But can you run me past the store super quick? I’m not feeling this peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
I handed her a twenty from my wallet. “Treat yourself. Or, you know, eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the team.”
She refused the money, but I stuffed it in her bag regardless.
“I can’t eat with you guys,” she said. “All those smells make Genie mad. She gets out of her lamp and stomps on my stomach.”
“She?”
“What?”
I shouldered my bags. “You keep calling the baby a she .”
“I do?”
“Ever since you told me about her. Do you have a feeling? Mother’s intuition?”
Rory went quiet.
Uh-oh.
Her pregnancy hormones ticked like an active bomb strapped to her tummy. And, like an idiot I kept plucking the wrong wires. I backed off.
“Never mind,” I said. “It’s not important.”
Rory looked away. “I guess…it just seemed like the right thing to call her.”
“Then I’m sure it is. Go with your instinct.”
Rory’s lip trembled. Shit. My instinct was to duck and cover.
Too late.
The tears welled. Rory covered her mouth. She sobbed.
I dropped my bags. This wasn’t the first time I’d accidentally made her cry, and one of the many times I had no idea why she got upset.
“Oh my gosh.” She sniffled. “I didn’t even realize I was calling her a her . I had no idea. I never thought about it. The baby was just…something in my life. She wasn’t…she wasn’t…”
I froze. Did I hug her or dive away? Give her a smile, or offer her more money?
I finished her sentence with a hope and a prayer. “A…girl?”
“ Real .”
Thick tears rolled over her dark cheeks. Rory fanned her face, but her voice still quivered. “It’s all so real all of a sudden.”
“It hasn’t been real before?”
“No!”
“But it’s been twenty weeks.”
That didn’t help. Wrong thing to say.
“Oh, God. You’re right. It’s been twenty weeks , and I’m just now thinking of the baby as a real person ? I must be the most self-absorbed monster in the world.”
I reined her back to a kitchen stool and offered a bottle of water. “You’re not a monster. You’re perfectly normal.”
“Oh, please .” Rory chugged the water. “I know it’s just hormones. I can tell you exactly the type and what their function is and why my body is producing them. But it just doesn’t help when I know I’m being crazy and I can’t do anything about it.”
“Name of the game, Doc. But you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing.”
“Yeah.” She sipped the water. “I’m so used to freaking out alone. It’s…nice to have you here.”
Uh-oh. I expected a smile. I got the water-works. “I’m glad to help.”
Her voice trembled. “God, Jude. You’re so…so…”
Utterly confused ?
I welcomed her into my arms because I had no idea how else to comfort her. A pregnant woman could switch from hungry to sad to homicidal to exhausted just by flipping through the trending shows on Netflix.
Make her a sandwich for lunch? She’d rage about chunky peanut butter. Stick a bow on the dog? She’d burst into uncontrollable tears imagining how she’d dress up the baby.
It’d been a week of living together. I was already battle scarred. We had another five months to go. I’d need a bullet-proof vest, some chocolate, and a lot of warm baths—either to soothe her or to hide in with Phillip.
“You’ve been so sweet.” Her voice muffled in my shoulder. “First you take me into your home, then you play this crazy game with a fake relationship, and now you give me lunch money …”
The tears started again. Happy ones this time. We were making progress.
“Now you’re giving me a ride to practice,” she said.
I rubbed a tear from her cheek. She finally smiled, and the pressure on my chest eased.
If only that weight hadn’t gone right to my cock.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was trying to comfort this woman, a friend who needed help. And I couldn’t get our
I handed her a twenty from my wallet. “Treat yourself. Or, you know, eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the team.”
She refused the money, but I stuffed it in her bag regardless.
“I can’t eat with you guys,” she said. “All those smells make Genie mad. She gets out of her lamp and stomps on my stomach.”
“She?”
“What?”
I shouldered my bags. “You keep calling the baby a she .”
“I do?”
“Ever since you told me about her. Do you have a feeling? Mother’s intuition?”
Rory went quiet.
Uh-oh.
Her pregnancy hormones ticked like an active bomb strapped to her tummy. And, like an idiot I kept plucking the wrong wires. I backed off.
“Never mind,” I said. “It’s not important.”
Rory looked away. “I guess…it just seemed like the right thing to call her.”
“Then I’m sure it is. Go with your instinct.”
Rory’s lip trembled. Shit. My instinct was to duck and cover.
Too late.
The tears welled. Rory covered her mouth. She sobbed.
I dropped my bags. This wasn’t the first time I’d accidentally made her cry, and one of the many times I had no idea why she got upset.
“Oh my gosh.” She sniffled. “I didn’t even realize I was calling her a her . I had no idea. I never thought about it. The baby was just…something in my life. She wasn’t…she wasn’t…”
I froze. Did I hug her or dive away? Give her a smile, or offer her more money?
I finished her sentence with a hope and a prayer. “A…girl?”
“ Real .”
Thick tears rolled over her dark cheeks. Rory fanned her face, but her voice still quivered. “It’s all so real all of a sudden.”
“It hasn’t been real before?”
“No!”
“But it’s been twenty weeks.”
That didn’t help. Wrong thing to say.
“Oh, God. You’re right. It’s been twenty weeks , and I’m just now thinking of the baby as a real person ? I must be the most self-absorbed monster in the world.”
I reined her back to a kitchen stool and offered a bottle of water. “You’re not a monster. You’re perfectly normal.”
“Oh, please .” Rory chugged the water. “I know it’s just hormones. I can tell you exactly the type and what their function is and why my body is producing them. But it just doesn’t help when I know I’m being crazy and I can’t do anything about it.”
“Name of the game, Doc. But you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing.”
“Yeah.” She sipped the water. “I’m so used to freaking out alone. It’s…nice to have you here.”
Uh-oh. I expected a smile. I got the water-works. “I’m glad to help.”
Her voice trembled. “God, Jude. You’re so…so…”
Utterly confused ?
I welcomed her into my arms because I had no idea how else to comfort her. A pregnant woman could switch from hungry to sad to homicidal to exhausted just by flipping through the trending shows on Netflix.
Make her a sandwich for lunch? She’d rage about chunky peanut butter. Stick a bow on the dog? She’d burst into uncontrollable tears imagining how she’d dress up the baby.
It’d been a week of living together. I was already battle scarred. We had another five months to go. I’d need a bullet-proof vest, some chocolate, and a lot of warm baths—either to soothe her or to hide in with Phillip.
“You’ve been so sweet.” Her voice muffled in my shoulder. “First you take me into your home, then you play this crazy game with a fake relationship, and now you give me lunch money …”
The tears started again. Happy ones this time. We were making progress.
“Now you’re giving me a ride to practice,” she said.
I rubbed a tear from her cheek. She finally smiled, and the pressure on my chest eased.
If only that weight hadn’t gone right to my cock.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was trying to comfort this woman, a friend who needed help. And I couldn’t get our
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