Page 111 of More Than Words

He wrapped his arms around me, rocking us from side to side. One of his hands drifted to the side of my stomach and he looked down between us. “Your mama is a badass little one.”

I laughed as she kicked him, tears gathering in my eyes when his met mine. “Take me home.”

“Oh, you’re gonna get it tonight, Isobel. Gonna fuck the thoughts of that man out of your mind for the last fuckin’ time.”

ISOBEL

Minneapolis

Christmas had come and gone the next week, with both Adrian and I spending the holidays with his family. I’d FaceTime’d my parents and my sisters on Christmas Day, but judging from the looks they’d given my ever-expanding midsection the entire call, I knew they still weren’t thrilled with my decisions. I honestly didn’t have the energy to give a fuck anymore. If they wanted to screw up the opportunity to be in my daughter’s life from the beginning, I wouldn’t stop them.

Pops had been teary eyed when he saw how big I’d gotten, and I hoped he’d continue to have good days so he could remember meeting his great-granddaughter in a few months.

Adrian’s mother had been excited enough for everyone, politely asking to touch my belly before she cradled it in her hands and cooed at her granddaughter. It was one of the few times I was in the same room as Adrian and he wasn’t touching me in some way.

When we watched television in the evenings, his hand was on my belly, or he was lying with his head in my lap whispering things to her I couldn’t hear. I wanted to be annoyed that he was constantly touching me, but it was fricking adorable.

Other people touching me hadn’t been so welcomed. I wasn’t sure why people thought they had the right to touch pregnant women without their permission, but I’d held my tongue more than I’d have liked to over the last month.

I was days from being 36-weeks pregnant, and while Sloane had been amazing about letting me do a lot of my work remotely from my office instead of going to the other branches, I was just uncomfortable. Traveling was exhausting, but Dr. Reeves saw no reason I couldn’t make one last trip over Valentine’s Day for Chase and Evan’s wedding. Adrian wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I just wanted to do something that made me feel normal right now.

My morning sickness had turned into terrible heartburn, and I was convinced the baby would come out with hair down her back at this rate. The only question that wouldn’t be answered until she graced us with her presence was if she’d get my fairer Scandinavian locks or Adrian’s dark hair. But for all we knew, we might end up with a ginger since Adrian’s Irish roots run deep.

Groaning, I tried to shift my hips toward the side of the bed to push myself upright, but there was no way I was getting up by myself.

“You alright, babe?” Adrian asked, his voice groggy as he placed his hand in the middle of my back.

“I need to pee.” My voice was a broken whisper as I tried again to push myself up from the mattress. “Can you help me?”

“Of course.” He didn’t hesitate, scooting closer so he could sit up behind me and help maneuver me into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

“You sure you’re feeling alright? Do you need me to get you some water?”

“Just need to sit for a minute.” My side ached from the pressure of my belly, and I winced as I reached my arms above my head with a yawn. I was enormous, and I still had a month to go. The doctor kept insisting that it was a good thing and meant she was growing, but I was tired of being an incubator. Being thirty-eight and pregnant was not for the faint of heart.

“Do I need to help you to the bathroom?”

“I’m okay.” Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to conjure the energy to stand. Adrian was constantly trying to anticipate what I needed, and I loved he was being such a huge part of this journey, but I felt like such a burden. At least I hadn’t been placed on bed rest, or I would have completely fallen apart. “You can go back to sleep. I know it’s early.”

Huffing, I pushed my hands against the mattress, slowly rising to my feet. Blood rushed to my head, and I braced my hand on the bottom of my belly as I regained my equilibrium. I’d been getting vertigo when I stood up for days, but my blood pressure was still normal. My doctor had made me travel with both portable blood pressure and sugar monitors. Since I was technically still at moderate risk, I hadn’t complained.

After doing my business, I washed my hands and stared at myself in the hotel bathroom mirror. Despite my exhaustion, now that I wasn’t throwing up all the time, I looked more like myself. My hair was thick and shiny, my eyes looked tired, but my cheeks had filled back out.

“You alright?” Adrian asked, appearing behind me and leaning against the door frame. Since I’d traveled so much over the last seven months, he’d spent our time apart in the gym, and I hated him a little bit for looking even more fit than he’d been when everything started between us.

Physical intimacy had been difficult the last few weeks, but Adrian had taken it all in stride, taking the edge off by going down on me instead of pushing for sex. The surge of hormones that’d made me insatiable only weeks ago were overrun by my physical discomfort.

“Just trying to muster up the energy to shower and figure out how to shave my legs.”

He chuckled, stepping in close and placing his hand on my belly before he leaned in to kiss my neck. I shivered, goosebumps cropping up along my back. As his lips became more insistent, our daughter made her presence known, happily rolling and kicking her father’s hand. “Want me to do it?”

“Do what?” I asked, leaning back into his warm embrace.

“Shave you.”

My eyes met his in the mirror, and my breath stuttered at the naked desire I saw. While I felt the least sexy I’d felt in my entire life, the way he looked at me gave me butterflies. “You’d do that?”

“Do you really have to ask that, Is? I’ve spent the last six months trying to make sure you’re comfortable and have everything you need. Why wouldn’t I shave your legs?”

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