Chapter Two
Reaching out her hand and feeling nothing but the cool, cotton sheet beneath her fingertips, Lindsay slowly opened her eyes, a quiet sigh escaping her lips at seeing that the other side of her bed was indeed empty. Slowly pushing herself up into a sitting position, she waited a few moments to see if she was going to have to run to the bathroom and throw up but so far, so good. She was just about to climb out of bed when a voice stopped her in her tracks.
“An’ jus’ where do ya think you’re going?”
“Danny?” She watched him enter the room carrying a large tray filled with various breakfast foods which given the fact that the mere smell of food could trigger her nausea, she wasn’t sure was such a good idea right now. It was usually a little later in the day when she attempted to eat something, preferring just a cup of tea to try and help settle her stomach first thing in the morning.
“What, you expectin’ someone else?”
“No,” she said, blushing. “I, uh… I thought you’d left.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Montana,” he stated. Crossing the room, he placed the tray in his empty spot on the bed and then sat down beside her. Flashing her a smile, he leaned forward and covered her mouth with his; nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth.
Sliding her fingers around the back of his neck, she returned his kiss, nuzzling her nose against his before she eased away. “This is a lot of food, Danny,” she teased as she took in the contents of the tray. There were scrambled eggs, slices of lightly buttered wholegrain toast, a bowl of oatmeal as well as a fairly large dish of fruit salad.
“Well, you’re eating for two now,” he told her, a smile lighting up his face. “While you were asleep, I went online and read up on things you should and shouldn’t eat and this was some of the breakfast stuff that’s apparently good for you and the baby.”
Lindsay’s heart swelled in her chest at hearing his words and she felt like her smile was going to split her face in two. And to think she’d been so nervous about telling him they were going to have a baby. “That’s so sweet.” She laughed at the way he scrunched up his face.
“I ain’t sweet.”
Pinching his stubble-roughened cheek, she said, “Yes, you are and, for the record, I love that you are.”
It was his turn to blush and picking up the glass of juice off of the tray, he took a long drink of it. “So, what do you want to eat first?”
Lindsay’s stomach suddenly roiled at the mention of eating and she covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m not sure I can have anything right now. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, you don’t gotta apologise. I should’ve probably waited until you woke up and asked you what you wanted before I did this.”
She shook her head. “No, I love that you did this. I’ve just been eating a little later in the mornings when my stomach feels a little more settled, that’s all.”
“Okay.” Danny watched as Lindsay’s eyes fluttered closed and she rested against the headboard. Her demeanour seemed to have changed overnight and while she still looked tired, she had definitely perked up and he had a feeling their conversation last night had played its part in doing that.
While her words yesterday at the lab had stung a little when she’d told him she wasn’t expecting anything from him, he could understand where she’d been coming from. Despite their relationship, he knew he still had a bit of a reputation and considering the circumstances of what had taken place a few short months ago when he’d come so close to losing her, he couldn’t exactly blame her for not wanting to tell him about her pregnancy.
He couldn’t believe he was going to be a father. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told Lindsay that he was scared as hell and it’d been a relief to know that she was feeling the same way. But, like he’d also told her last night, he wasn’t sorry about her being pregnant, even if the timing could’ve been a bit better. He knew his future lay with her and anything that reinforced that, such as them having children together, was a good thing. As he’d watched her sleep, the lines of worry that had been creasing her forehead slowly fading, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was going to make an excellent mother and as long as he had her by his side, that was all that mattered.
“Where’d you go?” Lindsay’s voice cut into his thoughts a few minutes later.
“Jus’ thinkin’,” he told her.
“About what?”
Smiling across at her, he replied, “That I’m glad we’re in this together.”
She smiled back at him. “Me, too.”
Setting his glass of juice down on the nightstand, Danny leaned forward and captured her lips, kissing her softly at first before the passion escalated between them as it so often did. His fingers tangled in the silky strands of her hair and slanting his head, he deepened the kiss.
