23. Amelia
Amelia
“I think we should go to the hospital to get you checked out,” Reed says as he guides me toward the couch.
“I’m fine.” I’ve said those words at least twenty times since the entire clusterfuck happened. “I just need a good night’s sleep and to relax.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am,” I whisper as I drop down onto my couch, wishing the sun weren’t still out. I’d love to go to sleep, but it’s too early, even for me. “I promise we’re both okay.”
Reed sits down next to me, his hand immediately taking mine. “What can I get you?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on. How about something to eat?”
I shake my head. My stomach has been a mess for hours, and the very thought of food makes me want to be sick.
“I just need a few minutes of quiet.”
“I can do that,” he says, definitely not doing it. I’m not sure he can sit in silence for more than five minutes. We may not have known each other long, but he is a talker, especially when he is nervous.
“Lie back. I’ll rub your feet. It’ll help you relax.”
Those are the magic words. Honestly, he can talk all he wants if his hands are massaging my feet. I turn my body to face him, lift my legs to his lap, and lean back into the throw pillow. “I’m not going to argue with that.”
He carefully removes my shoes and slowly peels off my socks, dropping everything on the floor in front of us. “I have an idea.”
“What?” I ask, my voice sounding sleepier than usual.
At the end of a long shift at the bakery, I find myself growing tired more quickly than usual. It’s the pregnancy. It’s draining, and I’m not even halfway through the incubation period for the alien growing inside me.
He doesn’t answer right away. He uses both hands to position my feet in his lap as I close my eyes. He waits until I damn near melt into the couch from the contact to say, “You need to hire security for the bakery.”
“There’s no need,” I whisper.
“What if I hadn’t been there today?”
I crack open an eye to stare at his profile, but his eyes aren’t trained on me. “I would’ve handled it.”
“How?” He rubs harder, clearly getting irritated. Not an unnatural response for someone who thinks I don’t know how to protect myself in those types of situations.
“Reed, I grew up here. This isn’t my first rodeo, buddy.
” I snort at how funny those words sound coming out of my mouth to a cowboy.
A freaking, honest-to-God cowboy. His hands stop, but I kick my feet, telling him to get back to work without uttering the command.
“I know how to protect myself. I learned how to fight when I was a little girl.”
“Fuckin’ great,” he mutters.
“My parents made me take karate and self-defense classes. I could probably have you on your knees before you blinked.”
“You already do,” he whispers—or at least, I think that’s what he says—but his voice is so damn soft, I’m not entirely sure. “And when you’re eight months pregnant and can’t even see your feet?”
“I carry around a kitchen knife.”
His head drops backward as he groans. “Fuckin’ fabulous.”
“You’ve got a lot of fucks,” I say, trying to be playful because the man is clearly pressed.
“One of us has to,” the grump replies.
“A lot more rubbing and less talking,” I remind him. “I need to relax.”
His gaze narrows on me, and his hands completely stop. “You want more rubbing?”
I nod and close my eyes.
“Then you’re hiring muscle for the bakery.”
“I need another baker and counter girl before I need security. Pastry needs to be made every day, but a possible threat only happens every once in a great while.”
“Hire the baker,” he tells me, “but I’m coming to work with you every day, the entire shift. I’ll be your muscle, and I’ll be the new counter girl.”
My eyes fly open as I gape at him. “Absolutely not.”
“I won’t be able to think straight with you there all by yourself.”
“I’m rarely alone.”
“You looked like it today.”
“The two workers who were there had just left.”
“So, you were alone then?”
I stay silent. He has a point, but I’m not going to tell him that. “They know I can handle myself.”
He scoffs. “For now, but not as our baby grows. There’s no argument. I’m going to be there. Every day. Every minute. Every customer.”
“You’re being ridiculous. What gives you the right to insert yourself into my business?”
“You’re my wife, and you’re carrying our child. That makes it my business. You are my business, Amelia.”
“Whoa, buddy. We need to get some stuff straight.” I pull my feet away from him, cursing myself for having this argument in the middle of an amazing foot rub.
I sit up, back straight, and face him head on.
“No one, and I mean no one, tells me how I’m going to run my life.
That includes my parents and now you, since you think you have some claim over me.
I’ve always taken care of myself, and I’ll continue to do so and protect our baby. ”
“Amelia, please,” he begs, turning his body toward me and giving me puppy-dog eyes.
“I know you don’t need me there to protect you all the time, but I need to know you’re okay.
I don’t have a job right now, and it would only make sense for me to help out at the bakery.
At least let me do it for a little while.
You never know, maybe you’ll like having me around. ”
I stare at him. The problem is, I like having him around too much. And if I know my customers, they’d like looking at him while sinking their teeth into a cupcake. He’d be eye candy to rival the other sweets. “If I let you,” I say, holding up a finger, “there would be some strict ground rules.”
“Whatever you want,” he says quickly, sliding his thick, muscled arm across the back of the couch. “I’ll do it.”
Before I can reply, there’s a knock at the door.
“Are you expecting anyone?” he asks.
“Nope, but based on the knock, I’m guessing it’s my dad.”
“Think they heard about today?”
I cackle because I’d figured they’d be waiting for me at the door when I got home. “Of course. Do you think something like that could stay a secret?”
“True,” he says, moving off the couch.
I brace myself for whatever’s about to happen next. I may think Reed is being overprotective, but he has nothing on Vinnie Gallo. If my dad could’ve put me in a bubble as a kid to protect me, he would’ve in a heartbeat.
When Reed opens the door, he doesn’t even get a chance to say hello before my mother, followed by my father, comes barreling into my place.
