Page 102 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

He was still dealing with the grief of his baby’s loss. He was still coming to terms with us becoming parents. So what if I didn’t understand the complexities of his family dynamic? I’d learn about it in time. When he was ready.

Walking to his side, I slid my arms around his waist. His arm automatically snaked around my shoulders.

Our babies will be okay.

I didn’t say the words, but I felt them. I just hoped he could feel them too.

We stood there for a while, holding one another until the rumbling of my stomach was so loud we both laughed.

“My boys are hungry,” he declared. “Let’s get some dinner.”

As we walked back to my house, I felt the craving for a cheeseburger. So instead of eating leftovers like we’d planned, Kaine took me down the mountain to Bob’s Diner. After a huge meal that would last me at least two hours, we came back home.

I changed into my pajamas, then settled into the couch next to Kaine, letting my feet go into his lap. He worked his hands on them both, digging his thumbs into the arches.

“Magic hands,” I murmured.

Magic hands. Magic sperm. Magic man.

When Kaine touched me, I wasn’t able to think about much else. My worries melted away with the tension in my muscles, and I drifted off to sleep not twenty minutes into the movie he picked.

Hours later, my eyes fluttered open as he carried me to bed, but they didn’t stay tha

t way for long. He set me down on the bed, tucking me under the heavy blankets. Kaine’s fingers brushed away a lock of hair from my forehead right before his lips took its place.

“Love you,” I murmured into the pillow.

I was asleep by the time Kaine had backed out of the room.

Asleep and dreaming that he said it back.

Two weeks was all it took for my blissful state to disappear. My pregnancy mood swings were becoming a real bitch.

So was I.

At the moment, frustration was my disposition of choice. Sitting next to Kaine on the couch, the scowl on my face felt permanent.

Work had been long and hard over the last week. The foundation board had made the decision to completely revamp the process in which proposals were reviewed and approved. I’d been lobbying to streamline the process for years and they’d finally agreed.

I’d been ecstatic when Logan had shared the news. That excitement had died when he’d told me about the ambitious timeline. The change, which would have been smooth and flawless over six months, was crammed into three so the bulk of the expense would be incurred before the end of the year.

Logan and I were leading the charge on the project, but it meant the two of us had been putting in long hours. I knew we’d get it done. We’d push fast and hard and get our win. But I’d be exhausted by the time we hit December.

My only saving grace was Willa. As the director of a summer camp, her winters were quiet months, and she’d begun working for Logan part-time a few years ago. She’d stepped up and taken a huge workload off my shoulders so I could focus on our project.

The results of this project would be amazing. It was going to save us all time and make the most deserving charities float to the top of the stack. It would be my career’s crowning jewel.

But it meant I’d be stressed and snappy and grumpy for a while.

Kaine drew the short straw as my neighbor, my friend, and the father of my children. He was bearing the brunt of my frustration.

Except his presence only made the frustration worse.

His house was complete, and he could move home at any time, but he hadn’t. Weeks ago, that would have sent me over the moon, but instead, it frustrated me to no end.

Why? Because we hadn’t talked about anything. I had no idea how to classify our relationship. And as a perpetual planner, living in limbo made me twitchy.

Dealing with work and the uncertainty with Kaine was manageable. Or at least, it would have been if not for the fact that I’d turned into a raging heap of hormones.