16. Dragon
Chapter Sixteen
DRAGON
Iwas going to be a single mom. And I was letting people think Horse was the father.
That wasn’t honest, and I usually didn’t do deceit, but I didn’t talk about feelings even more.
If people wanted to assume Horse was the father, I’d let them.
Apparently. He could set them straight if he wanted to.
Apparently, he didn’t, or he wouldn’t have fought Nix out of the ring.
I tried to tell Nix, but the feelings wouldn’t let me talk about it, and I almost went to drown them.
But I was going to be a mother. Mothers didn’t drink, not when someone else’s health and life depended on them. So I visited Sunshine.
“Hey. Did you want me to show you some welding tips for jewelry making?” I asked, showing up at the adorable blonde skateboarder’s door with a mini blowtorch and a bag of spare parts.
She blinked her big blue eyes at me and then smiled the most sparkling smile in the world before she threw her arms around me, giving me a nice, soft, kitten hug.
“Come in,” she said, dragging me into the enormous apartment Nix shared with his wife that was a million times more homey than it used to be with the beautiful paintings covering the walls and the actual furniture, not to mention the cheerful kitchen on the end where Nix used to keep his punching bags.
I cleared my throat. “Okay. Just don’t talk to me about anything.”
Her eyes widened. “Anything?”
“Awkward subjects involving Horse, specifically, because I’ll lie, and I don’t want to lie to you.”
She smiled slowly. “Okay. Let’s set up in my art room! It’s such a cute little studio, and I even have some equipment that might come in handy. I’ve been doing sculpture.”
Doing art with Sunshine was peaceful. We worked on industrial jewelry until Nix came home, bringing lasagna and hot French bread with him, the scent wafting through the air all the way to the studio.
“Kitten, why are Trix’s boots by the door?” he called.
I left the studio with her to give him a nod. He shouldn’t have hit Horse just because I labeled him as my baby’s daddy. And I shouldn’t have let him think that. I opened my mouth to tell him that Horse wasn’t the one and said, “We were doing art.” Yep. My feelings got in the way.
He studied me with a flash of calculation.
“Art? I’d love to see if you’re willing to share.
I did ask you to go home and rest, but if art is the rest you need, I guess I can live with that.
” His words said one thing, but the tone said another.
I was his crew, and I was taking unnecessary risks.
Apparently, his vision of risky activities for pregnant women involved missing naps.
Kitten bounced over to him and snuggled into him, arms wrapped around his waist, then reached up to cup his face, moving it from side to side. “Why do you have a black eye? Wasn’t it a racing day?”
Nix cleared his throat and kissed her forehead. “There was a small scuffle before it started.”
“With…” Her eyes narrowed at him, then went to me. “What you don’t want to talk about? Everything?”
I stared at her and then slowly nodded. She was really good at reading into things, particularly things I didn’t want to talk about.
Sunshine beamed at me and then pecked Nix’s cheek. “She should stay for dinner. I’ll text room service for more French bread.”
“I really should get home.”
Nix smiled down at his wife, softness in his eyes he reserved for her. “If Sunshine thinks you should stay for lasagna, that’s only fair considering the last time we crashed your place.”
Sunshine beamed at me. She really was a happy sunflower, too sweet to refuse. And the lasagna and garlic bread would keep my stomach from acting out.
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go wash up.” I headed back into the art studio, frowning at the eight-foot nude statue on a platform near the studio door. This time around, it looked remarkably like Nix. Okay, then. I’d try not to notice it on my way out.
As I washed my hands, I thought I heard a resonant low voice that made my heart trip. Was Horse here? Not a chance when he’d brawled with Nix today. Maybe they were watching a match where he was the announcer.
I dried quickly and then went into the open room with a kitchen on one end, and there was Horse, taking cartons of lasagna out of a bag and stacking them on the island.
He glanced over and smiled, like it was nice to see me, pleasant, as though Nix hadn’t given him that split lip and bruised cheek.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my whole body going stiff. He was really here in my team leader’s happy kitchen/living room holding a pan of…was that tiramisu?
He glanced at Kitten. “I was invited on a blind double dinner date with my favorite Las Vegas couple. I take it you’re my date.”
