Page 39 of Embattled Ever After

Alex cringed. “Nothing is broken, I swear. It just looks bad.”

He glanced down her body to the purpling bruise on her hip. “Damn, woman.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Oh, the curse of having milk-white skin, every little bump and ding leaves a mark visible from space.”

The skin wasn’t broken, just bruised, but he hated to see it. “Climb in,” he growled.

Alex didn’t dare let on how much she hurt, but she thought Duncan could see she was aching. It was her own fault, though. That’s what he was too nice to say. If she hadn’t taken off after the guy who looked like Aiden she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Because right now she didn’t want to do anything but lay down. Her elbow and hips hurt, but also her neck and head. Her entire right side hurt, if she was honest with herself.

Duncan was being super patient with her though. He didn’t call her crazy for going off half-cocked, though he could have.

Alex could have sworn it had been Aiden, though. The shape of the face had caught her attention as he’d brushed between she and Duncan. He’d been about the right height, she thought, but she’d only actually seen Aiden Willingham standing once, when he was walking out of the hospital. They derelict guy had worn a filthy toboggan, dingy gray sweatpants and a huge black puffy coat with stuffing hanging out of it.

She tried to remember more details, but nothing else came. Maybe it would work its way out of her subconscious after they soaked. She stepped over the edge of the tub and eased into the water, gasping at the scalding heat. Almost immediately, though, she felt her sore muscles begin to relax. Lowering her shoulders below the water line, she tried to immerse her sore neck as much as she could. Duncan eased in beside her, stretching his legs out along the length of hers.

“I think I’ll sleep ’ere tonight.”

Even her mouth was relaxing, her words getting slurred, but he chuckled. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Right now the fettuccine is weighing you down. We’ll soak for a while, then go curl up on the couch and watch a movie or something.”

Alex blinked, wondering if she could keep her eyes open that long.

Then Duncan’s strong arm wrapped around her chest and he tugged her in against him. “If you want to close your eyes for a few minutes, I’ll hold onto you.”

He didn’t even have to tell her twice.

***

Shannon woke earlyTuesday morning, excitement humming through her veins. She was exactly ten weeks along and she was going to hear her baby’s heartbeat for the first time today.

Turning her head, she smiled into John’s low-lidded dark eyes. “Hey, babe.”

“Hey, gorgeous.”

He rolled up on one elbow to give her a kiss, one hand landing on a sensitive breast. Very carefully, he massaged the weight of her boob and avoided the nipple, where she was painfully sensitive right now. All of the books said that this change in her body was completely normal, but it was a little frustrating. John was definitely a breast man, and it was very hard for him to avoid them.

“I’m glad you finally proposed,” she told him softly. “It was getting hard to not tell you to go easy and why.”

He jerked his hand back, his eyes widening. “This isn’t too hard, is it?”

Shannon rocked her head against the pillow. “No, it’s just right. Thank you for being so… mmmmm… careful.”

Leaning down, he pressed a couple of gentle kisses against her mouth. Then he just leaned into her, one hand wandering down to rest on her belly. “I only want you healthy and happy. I’ve waited for you for so long and I want you to be completely satisfied with your life.”

They were the only ones in the house, but they still whispered quietly into the lightening room about what they wanted to hear today.

“I can tell you now that I’m going to cry,” Shannon warned. “Seems like everything is making me cry right now, but when I hear the heartbeat? Yeah, I’m totally going to lose it.”

“Don’t tell me that. You’ll make me get all teary eyed too.”

It had only happened a couple of times, but Shannon had seen John so full of emotion he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Those times only made her love him more though.

With gentle hands he moved the blankets away from her body, then slowly lifted her T-shirt to look at her belly. “I think I can see just a little tiny bump.” He rested his hand over the area and she smiled. It was where she had noticed a fullness too.

“Yes.”

John ran his hand around the area, always being careful. Right now, even her skin seemed to be a little hyper-sensitive, and he seemed to be cognizant of that.

She moved his hand several inches above her tummy. “This is how big I’m going to be,” she warned.

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