mind, tinged with the sticky shame that had clung to him as he’d revealed his not-so-distant past.
“What? No, of course not.”
He shifted his gaze back to the road. “I thought it might.”
“It doesn’t.”
She was silent for a moment, then her lips quirked in a sudden smile. “About me moving in… You just want me in your bed every night.”
“Damn right I do.” He laid a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “I’ve had enough of lying alone, wishing you were there.”
* * * * *
“Glad you could make it,” Sam said, walking beside Abby with a hand against the small of her back, guiding her through the restaurant’s darkened interior.
Cohen waved from a corner where three tables had been pushed together. “Over here.”
Nearly two dozen people lined the tables, most of them familiar faces from the department. The few he didn’t recognize looked like significant others he’d never met before.
As they approached the table, all eyes shifted to Abby, gazes settling in unison on the perfectly round bump of her belly. She was in her second trimester and carrying twins – there was no mistaking her pregnancy now, and the purple dress she wore draped nicely over her figure, showcasing curves without being too tight.
“Hey, happy birthday, man. This is Abby – my girlfriend.” Sam kept a hand on the small of her back as he introduced her to Lieberson and the woman sitting to his left. “Abby, this is Lieberson and his wife.”
“Sara,” Lieberson’s wife
She shifted in her seat. “I’ve been trying to keep my schedule full. I’ve missed several whole days because I felt too bad to work, and yeah, I won’t be tattooing at all for a while in a few months.”
The note of anxiety in her voice reinforced what he’d already known.
“I think you’re pushing yourself too hard. You need to take it easier, for your own sake and the babies’. I don’t want you to wind up in the hospital again with something worse going on.”
“My work has been my life for the past several years. I know that’s about to change, but it’s a hard transition to make. I can’t stand to let my clients down – some of them have been coming to me for years, too, and then there are my cover-up clients. I can’t turn away someone who desperately needs a cover-up. I just can’t.” She huffed, clasping her hands in her lap, below the swell of her belly.
“It’s your health that’s at stake though, baby.” He tried to be tactful, though his determination didn’t waver. “And our kids’, too. I hate seeing you walk around with dark circles under your eyes, leaning on walls and furniture like you’re too tired to stand up on your own.”
“I hate it too, sometimes.” Her voice had softened. “I just… It’s not just about my clients. I need the money. I hardly have anything saved up, and I’m not sure how I’m going to afford two sets of baby essentials, let alone several months of rent and utilities while I’m out of work.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Why don’t you go ahead and move in with me?” He’d been thinking about it a hell of a lot, actually.
She turned to stare at him, even leaning forward in her seat a little. “You want me to move in with you? Now?”
Why did she sound so surprised? Surely she’d realized it was the only reasonable solution, that it would have to happen sometime within the next few months.
“It has to happen soon anyway. We’re together – it’s not like we were going to live under separate roofs, shuttling the babies back and forth for no reason. You’re almost halfway through this pregnancy, and I think it’d be pointless to wait any longer.”
He wanted her where he could keep her safe, wanted to give her a home that wouldn’t be a burden to her.
When she didn’t answer immediately, he looked away from the road to meet her eyes. “Is it what I told you in the hospital – does that change things?” Doubt crept into his mind, tinged with the sticky shame that had clung to him as he’d revealed his not-so-distant past.
“What? No, of course not.”
He shifted his gaze back to the road. “I thought it might.”
“It doesn’t.”
She was silent for a moment, then her lips quirked in a sudden smile. “About me moving in… You just want me in your bed every night.”
“Damn right I do.” He laid a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “I’ve had enough of lying alone, wishing you were there.”
* * * * *
“Glad you could make it,” Sam said, walking beside Abby with a hand against the small of her back, guiding her through the restaurant’s darkened interior.
Cohen waved from a corner where three tables had been pushed together. “Over here.”
Nearly two dozen people lined the tables, most of them familiar faces from the department. The few he didn’t recognize looked like significant others he’d never met before.
As they approached the table, all eyes shifted to Abby, gazes settling in unison on the perfectly round bump of her belly. She was in her second trimester and carrying twins – there was no mistaking her pregnancy now, and the purple dress she wore draped nicely over her figure, showcasing curves without being too tight.
“Hey, happy birthday, man. This is Abby – my girlfriend.” Sam kept a hand on the small of her back as he introduced her to Lieberson and the woman sitting to his left. “Abby, this is Lieberson and his wife.”
“Sara,” Lieberson’s wife
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