“I’m sorry. About last night,” I told her, holding her gaze. “I shouldn’t have inserted myself in your job like that. No matter what I think, you should be able to make your own choices, especially with something like that.”
Her eyes grew wide, her breathing ragged. Certain I must have said something wrong, a pit grew in my stomach.
The server showed up with our food, but she kept on staring at me, even after he asked if we needed anything else, then left us. I broke out in a cold sweat, about to say something, anything, when a tear rolled down her cheek.
What the hell did I say wrong?
She was quick to wipe it away, taking a deep breath. “Thank you,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “Having the freedom to make my own choices is… important to me.”
Even though I could breathe again, I didn’t understand her reaction. She didn’t say any more before cutting into her steak and looking around the dining room. I forced myself to eat but didn’t stop watching her. The steak was decent, although it didn’t distract me from her reaction. After a few minutes of us eating in silence, she cleared her throat again, but it was unnecessary since I was still watching her every move.
“Why did you choose the air force?” she asked, staring at me from under her long dark lashes.
I racked my brain for the answer. It seemed so long ago that I’d made the decision, despite my parents’ initial disagreement with it.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” She twirled a hand, raising her eyebrows. Obviously didn’t like her own game much when it was from the other end. I bit my cheek to keep from chuckling. “Everyone expected me to do something amazing. I was top of my class, had an associate’s under my belt before I graduated high school. With all the talk about being a doctor or scientist, whatever, I just wanted to do my own thing. Which was to not do what everyone else wanted me to do.”
She wrinkled her nose at that, but a smile spread across my lips at the memory. “My parents, they’re supportive now, but they were pissed at first. Had a couple of my teachers try to talk me out of it. But I knew what I was doing. Worked up the ranks quickly, finished my master’s over a year ago. I’ll start toward my doctorate next. No point in not.” I shrugged.
“Lucky you’re dating a genius.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she took another bite of her steak, which made me wonder….
“Why did you wait to start school?” She was about twenty-three, yet still had one more year until she completed her bachelor’s. She could have started right out of high school and been done with it by now.
That deep line formed between her brow. It must have been the wrong thing to ask, but she still answered. “Not everyone gets to make their own choices without fighting for that right.” She stared at her plate.
I nodded, grasping for anything to say. The way she said that made me more curious than ever. There had to have been a time when her control was stripped from her. That thought had my stomach rolling. To think she may have been with someone who didn’t give her a choice. I had to stop right there or I’d become a raging lunatic. Something told me she wouldn’t speak any further on the subject anyway, so I tried a different route. “Will you tell me who Del is now?”
Her head popped up, mouth hanging open before she shook her head to clear it. Had her thoughts gone where mine had? I waited, eating some of my own steak, getting to savor this bite. She took a deep breath before saying, “Her name is Delia. She’s my oldest friend.”
It wasn’t a guy, which was a small relief. The way she said the girl’s name, I could hear how much she cared about this friend. It made me want to know everything about this person who might know the mysteries of Kate.
“You called her to tell her about the twins?” She nodded, which meant even though this friend wasn’t around, she still confided in her. “Where is she?” I had to ask to see if she would keep sharing.
Her lips became a thin line. “She lives near my hometown.”
“Which isn’t here?” She shook her head. “Not in Tennessee?” Another shake of the head as she cracked her knuckles. I felt like I was playing twenty questions but pushed a bit more. “Where would that be, then?” I held a hand out.
Another damn head shake. But with the set of her mouth, the hardness of her eyes, I knew there was no way she would tell me.
This new information stewed while we finished our meal, which she actually did finish, and ordered some chocolate cake. It reminded me of the barbecue at my parents’ when she ate three pieces of Mia’s torte.
When she was done, I smirked. “Want a second piece?”
Lips pursed, she glared. “Don’t make fun of me.”
“I ain’t, toots. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you eating something.” Her cheeks flooded with color, doing something to my insides I had to ignore. She didn’t have to be so freaking cute. “You gonna be okay with my parents coming in next week?”
With a timid smile, she nodded. “It’ll be great. We could get one of the ultrasound pictures framed for them or something. I think your mom would like that. That one of them with their faces smooshed together.”
She was beaming. It took my breath away.
“She would love that.”
We stayed for one more drink before her eyelids started drooping. When we got back to her place and she asked me to share her bed again, it made my entire night. Finally, a successful day of us not ripping each other apart and her not freaking out about every little thing I said or did.
12
Kate
Over the next week, we had an easy time of things. The tightening was still coming and going, so the doctor suggested I not overdo it. Kai then talked me into just working once a week, but told me it was totally up to me. I jumped at the opportunity. Now that he wasn’t being a dick about it, I understood why it would benefit the babies and me if I wasn’t pushing myself too hard. When I wasn’t at school, we would hang out and watch kung fu movies or The Walking Dead. Most of the days Ava didn’t have work or school, she and Cade would come over and hang out with us as well.
Being with Kai, talking with him, just being, was really easy. It scared the heck out of me. We fell into a routine with showers, and mealtimes, and going to the store. We’d even gone and picked out a giant truck for him that had six seats and was dark blue. He’d tried talking me into a different car, but I still wouldn’t budge there.
He always touched me, hugging me, holding my hand, rubbing my belly that had grown even more in only a few days. The babies were constantly moving, kicking and spinning, which tended to get in the way of my sleep, but I was okay with that. It was the best feeling in the world. I still had the pump, still didn’t have much of an appetite, but he often made me steak or peanut butter sandwiches to get me to eat. It was life, just two people living together, and it was amazing.
I enjoyed every second of it, of picking on him, pushing him on stupid stuff, but it was all in fun. Nothing like the fighting we’d gone through in those first couple days. Sure, it was only a week, but it was an amazing week. One of the greatest weeks of my life, in fact. Which wasn’t saying much, since my life had sucked, but it meant everything to me.