Taking It All(14)

       
           



       

"Good," Kylie said smugly, with confidence she'd never possessed until   recently. Not until this man. "Because I'll kick your ass if you ever   start visualizing another woman."

Laughter rumbled through his chest.

"You're more than enough woman for me, baby. You keep me on my toes, and   swear to God, you were made for me. There was never a more perfect   match than us."

Contentment spread through Kylie's heart as she snuggled further into   Jensen's embrace. Yes, the future looked bright indeed, despite her   concern for her best friend and her marriage.

But Jensen was probably right. Chessy and Tate were likely even now   enjoying their weekend and reconnecting as Chessy had hoped they would.

JOSS Corbin dug her toes deeper into the bottom of the sheets and lay as   still as possible so her already churning stomach would hopefully   quiet.

She glanced at her phone, which was lying to the side of her just   underneath the pillow, and frowned. It was late afternoon and she'd   expected to hear from Chessy by now with a full report on her   anniversary evening out with Dash.

She and Kylie had both exchanged a flurry of texts the evening before,   worrying that Chessy's night would not go as well as she planned. The   silence was killing her. Silence could be good. Or it could be bad. And   she hated to think of the worst-case scenario, which was Chessy at  home,  miserable, and unwilling to seek support from her two best  friends  because of embarrassment or shame.

God only knew Chessy had suffered enough of both lately.

Dash entered the bedroom carrying a tray of dry toast and a glass of   apple juice, though the thought of the sweet juice turned her stomach   even more. Even now, watching as he closed the distance between the   doorway and the bed, her stomach twisted into knots and she had to   breathe through her nose to stifle the urge to make a run for the   toilet.

Dash sat down on the edge of the bed and positioned the tray over her   lap as she scooted up on the fluffy pillows arranged against the   headboard. His eyes were shadowed with worry and concern as he took one   of her hands and pressed a kiss to her open palm.

"Are you feeling any better yet, honey? Has your stomach settled at all?"

Even as he spoke, he slid his free hand underneath the tray and rested   his palm over her still-flat abdomen. Warmth from his touch seeped into   her skin, doing wonders for the turmoil caused by morning sickness-an   ailment she hadn't suffered until her pregnancy had been confirmed.

After a call to one of the nurses at her obstetrician's office, the   nurse had laughingly told her that it wasn't uncommon not to suffer the   symptoms of pregnancy until the pregnancy was confirmed. Apparently it   was 95 percent psychological in Joss's case. Or perhaps it had just  been  too early in her pregnancy for morning sickness to rear its ugly  head.

Other symptoms had presented themselves from the very start. Fatigue,   and her breasts were so tender that at times it was unbearable to touch   them. Something Dash had been extremely careful about when they made   love.

She gave him the warmest smile possible, considering how sick she felt, and cupped his jaw after he'd kissed her palm.

"I'm feeling better," she said truthfully. "Usually within an hour of me   waking up the nausea mostly goes away and I'm fine the rest of the  day.  You taking such good care of me and ensuring I eat has gone a long  way  in helping me cope with this."

"You never have to worry that I'm not going to be here every step of the   way or that I won't give you my utmost care," he said in a low growl.

Her smile broadened. "I love you. And I'm so excited, Dash. You can't   imagine how happy I am about our baby. It's such a dream come true. You.   Us. Our son or daughter. I never imagined being so happy again and   you've given me so much."

His eyes glowed with warmth-and love-as he stared tenderly back at her.   "I'm so happy that I have to stop and remind myself to be grateful for   the precious gift of you and our child," he said gruffly. "I love you   too, Joss. Always have, always will. As much as I want our baby to be   born and as much as I can't wait to grow our family and watch as our   children grow up in front of our eyes, I plan to savor every moment of   your pregnancy. Watch you swell with our baby. I'll never forget these   moments. Other than the day you told me you loved me, the day our child   is born will be the most precious moment of my life. I hope you never   doubt that."

"Never," she said with fervor. "I'll never forget, Dash. Just as I hope you'll never forget how much I love you."                       
       
           



       

He stroked her cheek and then motioned toward her phone.

"No word from Chessy yet? I know how worried you and Kylie were. And   well, I admit to having some major concerns myself. I have no idea what   the hell is going on with Tate but I hope he pulls his head out of his   ass soon."

Joss grimaced as she glanced toward her phone as well. "Not a word.   Which could be good or bad. I'm hoping for good. I'm hoping they were   able to work everything out and that Chessy finally confronted him with   her unhappiness. I want so much for her, Dash. I know how hard it was   for her when I told her I was pregnant. I almost didn't tell her, but it   would have only hurt her more and made her feel that much more   conspicuous about her troubles with Tate."

He rubbed his hand from her belly down the inside of one thigh before stopping to squeeze her knee.

"You did the right thing, Joss. Chessy would never want you to withhold   such wonderful news out of worry over her. And you have the right to be   happy. She'd never begrudge you that."

"I know," Joss said quietly. "I just love her and want so badly for her   and Tate to resolve the issues in her marriage so she can be happy   again. Just like Kylie and me."

Dash smiled. "She will be. Just like her best friends. Now try to eat   some toast, baby. You need something in your stomach before you get up   and move around. I figured we'd take it easy today. Enjoy the weekend   together. Maybe sit on the couch, you in my arms, and watch some movies.   I'll cook dinner for us tonight if you're up to eating something more   substantial by then."

She sighed blissfully. "You take such good care of me, darling. I love you for that."

He leaned in and kissed her on the nose and then patted the top of her   thigh. "Eat up. I don't want to leave you to take my shower until I know   for certain you're going to be able to keep down your toast."





EIGHT


CHESSY awoke, the late afternoon sun filtering through the bay window of   their bedroom. She was surrounded by warmth and strength. Tate's body   was wrapped around her, arms anchoring her to him, one leg thrown   possessively over hers while her head was pillowed on his broad   shoulder.

She let out an imperceptible sigh, not wanting to wake him and spoil the   first moment of true contentment she'd felt in a very long time. All   felt right with the world. She wasn't a fool to think that everything   had been miraculously fixed with Tate's magic peen, but it was a start.

Their lovemaking had been a coming together of two lost souls. Or at   least hers had been lost until now. She'd been bereft of his presence   for so long and she couldn't remember the last time she'd awakened in   his arms, or that they'd spent the better part of a day in bed.

He was always hurrying out to work in the mornings with barely a kiss on   her forehead and a gruff "hope my girl has a good day" before he was   off, with her never even knowing when she'd see him again.

It was hard not to focus on those not so great times even when here and   now the world seemed perfect. He'd certainly nailed it when he'd said   that their relationship couldn't be fixed in a single weekend, but the   ever-optimistic side of her knew that it was something. That he was   giving her something he hadn't been giving her in over a year. Himself.   His absolute priority and attention. His love that in her darker  moments  she'd thought she had lost. But he'd been utterly sincere last  night  and this morning, especially this morning when neither of them  was so  volatile and overly emotional. She knew Tate hadn't liked going  to bed  the night before with things still unresolved between them but  she also  knew she was right for putting it off until a time when they  both had  the night to reflect and better think of how and what needed  to be said.