They arrived at Beth’s apartment without either of them saying a word to the other. Nick jogged around and opened the door for her, helping her out of the low-slung car. He entwined his fingers with hers as they made their way up the stairs and into the apartment.

She gave him a tired smile, saying, “I think I’m going to turn in for the night.”

“Beth, I’m sorry if I upset you.”

Suddenly, she started laughing. “Are you kidding? You were great! I have never seen my parents puckered up that tight before. Thank you for interrupting because their fat talks usually go on for much longer.”

Nick felt his relief flow. “So, you’re not mad?”

With another snicker, she said, “No way. It was worth all the misery that it will eventually bring. The good news is that they probably won’t be inviting us to dinner anytime soon.”

With a laugh, he said, “I can live with that. I’m just glad you’re okay with it.”

Waving her hand, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Then with a sigh, she added, “Their delivery method may need some work, but they’re right. I’m not like normal pregnant women. I can’t use this pregnancy as a reason to let go. I have to be more careful than ever.”

Nick felt a ripple of unease as he studied Beth’s determined expression. “Princess, you never let go. I don’t think you have to worry about it. You barely eat enough to survive on now, and remember, you have to eat extra for the babies now, right?”

“I eat more than enough,” she snapped. “The doctor didn’t say anything about tripling the amount of my food to feed three people. If I did that, I would gain too much weight. The average weight of a baby when born is around seven pounds so if I gain eighty pounds, how much of it would actually be the babies?”

Nick could tell by her defensive tone that it was time to shut his mouth and end this conversation. Hadn’t Jason and Gray warned him to avoid talking about her weight? He was worried though that Beth didn’t know when to stop. Was there such a thing as too thin to her anymore? Her parents had scored a direct hit tonight. She may have enjoyed his defense of her, but she quite obviously believed every word they said. But he decided to back off instead of forcing the issue. She had dealt with enough tonight and he knew the stress wasn’t good for her.

Giving her a light kiss on the lips, he turned her toward the bedroom and said, “Go ahead and get some sleep, princess. I’m going to unwind some before I go to bed.”

With a smile of understanding, Beth said, “I can’t imagine why.”

* * *

How could anyone throw up as much as she had in the last week and still have gained five pounds? Hadn’t Suzy, Claire, and Ella tried to warn her against weighing herself on the scales at the mall? Since they had been right there outside the food court, she hadn’t been able to resist. She had been so sure she had lost weight. She had been so careful to watch her portion sizes this week and she had been sick every single morning, but still, her ass continued to expand.

Claire looked at her in sympathy. “It’s just the water weight gain, Beth. I had the same problem. Sometimes I was too sick to eat anything but crackers for days and I would still gain weight. I kept asking Jason where it was all going, but he never had an answer. Of course, he always had to return a call or something when I was venting so he probably wasn’t even listening.”

Shaking her head, Suzy said, “He was just avoiding you, Claire. I finally figured out that every time I say anything about my body other than ‘do me,’ Gray runs as if I’ve got the plague. I thought he had irritable bowel syndrome or something until I finally figured out that the bathroom is his easiest escape route after a difficult question. It’s the one place he is confident I won’t follow him.” With an evil smile, she added, “I’m thinking about testing my theory and going right in there with him the next time. Of course, if I’m wrong, it will probably be the end of our sex life.”

“Ugh,” Claire said, and laughed. “I don’t think it’s worth the risk to find out!”

Ella looked at them all with envy. “I don’t know why any of you would ever be worried about your body, you all look great.”

“So, Ella,” Suzy began, “is there a man on the horizon for you?”

Flushing, Ella mumbled, “Yes, but I can’t have him.”

All conversation ceased as everyone zeroed in on Ella. “All right, girl, you can’t leave us hanging like this. Who is the guy and why can’t you have him?” Suzy asked.

Clearly uncomfortable, Ella said, “Just, um . . . never mind.”

“Oh hell-to-the-no, Miss Goody Two-shoes, you aren’t getting off the hook. You know all of our issues and all about our guys, so let’s hear it,” Suzy demanded.

Beth wrapped an arm around her friend, giving Suzy and Claire a stern look. “It’s okay, Ella; you don’t have to say anything.” Beth had a pretty good feeling that she knew anyway and didn’t think any good could come of Suzy or Claire knowing about Ella’s crush on Declan.

“I’ve got to side with Suzy on this one, Ella,” Claire said. “When you’re in the girls club, you can’t hold back. We might be able to help you.”

Suzy pulled Ella over to a seating area in the corner of the mall and, after they were all settled, she said in a surprisingly gentle voice, “Okay, Ella, let’s hear it. Claire is right; maybe we can help.”

Ella turned an even brighter shade of red as she whispered, “It’s Declan.”

Suzy and Claire stared at her blankly. “Um, you don’t mean our Declan, do you?” Suzy asked.

Nodding her head miserably, Ella said, “Yes, but he treats me like his sister.”

With a snort, Suzy said, “Oh, baby, you are way out of your league. How can I explain this? You’re like Nemo swimming around in the ocean without a care in the world and Declan is like the piranha who comes along and eats you without warning.”

“Suzy!” Beth shouted.

“What? It’s the truth. Declan has been around the block a lot and Ella hasn’t taken her training wheels off yet. I know the man is sexy in a dark sort of way, but, sweetie, he would eat you for breakfast and not in a good way.” Suzy smirked.

