Page 116 of In For a Penny
Five Years Later
“I look fat,” I sayas I struggle to put on my coat. Josh quickly runs to help me slip it on.
“You’re not fat,” he says automatically (he’s had a lot of practice), “you’re just pregnant.”
It’s been six months since I’ve started showing and six months since we started having this discussion pretty much every day. I almost feel bad for him.Almost.He’s not the one who has to carry an almost twenty-pound bowling ball in the middle of his body all damn day.
I sigh deeply as he buttons up my coat and helps wrap a scarf around my neck. I hate being babied.
“There,” he says with a smile. “Now you’re nice and warm.”
I pout, and he kisses the tip of my nose with a laugh.
It’s the five-year anniversary of our first date, and as we do every year, we’re going back to where we finally let our romantic relationship begin. Unfortunately, due to the bun currently being cooked in my oven and my inability to move at a normal human pace, we are currently running late.
Josh hands me my beanie, and I place it on my head. “Maybe we should just stay in,” I say with a wicked smile, raising my eyebrows suggestively. “I’ll make it worth your while…” Stretching up on my tippy-toes, I kiss him slowly, taking his lower lip into my teeth and tugging lightly.
He softly pushes me away and smiles, shaking his head. “Are you seriously trying to bribe me with sex right now? You just spent the last half hour trying to get dressed, and now you’re gonna throw all that effort away?”
“Um, for sex? Absolutely. I can go into labor any second now, and then who knows when the next time we’ll be able to do it will be?”
He rolls his eyes at me. “This again.”
“Yes. This again.”
“But you’re just proving my point then, aren’t you? This kid is due in ten days. This could be the last time we’re alonefor a while,” he says seriously. “Don’t you want a nice night out? A walk by the Thames on the Southbank? Make out on our bench?” He grins mischievously, and his green eyes darken at the memory of our first date.
I bite my lip as I remember that night. I remember how terrified I was of messing things up with Josh forever and freaking out over the worst possible outcome. In the end, it was the best—and craziest—date of my life.
Josh pulls me into his arms, and I snuggle into the nook that became permanently mine five years ago. I inhale his signature scent, and he tightens his arms around me.
“Okay, maybe a short dinner.” My resolve wavers as Josh kisses me from right under my ear, to my jaw, all the way to my mouth—not an easy task to do when I’m covered in a million layers. “M-maybe just an entrée, you know?”
He removes my scarf and moves my hair to the side, and I angle my head to give him more room to kiss down my neck. His hands slide down my back and squeezes my significantly larger-than-usual ass.
“Mmmm…” he says against my skin. “How about now?”
“Iguesswe could also have some appetizers and spend some time walking around the Southbank.” He keeps kissing my neck. “Maybe have some dessert, too.” I smile as he bites where my shoulder meets my neck. He always finds a way to make me feel sexy, even when I look like a walrus.
“Nah, I think we should have dessert at home. Naked.”
I snort and push him off me.
“Okay.” I roll my eyes at him. “You convinced me. Let’s go!”
We walk up to the restaurant, hand in hand, and I start laughing.
“What?” He looks at me quizzically.
“Remember how I almost broke my ankle? Jesus, that night was just hilarious. It was just one thing after another with us,” I say.
“Withus? Sorry, but you were the one acting like a crazy person that night,” he says, looking both ways before crossing the street with me in tow.
“I was doing mental paperwork!” I say defensively. “I had to recategorize our relationship in my mind. I was distracted.” I pout.
He chuckles. “That must have been a lot of mental paperwork, because that wassomegraceful arrival to the date.” I slap him on the shoulder in reproach.
“Like it mattered,” I say sarcastically. “You know you found me irresistible that night, regardless of my crazy.”
