Page 16 of Calamity Rayne Knocked Up

“No, I don’t want to wash it off. I like it.”

She whined as if this somehow broke the laws of nature, her tiny body helplessly tugging me toward the sink.

“Andrew, don’t you think it’s pretty?”

He lifted his head from the calendar he’d been marking and fawned over my heart. “Very pretty! Can I have one?”

I drew a star on his hand, and Elara screamed. We both looked at her in surprise and laughed.

“Elara, we don’t scream like that.”

She marched over to Andrew and pointed at his hand. “No!”

He cradled the scribbled star protectively to his chest. “I like my star.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she pouted in frustration, stomping her little foot angrily.

“Do you want one, Peanut?”

“No.” She pulled her pudgy fists protectively close and backed up.

“Okay. You don’t have to have one. But you can’t get mad at other people for wanting one.” My little anti-control lesson cut off as a sharp cramp plunged from my back, through my stomach, and into my legs.

I must have gasped because Andrew’s face instantly contorted with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Mmm. Yeah.” I grimaced, holding my side. “Just a little stomach issue.” Pain radiated through my back and Elara’s prior distress shifted to concern as she watched me double over and grip the counter.

“Can I get you something?” Andrew offered, but there wasn’t anything he could do. Cramps were cramps.

“Do you mind if I…” I gestured toward the steps, needing a few moments tomyself.

“Go. I’ve got her. We were about to take a swim.”

I nodded my thanks and slowly lurched up the stairs. I needed my bed.

Later that night, after the red devil made its debut, I fed Elara dinner and put her to bed. Hale was working late and didn’t get in until around eight.

“You look cozy,” he said, joining me on the sofa.

“I’m not. I got my period.”

He brushed a loving hand over my head and peeked under the blanket, finding the usual suspects—a heating pad, a bag of truffles, and a box of tissues. He glanced at the screen where Dolly Parton’s face was frozen. “Steel Magnolias?”

“I needed a good cry.”

He sighed. “Did you eat?”

I’d eaten everything in sight, but he didn’t need to know that. “There’s a steak on the counter for you. It’s from Spencer’s.” Hale didn’t marry me for my culinary skill so he wasn’t surprised to come home to takeout.

I hit play as he warmed up his dinner and set the table. The lengths he went to for propriety made me laugh. I gave him credit, though. Hale could hire a house full ofservants to wait on him hand and foot, but he preferred his privacy and liked to take care of himself.

“Will you sit with me?”

I paused the movie, wrapped myself up in the blanket, and took the seat across from him, settling in like a disheveled burrito. He held his fork in his left hand, tines down, and gracefully cut into his filet. Peeking under the table, I smirked at the napkin appropriately draped over his lap.

“Good?” I asked as he took the first bite.

“Delicious. Do you want some?”

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