Marc (Bowen Boys, #4)(4)
“You will meet someone someday, and I’m going to be the first to tell her what an ass you are. I’m sure after seeing you for ten minutes she’ll know that too. But there you have it.”
He went to his car and left the lot twenty minutes later. He knew that she saw the sadness, but he couldn’t help it. There was just too much romance going on around his family right now and he couldn’t take it. He loved them all, but he simply needed to get away.
Chapter 2
It had been three days of job hunting and Jonny was starving. She walked past dumpsters and thought about digging through them. She wasn’t at that point yet, but she was very close. Walking back to the apartment, she watched a woman get out of her car with a large bag of food and thought about rolling her for it. Or maybe just scaring her enough so that she’d drop it and run. Then she turned around.
She was pregnant and huge with it. Jonny hadn’t had a great deal of contact with pregnant women, but this woman looked wobbly and she wondered if she was going to make it inside. When she walked toward her building, Jonny thought she was going there, but she turned toward the one next to her at the last second. That’s when the big truck flew past them.
Jonny was at her side, catching her, before she could think not to. Had she not gotten to her in time she would have fallen on her belly, and surely that couldn’t have been good for the baby or the woman. She latched onto Jonny so hard that she was sure if she hadn’t been a supernatural that she would have had a bruise. As it was now, she’d just have a small mark for an hour or so.
“He nearly…I was falling and…I need to sit down.” She helped her into the building by using her keys, and then led her to sit in a chair. When she looked particularly pale, Jonny put her head down as far as it would go and not crunch her up with her belly.
Jonny left her sitting there and went to find a bathroom. She found one, as well as a nice kitchen, and wet some paper towels there and took them back to the woman with a glass of water. The woman took them gratefully and smiled when she’d taken a sip.
“I was concentrating so hard on what I had to do when I got back here that I didn’t even see you or that truck. You saved me. I can’t thank you enough.”
Jonny nodded and realized that the scent of food was making her cat stir. She had to get out of there now or steal the woman’s lunch. She stood to leave. Her belly took that moment to announce that it was empty.
“I have to go. I’m sure your husband will be able to help you back out to your car now if—”
“Please don’t go. I’m the only one here and I’m still a little overwhelmed by what nearly happened.” Jonny looked at the door thinking that she’d just watch her from the other side until someone came. “I’ll feed you.”
“I don’t need your charity.” The bark of her words embarrassed her. “I have to go, miss. I’m sure you’re going to be just fine now.”
“You sit down right now.” There was a command there that she couldn’t ignore. The woman was human but she sounded like she was used to getting her way, so Jonny sat down.
When she nearly tumbled out of the chair, Jonny stood up and helped her. The woman really was a bit unsteady on her feet as Jonny helped her back to the tiny little kitchen.
“I’m going to sit in the kitchen with you while you eat this meal. I’m so upset right now that if I tried I’d be sick, and throwing up is not very comfortable in any state, but this big, I can’t hardly sit on the commode, much less puke in one.” She started for the door and stopped to hold onto the desk. “Lock the door again, will you? I have to sit down again.”
Jonny did as she asked and helped her to the kitchen. She wanted the food more than anything, but she wasn’t going to eat it. She had to find something soon or she would be stealing money to purchase it. She owed the man with the shop more than she’d wanted to right now.
“I’m Mia Bowmen. In case you didn’t notice, I’m going to have a baby in a couple of months. Twins actually. Do sit down.” Jonny sat, and the bag of food was shoved in front of her. “If you don’t eat this I’m going to throw it out. You will be missing a great meal too. Roast beef sandwich with Swiss cheese and a dill pickle. There’s also potato salad and some cheesecake in there.”
Jonny’s stomach rumbled louder. She reached for the sandwich that the woman had unwrapped as she spoke and took the first bite. It was like heaven in her mouth. She was halfway through the twelve-inch sub before she realized that she was being handed a fork and the salad. She nearly moaned at the taste of her favorite way to have potatoes. She was eating the cake when Mia spoke.
“When was the last time you ate?” Jonny flushed and looked at the crumbs on the table, all that was left of her lunch. “You just ate an entire meal in less than ten minutes, so don’t shy away from me now. When?”
“Five days ago. I left where I was. Then I’ve been looking for work since. I don’t have any identification, so I can’t get a job.” She nodded at her. “I’ll pay you back for this. I’m sorry that I made a pig of myself, but….”
“You were hungry. Don’t worry about it. And I’ll be honest with you now because you were with me, it was my husband’s dinner, not my lunch. I ate mine at the deli. But he won’t even miss what he didn’t know he was getting.” She stood up and got three bottles of water out of the refrigerator. “I’m looking for someone to take my place so I can go on maternity leave. Can you type and answer the phone?”