Page 73 of Make Me Whole

I clamped my mouth shut and inhaled deeply to keep last night’s dinner from exiting my mouth. “Don’t do that, Ella.”

Miss Sassy-Pants raised a brow and crossed her little legs that weren’t so little anymore, judging by how high up her calves her pajama pants rose. She was outgrowing her clothes too fast for my liking.

“Aid and I play like this all the time, Mom. I’m an expert at not falling on the ground.”

“That wasn’t my worry,” I muttered without thinking. She narrowed her eyes, probably out of amused curiosity, but I took it as a judgment of my parenting and felt compelled to explain myself. “It’s very early.”

“No, it’s not. It’s almost nine.”

The information caught me off guard. Even though I disliked mornings, I hardly ever overslept.Darn first trimester.

“Oh, wow. I thought it was six or something.”

Ella shook her head. “Nope. Nine-ish. And Unclad has breakfast ready. He made pancakes and bacon and eggs. It all looks yummy, so you gotta get up and come eat because he said we can’t eat without you and I’m starving!”

Still feeling very green at the mention of my favorite breakfast foods, I smiled and pushed myself to a seated position. “Tell Max I’ll be right there. I’m just gonna brush my teeth first.”

“Okay,” she said with a sigh and jumped off the bed. She dragged her feet all the way to the door, then turned around with the most forlorn expression. “Please don’t take too long, Mom. I’m wasting away here, and those pancakes look so, so yummy.”

Despite the sick feeling, I chuckled and nodded. “I won’t.”

As soon as she was out of my room and the door was closed, I stumbled out of bed and ran to the ensuite bathroom. I barely had time to tie my hair back and lift the seat on the toilet before the contents of last night’s dinner rushed out of my mouth. Once the purging was over, I sat down on the floor and leaned my head against the vanity to catch my breath.

I flattened a hand over my womb and closed my eyes. “I have to tell your dad about you ASAP, little one. Hiding this misery for much longer will require more energy than Mommy has.”

Determined to tell him tonight, I got up from where I sat on the floor and brushed my teeth while formulating a plan that mixed romance, sexy fun, and orgasms to ensure that he took the news well. Considering the ring removal and all his declarations of wanting us to become a family, I suspected he would be happy, but I had gotten pregnant during the casual phase of this relationship and kept it a secret for over a month. No matter how positive his reaction to adding a family member would be, I knew he would be mad at my keeping it secret.

Still in my PJs, I made my way to the kitchen where the three of them waited at the table. Though the kids looked at me and dramatically thanked the heavens for finally being able to eat, Max just gave me a loaded, knowing smile that made my stomach flutter for a reason completely unrelated to my pregnancy.

* * *

The aquarium turnedout to be a lot more fun than I had originally envisioned. Though the kids had a lot more to do with it than the actual aquarium.

“Look, look, look,” Ella cried, tugging at Max’s hand for the millionth time since we arrived. “That sea turtle is huge! And it’s so cute, all light green like that. And his face is so friendly. Isn’t he friendly, Unclad Max?”

Since we stepped foot in the aquarium, our group repeated the same pattern. Aiden rushed from tank to tank to read the information cards before any of us and then recited his findings as if he were a marine biologist. Meanwhile, Ella followed him, dragging Max along by the hand while she babbled excitedly and pointed out the most obvious details about each animal as if Max were blind. I just followed behind, filling my phone with the cutest pictures of my soon to be little family.

“Sure is,” Max told her as we came to a stop next to Aiden. “Looks like Crush fromFinding Nemo.”

Ella turned adoring eyes to Max, and I could see she was having the same problem I was with deciding whether I loved him more for how incredible he was at the dad thing or for knowing who Crush was. Probably the dad thing, though. Seeing how his love for Ella had transformed my daughter from a traumatized kid who only trusted me and her grandpa to a normal, fun-loving kid was the most life-giving thing that had ever happened to me.

“Because it is Crush,” Aiden explained as he turned to us. He took my hand and just held it as if it was no big deal to him. It was another pattern. Probably the cutest.

“That’s the green sea turtle,” Aiden informed, all serious. “They are found in temperate and tropical coastal waters around the world. As adults, they’re the only herbivorous sea turtles, and they eat seagrass and algae which turns their fat green. That’s where their name comes from.”

He stole a peek at me at the end of his speech, as if looking for approval. I offered a wide smile and a wink. “That’s so interesting. I never knew that eating veggies could make your fat turn green. I eat a lot of salads. Do you think my fat is green too?”

Aiden laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know. That might be a turtle thing, though.”

“Darn it. Having green fat would make me not mind my big butt so much.”

The kids and I laughed. Max smiled but didn’t laugh. The glint in his eyes made me hold my breath. Their attention quickly dispersed, and the kids ran off to the next tank.

“Why do you mind your big butt?”

The seriousness with which Max asked me the question made me laugh. I wondered if he was teasing or whether the joke really had bypassed him. Either way, I shrugged and in a flirty tone said, “Doesn’t always look good in pants.”

From halfway between us and the tank where Aiden was reading the next info card, Ella called Max, her little arm extended toward him. Instead of immediately running to her as he had done all day, he stayed put and looked down at my hips and legs. The glint in his eyes darkened and my lower region responded with a wave of arousal.

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