Page 14 of Guarded

Before one of them said something that would escalate this into a full out battle. Because as far as he could see, neither of them were going to change their stance on the issue. So the less said on the subject for now, the better.

Chapter Four

Six months later

“You’re really doing this?”

At the shock and outrage in Matt’s tone, Briar’s spine stiffened as she reached for another sweater on the shelf that would fit over her growing belly. “Yup.” The red one was stretchy, and wouldn’t take up too much room in her suitcase.

His silent disapproval beat against her back as she continued gathering items to pack. When she turned around to exit their walk-in closet, he was blocking her way, a scowl on his face, hands on his hips.

She really would rather not have this fight again. “Excuse me.”

He stared at her for a long, tension-laced moment before reluctantly easing aside enough to let her pass, only to follow her over to the bed where she began putting the new items into her open suitcase. “You know you shouldn’t be flying this late in the pregnancy.”

It took all her restraint to keep from spinning around and giving him a piece of her mind. “We’ve been through this. I’m healthy, and I already got permission from the doctor.” Besides some normal physical discomfort here and there at this stage of the pregnancy, everything was progressing normally except for the low-lying placenta her OBGYN was keeping an eye on.

He cursed under his breath. “I don’t believe this.”

Believe it, buddy. It’s happening.She was proud of herself for not saying it aloud. When they’d first gotten together, she would have flung the words right in his handsome face.

“You just gonna ignore me?”

“Until you lose the attitude, yep.” Okay, maybe she wasn’t as evolved as she’d thought, because she got a tiny bit of pleasure out of delivering the jab.

“My attitude that has everything to do with wanting to protect you and our baby?”

Oh, he was seriously pissed. She had to stay calm or this would escalate fast. She hated fighting with him. It would put her in a bad mood and make her miserable after she left. “Our baby and I are doing just fine. The doctor said so and signed the papers for the insurance company. I gave them to Rycroft yesterday.” Maybe she’d had to coerce the doctor a little, but in the end the woman had still signed them.

“And you didn’t stop to think that maybe I should have a say in this? That your opinion isn’t the only one that counts around here?”

She bit back the angry words crawling up her throat, but not the irritated sigh. “We’ve been over this a few times already, and it’s getting old. Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I’m helpless or that you get to control me.” She shot him a warning look over her shoulder before turning back to her task. They were supposed to go away together for a few days once she got back. She hoped he was over his mad by then.

“God dammit,” he snapped, and spun around to pace. He rarely did that, and only when he was really worked up inside.

“Look. I already agreed to drop fieldwork and take a desk job a couple months ago. I’ve made concessions, given up the job I’m best at and enjoy the most, all to protect the baby. If the doctor had said no to this trip, I wouldn’t be going.” Sure there was an increased risk because of how far along she was, but there was a hell of a big difference between taking sniper assignments and getting on a freaking airplane for a couple hours.

“No, you would have just kept looking until you found a doctor whowouldsign off on it,” he accused.

He wasn’t wrong. “Matt, just drop this, okay? It’s fine. It’s a short flight, and I’ll only be gone a couple days. The most strenuous thing I’ll be doing on this job is dragging my suitcase behind me, and I already promised this is the last time I’ll travel until after the baby’s born.”

He made a growling sound and stopped to face her. The anger in his gaze sliced her inside, but she refused to let him know it. “Don’t go.” A warning, not a plea. If she did this, she did it against his wishes and without his support.

Too late. “I have to go, my cab’s outside and the team’s on the way to the airport.” She closed her suitcase, zipped it up and started to slide it off the bed but his hand closed over hers on the handle.

His jaw was set, his gaze intense. Full of anger, yes, but she could also see the worry and hurt buried there too. Then resignation. “I’ll take it down for you,” he muttered.

“Thank you,” she said, stepping out of the way.

He wheeled the suitcase out the door, down their front walkway to the street, where the cab was waiting. The driver put it in the trunk and Matt turned to face her as she reached the curb. His expression was closed now, and her heart hurt. She didn’t want him to shut her out, she wanted him to support her.

“Have a safe trip,” he said in a clipped tone, and dropped a cool kiss on her cheek before walking away.

Briar stood there a moment, took a deep breath to gather herself before getting into the cab. She’d won this round, but the small victory felt damned hollow and lonely.

Two days later, she didn’t feel any better about the whole thing.

She shifted in her seat in a futile effort to find a comfortable position given the current size of her belly. At almost thirty-four weeks along, it already felt like the baby had shoved all her internal organs aside for its own comfort. Her stomach was now somewhere north of her ribcage, and her bladder was about the size of a kumquat.

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