I stared at him. “What?” It just didn’t compute.
A blind double…It was definitely a blind, like at the end of the canyon running hard and then a turn that you couldn’t nail because it’s a switch instead of a soft roll.
And then you’re rolling down the sharp incline, straps digging into your shoulders, bouncing and jogging until your beast hits the bottom in an explosion of rocket fuel.
I refocused on the room and found myself sitting at the table with a plate of lasagna in front of me.
Okay. I had some choices. I could stand up, throw the table over and personally drag Horse out of the building by his ear, tossing him into the street to hopefully be struck down by a California driver.
Or I could eat. If I exerted myself to take out Horse and ignored the early nausea warnings, I’d be throwing up at some point on my way to take him out.
I didn’t want to throw up in front of him again, so I ate the lasagna.
Horse put bread and salad on my plate, drizzling on just the right amount of dressing while I stuffed my face with the intense focus I usually saved for driving.
Was there conversation? Of course, because Sunshine was a southern lady and could ignore anything she didn’t want to see.
Such as me stuffing bread into my already full lasagna face.
And Horse acting like my blind date. I’d never had a blind date before.
Minx had tried to get me to go on double dates with her date and some ‘nice guy’, but Sunshine was the first person to actually succeed in getting me on one. With Horse.
Who gave me a polite smile as he neatly cut into his lasagna.
He didn’t have any sauce around his mouth.
What was wrong with him? His mouth was probably big enough that if he put effort into it, he could stuff an entire piece in at once.
My brothers had a period of lasagna competitions until my mother penalized them, and if they could do it, Horse could do it.
So why was he eating like a dainty princess? Wait. Was he…
Before I could fully formulate the thought, I had a brief yet powerful recall of the elevator.
No, he definitely liked women, even if he wielded his fork and knife so delicately.
He reminded me of Theresa cutting up little pieces for her toddler that inevitably ended up spat out on the floor.
My baby would probably choke, but not if Horse was the one cutting up their potato or whatever babies ate.
I needed to research food cutting for toddlers. And so many other things.
Horse leaned over the table slightly. “You stopped eating. Is something wrong with dinner? Do you need a bucket? Do you think you can make it home…”
“No. I’m fine. I was just noticing how you cut up your food.”
He froze, utensils poised for cutting, his dark brows high, like I’d caught him doing something shocking. He’d probably gotten teased for eating like that when he was young.
“It’s good for toddlers,” I said, scooping another piece of lasagna onto my plate and picking up my knife and fork to try to duplicate his whole thing. “How do you keep the layers from falling apart?”
Horse made a strangled noise that made me look back up at him. Was Nix choking him out? No, Horse looked like I’d said the most shocking thing in the world, how a nun would react walking through a casino with male strippers dancing on all the tables.
How did that embarrass him so much? Did he think I thought he was a toddler? I glanced at Nix and Sunshine, trying to understand his reaction.
Nix had his focus intently on his pasta, and Sunshine was watching me and Horse, her eyes bouncing back and forth like she was watching ping-pong.
Delighted amusement was written all over her face.
Because I’d told Nix that Horse was my baby’s daddy, and now I was giving him approval for how he’d feed a toddler.
Ah. I was building the lie. That was new for me. I didn’t like it.
I stood up. “Okay. We’re leaving now.”
Nix and Sunshine stood with me. Horse took a second to put down his fork and knife and stood, wiping his already immaculate mouth with his napkin.
“We are?” Horse asked, still looking unbalanced. Probably horrified.
I grabbed his arm and walked with him towards the door, not saying goodbye to the people who had set me up with him.
It probably wasn’t Nix. He’d just fought him.
But then again, maybe it was because he wanted me to have financial security at this unstable time in my life.
He took his responsibility as Team Leader seriously.
Once we got into the hall, I dropped Horse’s arm and turned to hiss at him. “What are you doing?”
He stared at me. “I’m not entirely sure. Let’s compare notes. What do you think I’m doing?”
I sighed and headed for the elevator, pulling on my boots as I went. “You’re playing my baby daddy. I’m just not sure why you’d go along with it. You need to tell Nix that I just let him assume whatever he wanted because pregnant women are irrational.”
