Page 19 of Cupid
I started to think we were, until the catcalls got loud enough that we couldn’t ignore them.
Arrow pulled away, his cheeks pink and his lips plumped. “We’ll finish this later, sweetheart.”
“Promises, promises.” I smacked his ass and then sashayed away from him. “I’mma eat my cake while you think about how you’re gonna make good on that tonight.”
FOURTEEN
ARROW
The plan was to stay for a few months and then head back to the beach in the fall before things got too crazy with my holiday training schedule. As one of the lead reindeer, I had to put in three hours of weight training and five miles of running every day…in addition to flying with a weighted sleigh almost every night just to make sure I was in top shape for the big event.
But after Jude’s four-month visit with the doctor, he was put on restricted travel. There wasn’t anything seriously wrong, but the baby was growing quickly, and his body wasn’t built to carry such a large fetus. That meant Jude had to follow a strict schedule of sitting, walking, and stretching on a regular rotation each day.
Having to sit on a plane for fifteen hours would have been as dangerous as it would have been miserably uncomfortable. So we were staying in Santa’s Village until after the baby was born.
Thanks to a well-timed ultrasound, we knew the baby was a boy. According to the early measurements, his due date was January 18th. But since our little guy was developing so quickly, there was a chance he would come early.
Which Jude was completely on board with.
He loved being pregnant, but not being able to clean and shop and decorate to his heart’s content was starting to frustrate him. Which made it my job to make sure everything he wanted was accessible, while keeping him safe and stationary.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” He waved his arms over the nest of supplies I’d set up on both sides of him. “Just because I’m sitting in bed doesn’t mean I can’t get my own…” He grabbed the container I had resting by his knee. “What is this? Lasagna?”
I shrugged and lifted the lid so he could get a whiff of it. ”In case you get hungry. You love leftovers, and I know how cranky you get when you don’t have snacks.”
Without breaking his stare, he raised an eyebrow and lifted his other hand, which was holding a Snickers bar. “I think I’m covered for snacks.”
I poked him in the side. “Well, you know how you get hangry.”
Jude’s lip popped out. “I do not.” Then he grinned. “Yeah, okay. Leave the food.”
I watched a few game shows with him before heading into the nursery to finish painting. I had read that there were fumes that could waft up from new flooring and paint, so I wanted to get those done as soon as possible so there was plenty of time to air out the room before the baby was born.
Besides, there were a few surprises I had in mind that I wanted to get in place before Jude came in to check on things.
I was just washing out the paintbrushes when the doorbell rang.
“Should I get that?” Jude asked from the bedroom.
“Don’t you dare get up.” I tossed the brushes in the drying rack and reached for a towel. “I’ve got it. I’ll be right in there.”
I rushed to the front door and double-checked to make sure Jude wasn’t behind me before opening it up.
Brandon, one of my buddies from the team, was holding a huge canvas with the back facing me. “Is this a good time?”
“Perfect.” I stood there for a moment, silently willing him to turn it around so I could take a peek.”
“Nice to see you too, Arrow. And yes, I would love to come in.”
“Sorry, I’m just excited to see it.” I grinned and stepped to the side. “And I want to get this in place before Jude loses patience and comes to investigate.”
“Yeah, I get it. My brother was the same way when he was pregnant. Always felt like he was missing out on everything, so he was even more nosy than usual.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “He’s not being nosy. Just…excited. Follow me.” I headed straight toward the nursery, shutting the bedroom door as I passed it to make sure Jude got the hint that he should stay put.
As much as he always wanted to be involved in everything, he was starting to understand that I liked to surprise him now and then. So, if he knew there was something I needed him to be patient for, he was pretty good about making an effort to wait.
Although, I also knew his patience had a limited window, so I needed to get the painting on the wall and Brandon out of the house within the next twenty minutes.
