Page 20 of Riot

“It’s just morning sickness.” She pats his arm before she opens the biscuits. “I’m fine.”

Mace pins me with a look, and the unspoken question is clear.Is this normal?

I’ve had one baby and suddenly I’m the expert on morning sickness.

When I shrug, he scowls at me and turns his attention back to my sister. “You’re not fine, and we both know it. You keep pukin’ and you’re losing weight when you should be putting it on. The books say?—”

“You’re reading pregnancy books?” Maylie interrupts, her eyes wide.

“I want to know what to expect,” he says.

“He’s a thoroughly modern man,” Riot throws over his shoulder.

Maylie ignores him. “If you’re worried,” she tells Mace, “we’ll see the midwife, but I’m?—”

“I’ll make the appointment.”

“I didn’t mean—” He’s already out of the room. “Now.” Her wince is followed by a dramatic eye roll. “You need to talk to your brother,” she says to Riot.

He snorts. “You think he’d listen?”

Maylie doesn’t answer. She knows he wouldn’t. “Look, I get it, but if it wasmywoman throwin’ up like you are, I’d be losin’ my shit too.”

Would he hold my hair? Rub my back? Tuck me into bed after?

I had May and Toby to take care of me, but what would it have been like to have a partner at my side?

Stop. You can’t change the past.

“He’s going to have a heart attack at this rate,” Maylie warns, nibbling on a biscuit.

“Let Mace do what he needs to,” Riot says. “He’ll work his shit out.”

“Before the baby comes or after?” Riot shrugs, and Maylie turns her attention to me. “What are your plans for today?”

The question blindsides me, and I frown. “Am I meant to have plans?”

“You can’t stay cooped up in this apartment forever,” she says firmly, adopting that maternal tone she’s so good at. “It’s not good for you. Seren needs to experience the world, and you’re becoming a weird little hermit.”

“We’re goin’ to the park,” Riot says without missing a beat.

What the hell is he talking about?

“Since when?”

He leans against the counter, cool as hell. “You heard your sister. You’re becomin’ weird. Can’t have that, can we?”

His lopsided smile makes my stomach flutter, and I forget I didn’t agree to this plan.

Maylie grins. “Perfect. We’ll see the midwife, and Riot can take you and Seren for a walk.”

Riot lifts his mug and gestures towards the door. “Go and get ready.”

What’s happening right now?

“But—”

“No buts.” Maylie points at me. “You need exercise and fresh air. Your legs are going to atrophy if you don’t use them, and Seren needs to see more than these four walls. Can someone be home for when Toby finishes school?”

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