He chuckled darkly. “I’m not stupid enough to even think such a thing. Pregnant women are perfect. Like all women, only on steroids. Bad analogy, since steroids would give a woman chest hair. What were we talking about?”
What was he talking about? Never mind. I didn’t want to know. “Then just tell him you don’t know why, but thought it would be funny to play along for a few days.”
He frowned and dug in his heels, so I came to an abrupt stop, swinging around to face him. “No.” His voice was serious, low, and dangerously attractive. “You need to tell Nix. Unless there’s some reason you can’t. And if there is a reason why you can’t, then that’s the same reason I can’t.”
I stared up at him, hating how much taller he was. But I also almost liked how it made me feel sort of cute. Like he could pick me up and carry me somewhere if I fainted. And I might faint because I was feeling really weird.
Yep. The floor started coming towards me and the next thing I knew, I was in his strong arms, scooped up against his chest like I was a kitten. Okay, more like a cat, but definitely carryable.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled against his chest.
He made this rumbling sound that I could feel through my forehead until it ran down my spine and into the soles of my feet. “Carrying my pretend baby mommy home. I know you’d do the same for me if the situation were reversed.”
I snorted. “You’re too big for me to carry.”
“I have complete faith in your ingenuity. And by that, I mean engines. You’d rig something genius, maybe a crane to swing me out the window and over the strip and then lever me up to my apartment.”
I shook my head against his chest, but I didn’t try to pick it up. My head was way too heavy to lift when it was so happy where it was. “I’d just get a cart and roll you into the elevator.”
He chuckled, again the sound reverberating against me in the most delicious way. “You really can’t tell Nix that I’m not your baby’s daddy. Interesting.”
Insane. That’s what it was. I tried to explain.
“The thing is, I tried to say that…And then I really needed to go get drunk. Today I did blowtorch jewelry art with Sunshine instead. Next time I don’t know if I’ll be so lucky, and I can’t, I absolutely can’t be the kind of person who drinks pregnant.
So you should tell him because I can’t safely express myself. ”
“That’s so cool. It’s like a psychological block, right? I listened to a podcast about that. Like, feelings and emotions and talking and how hard it can be. So now that we’ve cleared all of that up, when do you want to go maternity shopping?”
I jabbed his chest. “Are you trying to tell me that I already look fat?”
“Fat? Pregnant women aren’t fat. I don’t care how much they weigh.
They’re carrying love, which turns them into weightless goddesses.
But eventually your cute belly is going to stick out, and then none of your pants will fit.
Maybe your coveralls will be okay. If you want, you could wear my pants. I bet that would work.”
I burst out laughing and struggled up enough that I could stare into his face. He was so handsome. And his mouth was so soft and really, really good at kissing. “I’d have to cut off the legs.”
He stared at me intently, the face he used for his serious fighter shots. “You would. Or roll them up. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”
“As my fake baby daddy.”
“It’s a serious responsibility.”
“And you’re clearly very serious.”
One brow twitched. “Clearly.”
“Seriously insane.”
He grinned, a broad smile that made his eyes twinkle.
“This is fun, though. Having blind dates. Wrestling off-camera with Nix. It shows how much he cares about you, or he would have gotten it on film. You know how he is. And I’m invested in his team, and my team, and all the other teams doing MMR so I can keep living it up on the floor with the good carpet.
Sometimes I lie down in the hall and just swim in the carpet.
It would be better if it were green, because then it would feel like money. ”
Money, like Richard, my baby’s birth father, cared so much about.
I kicked and twisted out of Horse’s arms, landing on the floor, but I had to grab his arm for balance for a second. “I’m fine now.”
He crossed his arms, frowning seriously down at me. “Have you seen a doctor?”
“I’m fine. Pregnancy is totally normal.”
He gave me a flat smile and backed away. “That’s how I feel every time I get pregnant. Seriously though, thanks for the date. You really are the best company. Good night.”
And then he turned and walked away, hands in his pockets as he went down the hall. That’s when I realized he had socks on but no shoes. He must have forgotten them in Nix’s apartment. He really was kind of funny. And he cut up food so perfectly.