Claire laughed under her breath before she could stop herself. “Ella, I think what Suzy is trying to say is that you don’t have much in common with Declan. Jason said that he served a couple of tours in the military. He has probably seen things that most of us never will. He seems haunted, for lack of a better word.”

Ella’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I know, but he is so sweet to me. I’ve mentioned different things that I like to eat and drink a few times and he always shows up with whatever I mentioned a few days later. That means something, right?”

“Wow.” Claire sighed. “That is surprising. I can’t imagine him doing that. He’s always polite, but holds himself apart from everyone else. It’s amazing that he talks to you regularly, much less brings you things.”

“I think I scared him away,” Ella confessed.

Suzy perked up with interest. “Did you make a pass at him?”

Ella flushed again, saying, “No, of course not. I kind of asked him to dinner at my place.”

“You little tramp!”

“Suzy!” Beth groaned, clearly horrified.

“I’m kidding, sis. Get your panties out of a wad.” Suzy reached over and cuffed Ella on the shoulder with her knuckles. “You go, girl. You’re going to make him dinner before you hit on him.”

Beth looked on helplessly as Suzy openly laughed. Claire tried to keep a straight face, but snickered at poor Ella. If embarrassment could kill, Ella would be dead on the spot. “All right, everyone, give Ella a break. We are supposed to be helping her, not harassing her.” Turning to her friend, she asked gently, “What happened when you asked him for dinner?”

Staring down at her hands, Ella said, “He looked surprised and then he said that he already had plans. I was going to suggest another night, but he said he was late for a meeting and took off. That was days ago, and I haven’t seen him since then. I . . . I think he’s avoiding me now.”

“Ah, come on now, Ella, maybe he’s out of town. He travels a lot, doesn’t he?” Beth asked.

Everyone looked at Claire since she usually knew when any of the main group was out of town. Claire gave a grimace and said, “No, I know Declan is in the office this week because he’s been working on a contract with Jason.”

Shaking her head in disgust, Suzy said, “I’m not going to soft-pedal this to you, Ella; he is avoiding you. He’s been sniffing around your feet, but when you started sniffing back, he packed his toys and went home. To someone like Declan you must seem like the ultimate forbidden fruit. He’s probably used to women he can screw and then slip out before they wake up. Most of his women have probably been ridden hard and put up wet.”

Claire started laughing. “Where do you come up with this stuff?” Then, turning to Ella, she said, “I think what Suzy means is that Declan has a lot more experience than you and maybe he is afraid of hurting you.”

“Oh, come on.” Suzy snorted. “Ella doesn’t need everything I say explained to her. She knows what I’m talking about. Okay, give me a few days to think on this one. I’m sure we can come up with a plan for you to land Declan if you really want to. Look at Beth; she landed her man through wild sex on my kitchen counters and all over my damn house. I’m sure I can come up with something for you. Maybe Claire could loan you her house, though. I don’t think I can stomach any more naked bodies sliding across my granite countertops.”

When everyone got their laughter under control, Suzy added, “We’re going to have a barbecue on Saturday to rid our house of the evil from our last dinner party. I promise that my parents will not be there so you don’t have to make excuses.” Wiggling her eyebrows at Ella, she said, “I promise that Gray will make sure Declan is there so wear something hot. Oh, crap, never mind, I don’t trust you to know what that is, so let’s go pick out something for you right now.”

“Hey,” Beth said, “I thought we were going to look at wedding dresses for you and make some plans?”

“Nah, we can do that next week. Ella is our priority now.”

Beth couldn’t help but chuckle at Ella’s terrified expression. Putting her arm around her friend, Beth whispered in her ear, “Just go with it. If you argue, it will get more painful. It’s better to give in now because you can’t win.”

Chapter Twenty

Beth stood in front of her bedroom mirror studying her body. She had tried to laugh off the scales in front of the girls at the mall today, but the number still stung. It had to be the late dinners with Nick, because otherwise she thought she had been eating really well lately. Since he usually stopped at the gym on the way home, it was usually around seven before they ate. Maybe she could start skipping dinner completely. She could just tell Nick that she was too hungry to wait, and he would never know the difference. He had been making comments on her small portions lately and she didn’t want him to know that she planned to miss a meal. It was unreal how when you’re fat the world seems interested in every bite you put in your mouth, and when you lose the weight, they still seem just as interested.

First, her parents wanted to make sure she didn’t eat too much and blow up, and Nick wanted to make sure she ate enough. Would there ever be a time in her life when no one gave a damn what she ate? Why couldn’t she enjoy her pregnancy like other new first-time mothers-to-be?

She was excited and nervous about being a mother. When she could rise above the panic of gaining weight, she thought a lot about the type of mother she wanted to be. One thing she was certain of, she would never be as cold and distant as her mother. Her children would be allowed to have dreams and they would have the childhood that Suzy and she had always dreamed of.

She heard the door slam in the other room and she quickly stepped away from the mirror. It wouldn’t do for Nick to think that she was worrying about her weight. She didn’t want him to be suspicious when he didn’t see her eating.

Beth walked back into the living room as Nick tossed his keys on the table and dropped his gym bag on the floor. She could feel her heart kick into gear as her eyes slid hungrily over his body. Athletic shorts hung low on his lean hips and narrow waist. His biceps glistened with sweat and his tank top outlined his muscular chest. Oh, girl, you are in trouble. There is no way you can settle for cuddling again tonight with that sitting next to you. When did you become obsessed with sweaty guys? Shouldn’t you want him to shower first?

Cocking a brow at her, Nick asked, “Hey, princess, what do you want for dinner?”