Chapter 2 #2
Maggie walked Jill’s phone into the living room and handed it to her sister. “I’m not sure who’s more excited about this baby, Kate, you guys or the Rhode Island contingent.”
“It’s probably a tie,” Kate said. “She texts me every day to ‘check in,’ and so does Dad. Andi only texts once a week, so she gets the award for restraint.”
“Our little one will be very well loved,” Reid said. “That’s for sure.”
His accent was to die for. Maggie could easily understand how eighteen-year-old Kate would’ve been bowled over by the man who’d been a college friend of their father’s.
At the time, Maggie had been unable to imagine being attracted to a man so much older, but Reid was an exception to every rule, and he was hopelessly in love with Kate.
That much was apparent to anyone who spent time with them.
They’d spent ten years apart before getting their second chance, and were deliriously happy together.
What more could anyone ask for than to see someone they loved as much as she loved Kate with a man who worshiped the ground she walked on? Both the Matthews men had become the gold standard in Maggie’s mind, making most of the men she’d met since knowing them seem lacking in comparison.
A memory of Brayden Thomas’s handsome face popped into her mind, reminding her she still needed to decide what to do about him.
They’d left things open-ended earlier, and she’d promised to be in touch one way or the other soon.
Normally, she’d run it by Reid and Kate to get their opinion, but the therapeutic riding program was her baby, and they’d tell her it was up to her to decide who was going to run it.
Besides, they had enough on their plates with the baby due at any moment without her adding to their concerns. Her job was to run the facility so they didn’t have to be involved on a daily basis. No, this was her challenge, and she’d deal with it.
After a lively, entertaining and delicious dinner, Maggie kissed Kate’s cheek. “I’m going to go. Thanks for dinner, you guys.”
“We love any chance to have you guys over,” Reid said.
Maggie rested a hand on Kate’s explosive belly. “Call me—day or night. I’ll come running.”
“I will, don’t worry. I can’t do this without you and Jill.”
“We’ve got you covered.” Maggie and Jill had agreed to remain close by while the baby was born, but had declined Kate’s offer to be in the room. They were both afraid of seeing things that could never be forgotten. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Hey, Mags?”
Maggie turned back to face her sister.
“If the job is too much for you, you’re not under any obligation because it’s us. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do, and while I appreciate the out, I’m in for the long haul. No worries.”
“If you need anything, darlin’, you know where we are,” Reid added.
“Thank you both. Don’t worry about me. Stay focused on finishing cooking my niece or nephew.”
Kate rested her hands on her huge belly. “That’s about all I’m good for these days.”
Maggie laughed at the bored-senseless face Kate made and went back to the kitchen, where Jill was locked in a passionate embrace with Ashton. “Get a room, will ya? Oh wait, you live together, so why you gotta do that here?”
“Don’t be a grouch, Maggie,” Jill said while gazing at Ashton’s face.
“I’m outta here.”
“Drive carefully,” Jill said.
“Bye, Maggie,” Ashton said.
Maggie drove home through the darkness, thinking about her sisters and the happiness they’d found with Reid and Ashton.
She’d never come anywhere near finding what they had.
She thought she had once… Thinking about that—about him—made her ache, so she tried to never let her mind revisit that difficult time when she was in college and thought she’d found “the one,” until he’d cheated on her and broken her heart.
Sometimes, when she was with her happily-in-love sisters, it was hard not to think back to that heady first love, the one she’d thought would last forever.
Why was she thinking about that when she had so many positive things to focus on? Her new job, new home, new niece or nephew, the upcoming visit with the family and Jill’s wedding next month… Life was good and busy and fulfilling. She had absolutely no reason to be dwelling on the past.
As she took the turn down the long lane that led to home, she vowed to stay focused on the present and the future.
She was done living in the past.
“Do you think Maggie’s all right?” Kate asked Reid after he’d helped her change into a nightgown and get into bed.
She was so big that she needed help with the simplest things these days.
While she couldn’t wait to meet her baby, she was also looking forward to not being pregnant anymore.
How pregnancy was supposedly the most natural thing in the world was beyond her comprehension.
Wearing only boxers, he slid into bed and snuggled up to her. “She’s adjusting to her new home and job, and there’re apt to be some bumps along the way.”
Kate had forgotten how to sleep without his arms around her, not that he could get them “around” her these days. “I worry that she wouldn’t tell us if it wasn’t working for her.”
“She would.”
“She wouldn’t want to let us down.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her. Try not to worry.” He kissed her forehead. “You want me to rub your back?”
“That’s okay.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I know.”
“What’s the matter, darlin’?”
“I’m so tired of being fat and gross, and I want to have sex with you, but I can’t because of this ridiculous belly, and… Are you laughing? If you’re laughing, I’m going to kill you.”
“Well, first you’d have to catch me, and that’s going to be a problem.”
“I can’t believe you’re making fun of me when you did this to me!”
“I’m not making fun of you.”
“Yes, you are, and I’m going to remember this when I’m no longer fat and you’re the one who wants sex.”
“Sweetheart, if you want sex, all you have to do is say so.”
“We can’t! I’ll break you with this thing.”
He shook with silent laughter.
“If you don’t stop laughing at me, I’m going to divorce you.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Yes, I am.”
“If you divorce me, you won’t have sex tonight.”
“Now you’re just being mean to me.”
He cozied up even closer, running his hand over the obscene bump and down to her leg. “My sweet, sweet love, I would never be mean to you, as you well know. If my baby mama is feeling needy, all she has to do is tell me, and we’ll take care of that.”
“The belly is massive.”
“And your husband is endlessly creative.” From behind her, he cupped her sensitive breasts and had her quickly ready for more.
Her body was an endless source of fascination to her as the pregnancy neared the end.
Right when she would’ve thought sex would be the last thing on her mind, she found herself craving it.
Kate had mostly kept that information to herself, because she feared her husband was put off by her obscenely large belly. She should’ve known better.
His hand slid down her front, gently sliding over the baby bump.
Kate shivered from the nearly painful need she felt for him.
Her nightgown slid up over her legs, which moved restlessly as she sought relief.
“Easy, sweetheart. Nice and easy.”
She was so primed that all he had to do was slide his fingers over the tight knot of nerves between her legs to send her spiraling into an intense orgasm.
“Mmm, I do so love pregnant Kate. We may have to do this baby-making thing again very soon.”
Kate groaned. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was being pregnant—again.
She already knew if they were going to have two, the second one would have to happen soon.
Only when they discussed having children did the significant age difference between them matter.
The rest of the time, she hardly ever thought about it.
She had learned that having an older, more experienced husband had its advantages, such as when he artfully entered her from behind and had her screaming out his name before a second, even more powerful orgasm ripped through her.
“God, yes… Kate.” He held her tight against him as he found his own pleasure, surging into her and then going still behind her.
They were quiet for a long time as their bodies cooled and throbbed with aftershocks that she felt everywhere.
“Feel better?” he asked in the Tennessee drawl that had gotten her motor running for him from the first time she ever met him. In all the years they’d spent apart, one of the things she’d missed the most was the melodic sound of his voice.
“Much.” Her eyes were so heavy, she could barely keep them open.
“Any time you need me, you know where to find me.”
She squeezed the hand he’d placed on the swell of her abdomen. Their baby chose that moment to let them know he or she was awake.
Reid’s low chuckle made her smile. “I’m afraid our little one is going to be a hellion.”
“If not a hellion, perhaps a kicker on the football team.”
“Or a star soccer player.”
“Or a prima ballerina.”
“Or a star gymnast, a downhill skier, a distance runner…”
Kate drifted off to sleep to her favorite sound in the world—her husband’s voice.