Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(23)
They walked into Chrissy’s room together and tucked her into her crib. Beth left the door cracked so they could hear her if she woke up.
“I’m beat,” she said as she flopped on the couch beside Nick. “How can it be only seven thirty? I feel like we have been here for days. How in the world are we ever going to take care of a baby twenty-four-seven?”
Nick patted her absently. “We’ll get used to it. The first time is the hardest. Plus when it’s your own kid, you know you don’t have a choice.”
“Yeah, I guess,” she said doubtfully. She felt herself starting to nod off and dimly registered Nick slumping beside her.
* * *
Claire stood in front of the couch surveying the scene before her. Jason dropped his arm around her shoulders and she felt him shaking with laughter. “Man, look at that train wreck.” Jason chuckled.
“Jason, stop. They helped us out so we could have a night out. They do look pretty rough though, don’t they?”
“Rough is an understatement. Now I know how bad we must have looked for the first couple of months. No wonder everyone at work kept giving me that pitying expression. I must have looked like hell. Hey, are those my clothes?”
“Yep, and I think Beth has mine on. It looks like Chrissy showed them no mercy.” Claire grabbed her cell phone from her purse and snapped a picture of the sleeping couple.
Jason asked, “What are you doing?”
Looking guilty, she said, “Um, I’m taking a picture to show Suzy. She’s gonna love this. It looks like two homeless people crash-landed on our couch.”
Jason kissed the tip of her nose and said, “Let’s wake them up and get them out of here.”
“Ah, maybe we should just let them sleep here; they look beat.”
“It’s your call, but I believe you promised to show me some of your old stripper moves tonight.”
Claire’s eyes widened and her breathing became heavy at seeing the desire in Jason’s eyes. Suddenly she grabbed Beth’s shoulder and started shaking her. “Time to go home, you two.”
Jason quirked a brow at her. “I thought you wanted to let them rest.”
“Screw that. Hurry up and help me wake them. I’ll give you a bonus if you can get them out the door in less than five minutes.”
Smiling in anticipation, Jason said, “You’re on.”
Chapter Twelve
Beth and Nick fell face-first onto the bed when they got back to the apartment. Neither of them mentioned making love. My God, she was barely pregnant and already their sex life was starting to suffer.
Claire and Jason had smirked at them when they had shaken them awake. When Beth pulled herself from bed to brush her teeth she got a glimpse of the reason. She did not even recognize the woman in the mirror. Her hair was standing up in every possible direction, her clothes were wrinkled and her mascara had smeared, making her look like a raccoon. Ugh, just wash your face, brush your teeth, and try to tackle this in the morning. Nick probably looks like a million bucks.
Nick was still lying in the same place when she crawled back into bed. She nudged him with her elbow, trying to roll him onto his side of the bed. “Hey, babe, move over. I’m hanging off the end over here.” Suddenly, he sprang from the bed looking around the room wildly.
“Where’s the baby? Oh, shit, we lost her!”
“What are you talking about? We don’t have a baby yet.” Suddenly, it hit her that he was still asleep. His eyes were open, but unfocused, and he was obviously upset. Lowering her voice to keep from startling him, she said gently, “Honey, we’re home now. Claire and Jason have Chrissy and she’s asleep in her crib. We didn’t lose her.” He still stood there clasping and unclasping his fists. Great, what do I do now? Pour water over him? He’ll probably punch me if I try to touch him. Let him stand there all night?
Finally, she decided a loud noise might jolt him out of his sleep. Hopefully, it wouldn’t give him a heart attack. She grabbed a book off her bedside table and heaved it at the closet door. The resulting crash sounded like the walls were caving in. Maybe a little too much force behind the throw. Nick jerked and looked around the room in confusion. She was relieved to see that he was really looking at her now and not through her. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked.
“You were dreaming and I was trying to wake you up. Do you normally talk and walk in your sleep?”
Nick looked at her in disbelief. “Um, no, I’m pretty sure I don’t. Are you sure you weren’t asleep yourself?”
“Nope, I was just coming back from the bathroom when you jumped off the bed and started trying to find the baby. I assumed you meant Chrissy.” He still looked skeptical, but she was too tired to try to convince him. “I’m going to bed, why don’t you get cleaned up, too.”
* * *
Nick felt like his head had barely touched the pillow when Beth started moaning beside him. When he reached out to touch her, she jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom. He winced in sympathy as he heard the now-familiar sound of her being sick. He hurried into the bathroom and lowered himself beside her. He pulled her hair back from her face and rubbed her back.
When she finally seemed to have nothing left, he picked her up and lowered her onto the sink counter where he washed her face and helped her rinse her mouth and brush her teeth. Seeing her like this made him want to cut his dick off. He really hoped that she was not sick like this the whole pregnancy because he didn’t think either of them could survive. She’s the one having to puke her guts out every day; you’re getting off easy. She always allowed him to care for her after she was sick. She never complained as he cleaned her up and carried her to bed. He wrapped his arms around her and settled her against his chest. He kissed her neck and whispered, “I’m so sorry, princess. I’d take your place if I could.”