Page 57 of Inked Devotion

My gaze shot to his, and fear filled me.

He cursed again. “I know that there’s something that women can get where morning sickness affects you more than others. If you aren’t able to keep anything down, Brenna, you should tell your doctor.”

“You don’t have to growl at me and order me around.” I knew I was pouting then, but when he wiped my face with a wet cloth, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not an invalid.”

“You’re not, but you’re not feeling well, and it’s partially, or perhaps mostly, my fault at this point. Let me help.” He paused, his throat working as he swallowed hard. “Let me help.”

I wanted to cry or pout or scream. Were the hormones this severe so early in the pregnancy? “I wanted to do everything on my own, but I don’t think I’m going to get to now.”

“You weren’t going to have to do anything on your own before. We would all have been there for you.”

“This isn’t exactly how I wanted to be having this conversation. This isn’t exactly how I wanted any of this to work out. I wanted to be a mom. And here I am, having to deal with the fact that I’m going to have to share.” I put my hand over my mouth and nearly gagged on my own self-indulgence. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. We screwed up the curve,” he grumbled. “I’m the one who got you pregnant. While we were both there for the adventure, because damn straight, it was one fucking amazing adventure, you’re going down a different path. Yes, you’re going to have to share.”

“It just sounds so selfish.”

“You’re allowed to be selfish for a minute. And then you’ll do what you do best and make some plans, and we’ll figure this out.”

“It’s not just a road trip. It’s a future. It’s a life.”

He held out his hands, and I slid mine into his as I let him help me up. “See right then? You let me help you up. Let me help you.”

“How about I just brush my teeth, and then I figure out what I need to do.”

“We figure out what we need to do.”

“I stand corrected.”

He let me have some privacy, to clean myself up and brush my teeth. I let out a breath, my hands clinging to the edge of the sink. I needed to be better at this. I needed to focus on what I was doing and set boundaries. Boundaries would help with everything. Mainly because every time he was near, I couldn’t breathe. When had this happened? When had I started looking at Benjamin that way? I needed to stop. Even before getting pregnant, I needed to stop thinking about him this way. Only I couldn’t.

And now I was afraid that everyone had been wrong when they had said I had fallen for Beckett. That they had gotten the wrong twin.

And now I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.

I made my way out to the kitchen, where Benjamin stood, spooning bowls full of white chicken stew that I hoped to keep down. He also had a massive plate of crackers next to the bowls, and I grinned. “Crackers, I hope I can do. If not, I’m going to have to feed this baby solely cupcakes.”

He shook his head as he set the ladle down. “I don’t think cupcakes are going to do it for long.”

“Cupcakes are the best. I’ve been thinking about which ones to make for Archer and Marc.”

“We should be seeing them this weekend if you take my parents up on their offer.”

I cringed as I sat down next to him. His parents had called me that morning to ask if I wanted to come over for a family dinner, one where we could talk peacefully, and I hopefully wouldn’t throw up everywhere.

They were going to have a separate engagement dinner for Marc and Archer, so that way each person had their special celebration.

It still felt odd to me that I felt like I was part of their family after all this time, and yet things were completely different now.

“You think you can eat something?” he asked softly.

“Maybe. Annabelle doesn’t get this sick; I’m kind of annoyed at that.”

“Well, that just means Jacob doesn’t get to hold her hair back like I’m doing for you.”

I stirred my soup with my spoon and looked up at him, shaking my head. He took a big bite of soup and groaned. “This is amazing. I mean, I know you’re the best baker out there, but I always forget that you’re a damn good cook, too.”

“There are better cooks out there, Colton for one.”

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