“Danny,” she whispered long minutes later when the need for air had become too strong to ignore. Licking her lips, she could taste him on them and she felt a familiar tug in the pit of her belly.
“I, uh, was thinkin’,” he said, his voice taking on a huskier tone which was a sure sign of his arousal. “If you’re feeling up to it, we could go for a walk in the park and see if it helps you work up an appetite.” Realising what the last part of that sentence sounded like, he inwardly groaned and quickly added, “For food, I mean.”
Lindsay bit her lip to keep from laughing. It was so cute seeing him all embarrassed, something that didn’t happen all that often. “I knew what you meant,” she told him. “And a walk sounds nice.”
“Okay. You go and get ready and I’ll get rid of all of this,” he said gesturing to the tray of food.
“You’re not going to throw all of that away, are you?”
“When do I ever throw away food?” he quipped. “No, I’ll eat the eggs and toast and the fruit salad can go in the fridge for later but I ain’t eating the oatmeal.”
“That you can throw away,” she said, laughing. “It might be good for me but I’ve never liked the stuff. It’s always reminded me of wallpaper paste.”
“Me, too.” Danny laughed as he rose from the bed and then picked up the tray to take it back into the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later, Lindsay entered the kitchen dressed in a pair of jeans and a lightweight purple sweater. When she saw what he was eating, her hands flew straight to her hips. “Where’d you get that from?”
Danny whirled around at hearing her voice and he let his gaze roam all over her. Maybe he was imagining it but that glow some people mentioned when talking about pregnant women seemed to already apply to his Montana. There was something different about her, although the rosy flush to her cheeks could’ve had more to do with her being pissed off at him. Holding up his half-eaten chocolate donut, he replied, “I bought it at that bakery you like when I went to the store this morning to pick up some of the breakfast stuff.”
“Oh really? And you didn’t think I might want one?”
Biting back the grin he could feel forming on his face, he said, “They’re full of fats and sugars which aren’t good for you or the baby. I’m just lookin’ out for ya, babe.”
“Is that so?” Despite how lovely and supportive he’d been last night and this morning, right now Lindsay felt like kicking his ass. He knew she had a sweet tooth and whenever he’d bought himself a donut or pastry, he always got one for her, too. And although her stomach hadn’t wanted any of the breakfast he’d brought her earlier, she suddenly had a craving for the gooey, chocolate donut he was taking another bite of. “I hate you,” she mumbled under her breath as she turned to flee back to her bedroom.
Before she had a chance to get too far, an arm wrapped around her waist and halted her movements. “You don’t hate me,” he said huskily, his mouth right by her ear. Turning her around to face him, he smirked down at her as the fingers of his free hand interlaced with hers and he led her over to the kitchen counter. “Do you really think I’ve got a death wish, Montana?” he asked, popping the last bite of his donut into his mouth.
Lindsay looked up at him, a confused expression on her face before she glanced back down and saw him opening a familiar looking bakery box which she hadn’t seen before now. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it contained a couple of the chocolate donuts together with several of her favourite frosted cupcakes. “Danny…” She felt the prickle of tears behind her eyelids and she cursed them. Damn hormones!
“I know they’re not the healthiest things but one of the websites I checked out said that the odd treat won’t do any harm and besides… I figured it’s a special occasion, you know,” he told her, ducking his head.
Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she hugged him tightly, her face buried against his neck. Planting butterfly kisses across his cheek, she finally arrived at his lips and kissed him long and slow, her fingers running through his hair. “Thank you,” she said quietly when they eventually parted.
“You’re feeling hungry now, aren’t you?” Danny said, chuckling at the way she was eyeing the box of treats.
Looking up at him in that moment, an altogether different kind of hunger suddenly consumed her and reaching for his hand, she tugged him towards her bedroom, throwing him a smirk from over her shoulder. “Mm, I sure am.”
Fin