“Sweetheart,” Mom says, nearly floating across the room with her arms open.
My gaze slides to my father, who has his pinned on me, roaming my body to see if there are any injuries.
“I’m fine,” I tell her and him, but that doesn’t stop her from wrapping me in her arms.
“I was so worried,” she says, holding me tighter.
“We were,” Dad corrects her.
“We,” she says as she pulls back from me to check me over. “Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head because the rest of me is still firmly in her grip. “He didn’t touch me.”
“I took care of him,” Reed says. “I wasn’t about to let him put his hands on my wife.”
My eyes widen. It still sounds so foreign coming out of his mouth. Even though it’s been months, my mind can’t seem to process the reality.
“Thank goodness you were there, Reed,” Mom says. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been.”
Dad finally turns his attention on Reed. “I heard you did a number on the guy.”
Reed shrugs like he didn’t beat the man to a bloody pulp. “I did what needed to be done. He deserved it.”
Dad stands straighter, like he’s proud of Reed. “No doubt he did. Mason told me he’s in bad shape.”
“I wanted to make sure he thought twice before he did it again to someone else,” Reed replies with a hint of a smile.
“I had him handled,” I add.
All eyes move to me. I swallow, realizing I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Suddenly, I felt like a little kid again, and I hate that feeling.
“You were going to handle him?” Dad asks with one eyebrow raised as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
I nod slowly. “I totally could’ve taken him.”
Mom’s lips flatten. “You’re pregnant.”
“Uh, yeah. I know,” I tell her. “It doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself.”
Dad shakes his head but doesn’t speak. Totally a sign that he’s more than upset and can’t bring himself to say anything because it would come out too harshly.
“Baby,” Mom says, her voice gentling, “One hard hit to the abdomen could cause you to miscarry. Don’t even get me started on the extra stress not being good for the baby either.
You don’t need to take care of problem customers yourself.
Your dad and I are going to hire security for the bakery, at least for a while, until we know he won’t return. ”
“No,” Reed says, using a tone that oozes power.
Dad’s body moves so slowly, I can’t help but swallow down a lump in my throat. “No?”
Reed shakes his head, crossing his arms to mimic my father. “I’m going to be at the bakery every day when she’s there. I’m the new security.”
Dad tilts his head as he soaks in Reed’s words. I want him to argue against the idea. But that’s ridiculous, because I know my dad, and he’s going to love Reed’s idea.
Our family is a matriarchy, but somehow, the men still think they’re in charge. It’s laughable, really. They give their opinions, but we ignore them and do what we wanted to do from the start. But I know this will be different.
“You’re going to be there when she is. No exceptions?” Dad asks.
Mom glances at me, and I curl my lip, hating everything about this. “It’s okay,” she whispers. “It’ll be a good thing.”
“For whom?” I mouth with narrowed eyes.
“Every single second,” Reed explains. “She never should’ve been alone to begin with, but it won’t happen again.”
I growl, sounding every bit like my father when he’s pissy. And that happens often because that man gets wrapped up in his feelings all the time. “Hello.” I wave my hands, trying to bring the attention of the two alphas back to me. “Full-grown adult who can take care of herself over here.”
Dad waves a hand toward me but doesn’t even bother to glance in my direction. “I’ll pay your salary.”
My eyes widen. Dad doesn’t give up his money that easily. Sure, he has a ton, they both do, but to go into his pockets to pay for protection at the bakery tells me everything I need to know. He doesn’t think I’m safe—shocking. “The bakery can pay for a security guard.”
Dad shakes his head. “I’m paying because I don’t want any cut-rate ex-bouncer who has no skin in the game. Reed is the perfect and rational choice.”
“Don’t I get a say?” I ask, wanting so badly to cross my arms and pout like a child, but I know it’s pointless.
“No,” Reed tells me, and my eyes widen. “You’re my wife and his daughter. We’ll do anything to protect you, Amelia. We’ll have this discussion again after our baby is born.”
“I knew I liked you,” Dad says, gripping Reed’s shoulder like they’ve been buddies for years. “You’re a good seed, Reed.”
“Seed, my ass,” I mutter. “Mom, help me.”
Mom moves her hand to my cheek, cupping my face. “I know you’re a capable girl.”
“Woman,” I remind her.
“Woman,” she says, drawing out the word. “But this is more than just about you now, Amelia. Your dad and I will sleep better at night if we know you’re safe.”
“I don’t work at night.”
Her eyes harden, and I know I’m toeing the line of being a brat. “Do this for us, baby?” she asks. “When the baby is born, you’ll understand how we feel.”
“I won’t tell her what to do when she’s an adult.”
Mom laughs at me. “Okay, baby. We’ll see. I’m going to remind you of this moment in twenty years.”
“It’s settled. Reed will be at the bakery to make sure everyone is safe, which includes you and the baby,” Dad announces, like the issue is settled.
“But—” I start to reply but am immediately cut off.
Dad shakes his head. “Please, Amelia. For now, can I please know you’re safe? Is Reed that bad to have around?”
I glance toward Reed. “He’s not hard on the eyes,” I reply.
Mom chuckles. “That’s what got you into this situation to begin with, honey.”
My toes curl thinking about the way he makes my body feel.
“I’m your husband. Who’s going to protect you better than me?” Reed asks.
“We’ve been over this,” I say with an attitude as I puff out my body and raise my arms like they’re so damn big I can’t lay them flat at my sides. “You big man. You can hit. You strong.”
“You forgot one,” Reed says with a smirk. “You’re my wife.”
And damn it, my entire body shudders as I realize I like hearing him say those words way too damn much.