Page 32 of A Labor of Hate
Colt finished the pull-up before dropping to the ground on lithe feet.“Is there a reason you stormed in here with a cake, Lex?”
Right.The cake.The neighbors were waiting upstairs.Focus.
“Uh, yes.”I reluctantly tore my eyes away from him, my common sense only returning when I caught the smirk on his lips.Then annoyance quickly spurred my thoughts back into gear.“Liam’s parents are here.Like, up in the living room.”
Confusion wrinkled his brow as he pulled his abandoned t-shirt back on.“Why?”
Okay, I admit it.I had to hide a sigh of relief once he was covered and I could think clearer again.So sue me.
“They want to meet you.”I raised my brows, conveying the absurdity of the situation in the sarcastic twist of my mouth.“Now hold this.”
I thrust the cake at him, which he reluctantly accepted, and pulled my shirt up to fix the belly.He recoiled, shielding his eyes.“Whoa!A little warning, Lex.”
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself.I’m adjusting my stomach.I put it on upside down.”
He snorted.“Does that have anything to do with the loud thud I heard earlier?”
Great.So he’d heard that.And he didn’t come to check on me?
Psh, some husband.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.I’d like to seeyoudo this when your beauty sleep is interrupted by neighbors knocking on the door.”
“Beauty sleep.Right.”His eyes slowly panned down the length of my body, lingering on my hair and my midsection as I finished adjusting the stomach and pulled my poor, abused llama shirt tighter over it.
Heat crawled up my neck like fire ants.Of all the times to see him perfect and glistening, apparently with the physique of a pro soccer player, it had to be today.While I had bedhead that would give a tornado a run for its money, an upside down fake pregnant belly, and no bra.At least my pajamas were bomb.I refused to feel embarrassed about those.
The fact that he made me feel self-conscious at all only increased my annoyance.I shouldn’t care what he thought.Ididn’tcare what he thought.
I tightened the robe around me once more and grabbed the cake back.I’d take whatever shields I could get at this point, even if they were of the sugary confection variety.“Yes,beauty sleep—a concept I’m sure you’re not familiar with.”
If he woke up at five-thirty every morning and still looked perfect, then he never needed beauty sleep.
Must be nice.
He raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips once more.
Ugh.Between the two of us, would it kill him to be the frazzled one just once?I was used to being the unflappable one at work.But here I was, completely flapped.Stupid Colt with his stupid muscles and stupid composure.
I split off from him at the top of the stairs to finally part ways with the cake.Not for long, though.The lemon glaze on top called to my soul.It would be just what I needed after a morning like this.Sugar and carbs: the perfect therapy replacement.
And, sure, maybe I took the brief reprieve from Colt to tame my wild mane into a semi-respectable bun.Picking through the tangles would hurt like no one’s business later, but for now, my priority was containment.
I rolled my eyes as Colleen cooed over Colt, audible even from the kitchen.Yeah, yeah, people thought he was attractive.Whatever.Despite my earlier behavior, I was still immune.Mostly.As long as he stayed in his starched dress shirts, that is.Besides, I still didn’t know which team he batted for, so to speak.The more I thought about it, the more it would make perfect sense for him to be gay.
Satisfied I was now as presentable as I could be given my attire, I joined them.Since they’d taken the longer couch, that left me and Colt with the loveseat.Oh goody.I sat as straight as I could, to both avoid touching Colt’s sweaty body and increase my chances of being able to stand back up with as little flopping as possible.
It was the little things sometimes.
“What a cute couple!”Colleen clasped her hands together in front of her.“And to think there will be a little bundle of joy in the neighborhood again soon.It’s been far too long, hasn’t it, Joseph?”
Her husband nodded, his thin white hair waving with the motion.“It sure has.Our youngest just graduated college.People always tell you how fast time flies, and I never believed them until we had kids of our own.You blink and they’re already paying rent and getting married.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat.I wouldn’t experience that, and it was best that way.
Colleen swatted Joseph on the shoulder.“Don’t make them sad before the baby even gets here!Look at her.You’ve almost made the poor girl cry.”
Okay,thatwas an exaggeration.I just had a conspicuous prickle in my throat and eyes.That’s all.I cleared the prickly lump away, smiling as convincingly as I could.“Oh, I’m fine.Don’t worry about me.”
