I was strung tight as a wire by the time the door closed behind them, and I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to keep my mouth shut until I had dinner at the counter. I really wished we had an actual kitchen table, but I was willing to improvise.

“Why don’t you take a shower, and by the time you’re done, I’ll have dinner in the oven,” I told him brightly as I poured noodles into water boiling on the stove.

“Don’t need a shower, took one before we left, and I’ve been sitting on my ass all day while Farrah fucked around at the tattoo parlor,” he grumbled, sitting down at the counter. “That girl is gonna lose it soon.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing huge, she just seems like she’s strung tight as hell, and she’s trying to find a way to let off some steam.” He shook his head. “You better watch out for that brother of yours.”

“Gross!” I snapped, pulling hamburger out of the fridge. “Cody wouldn’t do that. He knows Farrah’s having a hard time.”

“Your brother’s got a dick,” he answered seriously, looking down at his phone. “He’d do it.”

“Can we not talk about my brother and my best friend having sex right now?” I asked, frustrated tears forming in my eyes. He was texting someone on his phone, talking about people that I’d just kicked out of the house so we could be alone, and I was having a hard time not just blurting my news out before dinner was ready. The night was not going how I’d envisioned it. “I just want to make fucking dinner for you and me without any other shit getting in the middle of it.”

I sniffed once, turning back to the stove, and in seconds he was wrapping his arms around me from behind.

“What’s going on, sweetheart?” he asked gently, kissing the back of my neck.

“I just want to finish dinner so we can sit down and eat your favorite meal. Alone. I want to eat dinner alone without worrying about anyone else’s problems.”

“Look at me, Callie,” he ordered, pulling at my waist.

“I need to finish this,” I told him desperately, dumping spices into the pan frantically. “The hamburger will burn if I don’t stir it.”

He reached past me and turned off both burners before spinning me to face him.

“You’re going to ruin it!” I practically screeched, pushing at his hands.

“What the fuck is wrong?” he snapped, making the tears that had been stinging my nose well up in my eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked again quietly, searching my face as it crumpled.

“I just wanted to make your favorite dinner,” I whispered, wiping off my face, “and now it’s ruined and I don’t have any more noodles.”

I burst into gut-wrenching sobs and pushed my face into his neck as he picked me up and strode toward the front door, locking it before taking me to the bedroom. He set me down by the doorway and walked to the bed, pulling at all four corners of the sheets until he’d wrapped all of the bedding into a ball that he threw on the floor.

“What are you doing?” I asked hoarsely as he put a clean sheet on the bed.

“I’m stripping the bed, so I can fuck you without smelling Farrah’s and your grandmother’s perfume, and I’m leaving that shit in a pile so we can put them back on later and they don’t have to smell us,” he told me simply, making me cry again.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m pregnant.” Well, shit. I guess I was going to just blurt it out.

“What?” he whispered, dropping onto the bed.

“I took the test this morning. I didn’t realize…” I swallowed hard as I walked toward him. “Gram took me to the store this morning and pretty much ambushed me into buying a test. With all the stuff going on, I just didn’t even—”

“Oh, fuck,” he whispered, his eyes widening in horror.

“Not the reaction I was going for, Asa,” I mumbled dryly, trying to disguise the panic rising in my throat. Why did he look so horrified? It’s not like he didn’t know it could happen!

“Are you okay?” he asked, dropping to his knees and lifting up my shirt. “Is everything okay in there?”

I sighed in relief as I ran my fingers through his hair. “I haven’t been to the doctor yet. But I think so.”

“You fell on the fuckin’ stairs,” he mumbled, unbuttoning my pants and peeling them down my legs. “They had you cuffed on the ground.”

“I’m pretty sure something would’ve happened by now if I’d been hurt,” I reassured him, “but I’ll set up an appointment to make sure everything’s good.”

He pulled off my t-shirt as he got to his feet, staring at my breasts in amazement. “Whoa! Your tits are huge!” he gaped, reaching up to cup them in his hands. “How did I not notice this? They’re popping out all over!”

“Probably because you haven’t seen me naked in for-freaking-ever,” I griped, pushing his cut off his shoulders.

He reached behind me to unclasp my bra and I took a huge breath of relief as it fell away. I hadn’t noticed that my boobs were bigger, but I had noticed that the band had been digging into my sides for what felt like weeks. It left itchy little indents that I loathed.

“Shit, you’re really pregnant,” he mumbled. “Put some pajamas on. We need to find you a doctor.”