Chapter 47
***Memphis***
Seven weeks. That was how long it took me to feel murderous towards the guys. Seven weeks, two days, and fourteen hours to be exact. I wasn’t sure we’d make it to the fifteenth hour.
“What are you doing up?” Wells put his easel down and rushed over to me. “Back on the couch, Memphis.”
“I’m just getting a new book to read, Wells.” I gritted each word out through my clenched jaw. “I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to move in here to hover over me all day?”
Remy strolled in with his laptop and phone in one hand and a pregnancy pillow in the other. “Alright, the woman at the baby store said this will fix everything. Why are you up?”
I put my hands on my hips and took a deep breath. “I don’t need a pillow or babysitters! Y’all, I’m fine. I had that spell over a week ago and I’ve been fine ever since.”
“Oh, is fine what we’re aiming for?” Wells pointed to the couch. “I read a bunch of articles about the things that are happening in your body right now and you need to sit down.”
Remy hesitated. “What’s happening in her body?”
“I’ll send you the links. The baby is sucking all her life out of her, basically.” Shuddering, Wells pointed to the couch with both hands. “I’ll carry you. You know I will.”
“Guess who doesn’t have surgeries this week, unless someone does the very selfish thing of having an emergency!
” Boone preened his way into the library and stopped when he saw both of his brothers.
“What the hell are you two doing here? I’m trying to impress the lady with my willingness to put her health over others and you two are ruining it.
Also, why aren’t you on the couch, Memphis? ”
I stomped my foot and balled my hands into fists.
“That’s it! Y’all are driving me up a wall!
I’m not dying. Women have been having babies for a lot longer than you three have had the internet and an interest!
I was dehydrated from the morning sickness and maybe stumbled over a bit last week, but I’ve been poked, prodded, and pinched in every orifice and way imaginable by your doctor friend and the nurse that you have coming once a day.
Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but if y’all don’t leave me alone, I’m going to set this whole place on fire and walk out of here smiling.
So, what’s it going to be? You leave me alone and I don’t murder the three of you in your sleep?
Or do you want to keep hovering over me and find out if I’ve gotten my pregnancy strength yet?
I’ve got nothing but time, so y’all just let me know. ”
Silence stretched out after my tantrum and I had time to feel embarrassed about it before the three of them shared a look and all started laughing like a pack of hyennas. I grumbled under my breath and snatched the pregnancy pillow from Remy before settling on the couch with it.
“Can you bless our hearts, too?” Boone wiped his eyes and gripped his sides.
I flopped into the embrace of the pillow and had to resist the urge to moan in pleasure as it held me just right. I didn’t have a bump yet, one that wasn’t from eating all of Chef Rork’s food anyway, but that pillow was a miracle.
“Looks like someone likes the pillow I brought her.” Remy sank into the couch by my feet and lifted them into his lap so he could rub them. It was something he’d been doing every day and it was one of the things I wasn’t going to complain about.
“So, are we pretending that whole foot stomp didn’t happen?” Boone sat across from us and grinned. “Or the threatening to murder us thing?”
I nodded. “Only take from that the part where y’all stop hovering over me like I’m going to die any second.”
“I’m not listening to any of it.” Wells moved his easel next to the window and arranged it just right. “I had to see you pass out and now I tense up every time you stand up. I’ll stop worrying so much when you’re not knocked up anymore.”
“Okay, great, in five years from now, you might be normal again.” I groaned out loud when Remy hit an especially good spot. “And none of you have even tried to have sex with me. It’s really rude.”
Boone laughed hard enough that I worried he might rupture something. Remy and Wells were almost as bad. I didn’t see what was funny, though. I was being treated like a injured bird and all I wanted to do was flip them the bird after a week of it.
“And Bea told me all about how she thinks there might be shadow people in this house. The same house you keep dragging me to every morning. I don’t know what the hell a shadow person is, but do I look like I want to find out?
You’re probably going to get our baby possessed by one of them.
Sick freaks.” I sucked in a giant gulp of air and kept going.
“The only reason I haven’t truly lost it yet is because you set this freaking Memphis trap.
A library straight out of a fairy tale, amazing cushions, snacks, and massages? ”
Remy’s hands had frozen and Boone’s laughter went silent. Wells was comically paused with a glass of water halfway to his mouth. I frowned at them. What was their deal?
“You said our baby.” Boone sat back on the couch and smiled at me. “I think you might like us more than you’re letting on.”
I thought over my words and realized I had said that. Tingles of embarrassment went all over me and I would’ve run out of there if I hadn’t been tangled in my new pillow and Remy’s hands. “Nope.”
Remy started rubbing my feet again. “She definitely likes us.”
“Let’s focus on the shadow people. That’s a much more interesting topic.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away from them. I didn’t like the direction of the conversation and I just wanted to drop it. “Or we could talk about how none of you want to have sex with me now.”
“Let’s talk about that.” Remy dug his thumb into the arch of my foot and raised his eyebrows at me.
“You ran and hid after we had sex. You chose not to tell us about how sick you were because you were in hiding mode. You didn’t even stay the night.
Since we’re talking about it, we could also talk about how you haven’t made any moves on us, either. ”
I frowned. “I can barely stand up without one of you freaking out. If I made a move, you’d shoot me down faster than I could cry about it. And I wasn’t hiding...”
“I call bullshit.” Boone met my gaze. “You’re a chicken. You run and hide every time we get a little closer.”
“According to the gossip pages, that was y’alls number. A new woman every day of the week? That screams fear of commitment if you ask me.” I was reaching, but it was okay because I’d stretched plenty beforehand.
“What have the gossip pages said in the last two months?” Remy handed me his phone. “I doubt your vintage phone has internet, so feel free to use mine.”
“Hey! Don’t bring my phone into this. It’s sentimental.” I pushed his phone away. “I haven’t looked and I’m not going to. I don’t see y’all every night. If you went out with super models still, I wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t want to know, either.”
Wells raised his voice from across the room. “You’re kidding, right?”
I buried my face in my hands and groaned.
“I’m sorry. I’m just cranky. I ran out of candy and I think I might be hormonal already.
What’s your research say about how early pregnancy rages start, Wells?
Not that some of my points weren’t valid.
Y’all need to worry less and give me space to breathe.
And if you want to have sex, you should probably get that started. ”
“If you don’t want to look, just listen to me.
” Remy’s voice was dangerously low. “Another woman hasn’t crossed my mind since meeting you.
If I’m not in you, I’m obsessing about when I can be in you again.
Or I’m pissy and making my office staff hate me because you’re hiding from us and I miss seeing your smile.
There’s no one else. You already know that, though, because I think you know that you have us wrapped around your finger.
You’re lucky I’m finding this rage sexy.
Otherwise I might not enjoy being threatened so much. ”
All the rest of my crankiness melted away. “You miss my smile?”
“Don’t make me regret saying it. Now get over here and let me get this sex thing started, as you so delicately put it.” He tried to pull me towards him, but the pregnancy pillow blocked him and didn’t allow for much extra movement. “I’m going to regret buying this, I can already tell.”
I pushed it aside and crawled into his lap. “Promise y’all will stop hovering so much?”
I got a bunch of grumbled nonsense and no guarantee that they’d leave me be. However, I did get multiple orgasms, so it made the first issue seem a lot less important.