CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Violet
“This weather blows.” Leighton grimaces as we watch the rain come down in sheets outside The Café. It’s made for a boring shift for both of us. “Since there’s been no one in here, all I’ve done is eat.” She puts another fry in her mouth, liberally dipped in ketchup. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone eat as much ketchup as she has since she found out she’s pregnant.
I laugh, leaning my head against her shoulder. “You’re doing great things, like growing a human. You’re gonna be hungry. Plus, you’re gonna have this baby very soon. You’ve already dropped.”
“But if I gain a hundred pounds, Holden’s not going to want me anymore.” She pushes the fries away, but grabs another anyway.
“You’re crazy, Leigh. I wish you could see what you look like right now. Like really see it.” I turn to face her, ready to lay down some truth for her. Since she had to get a pair of maternity jeans, she’s almost been having an identity crisis.
“Like a whale?”
“Absolutely gorgeous.” I put my hand on her bump. “You glow, Leigh, I mean from the inside out, and when Holden walks in this place? The two of you could burn it down with the way he looks at you. There isn’t anything for you to worry about when it comes to your husband.”
She rolls her eyes and blows out a watery breath. “Nothing fits right anymore, my boobs are in the way, my belly is in the way, and I would kill for a little sunlight up in this place.”
I laugh because I’ve thought the same thing about the sunlight. We’ve had more than enough rain to last us for a month. “Just a couple more months, Leigh, and then you’ll be able to hold that little boy who’s probably going to be the spitting image of his dad.” I take a guess at the gender, because they haven’t told us, they haven’t told anyone.
Her gaze lights up. “Can you imagine? Another Holden? Or maybe it’ll be another me?”
Out of nowhere a pain hits me in the gut, because I imagine holding the spitting image of Anthony. Never in my life have I aspired to be a mom, I’ve never had the burning desire to have a child, but in this moment, I know if I ever did, it would be with him. Hoping I cover up my momentary bout of emotion, I shake my head. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but the bell over the door rings, and we both whip our heads around. Sometimes when I’m not prepared to see him, Anthony completely takes my breath away. Take today for example.
The crew walking through the door are too good-looking to all be friends. When they run in a pack, I think panties drop everywhere. Holden, Anthony, and Mason walk through the place like they pay the rent.
“Afternoon, ladies.” Mason grabs a menu and slides next to us at the counter.
I nod over to him, but my attention is firmly on Anthony as he walks over to me. I’ve turned in my seat so that I’m watching him as he approaches. For the longest time, I never truly understood what women meant by drooling. Today, it’s like I’ve been given a crash course.
It’s obvious he’s been out in the rain. The dark hat he wears over his hair is turned backwards, exposing damp ends that drip onto his collar. I’m not sure what they were doing today, maybe something with the MTF? He’s wearing a bulletproof vest that reads MTF across the chest, and the white shirt underneath is molded to what I can see of his biceps. My perusal doesn’t stop when I get to the cargo pants that the moisture has caused to stick to him like a second skin. Dirt streaks his face and one of his forearms. He looks like a little kid who had fun in the mud. The look does things for me, but I will never tell him that.
“What happened to you?”
“My boss told me I couldn’t take him down.” He shrugs, glancing over with a smirk on his face to Holden.
Leighton has already made her way over to her husband, standing in between his spread thighs as he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her close. I watch as he kisses her on the neck and she folds herself into his body. Those intimate gestures are my favorite things about being involved with a man like this.
“And did you?”
“We’ll call it a tie.” Holden rotates his shoulder, as he leans his forehead against Leighton’s chest.
“Don’t you dare make it so that he can’t hold this baby,” Leighton scolds him, throwing a glare in Anthony’s direction.
“He started it,” Anthony argues, pulling me into his arms. He’s careful to keep the muddiness of his uniform off me, but even just feeling the heat coming from his body is worth it.
“And you finished it,” Mason offers a smirk over his back at the two of us. It’s like he’s trying to hold in his chuckle, but fails in a big way as the laugh rips its way past his throat.
It’s good to hear him laugh after the hell he’s been through with Caleb. The four of us share a look, and we all join in, laughing with him. It’s the first hint that maybe father and son are making it through the dark period they’ve been having. Caleb’s smiles are easier, and now hearing Mason laugh, it’s a healing balm for all of us.
“Can we get some food around here?” Holden grumbles.
I take pity on him, after reaching up to give Anthony a kiss on the cheek. “Burgers and fries all around?”
“And a milkshake,” Holden adds. “Chocolate with a cherry.”
“Eating your feelings?” Anthony continues picking at him.
“Did extra cardio last night, and again this morning.” He winks at Leighton, a self-indulgent smile on his face. “I can afford to bulk on some calories. Don’t be a hater, Ace.”
He and I share a look. One that could do a little heating up of our own, if given the chance. “Trust me when I say I’m not hating any of what I’m getting, boss man.”
Menace chuckles where he’s sitting, looking slightly uncomfortable. “There’s so much testosterone in this place, Jesus.”
“Mostly from you, considering you haven’t been laid in, like, thirteen years. Been a long build up, huh?” Holden delivers the low blow while Anthony laughs on.
“Y’all are so mean to each other.” I hear Ernie ring the bell and go to grab their food.
“If we weren’t mean to each other, we’d probably legit kill one another, which is why these two are dirty and hurting right now.” Menace points to his co-workers. “Me on the other hand, I’m smart and know when to stay out of shit.”
Delivering the food, I squeal when a corded forearm snakes around my waist, planting my ass on his lap. “Sit with me.” Anthony’s voice is deep, dark, and full of an erotic promise in my ear. He’s taken off his vest, which held most of the dirt. Sitting with him won’t hurt anything.
“For a minute.” I relax back against him, glad that we aren’t hiding ourselves anymore. I’m not exactly sure when it happened. A gradual progression maybe, where we decided we didn’t want to be known how we started out. Gone are the married woman and the man who didn’t care. Now we’re just two people who genuinely care for and respect one another. It’s taken us a long time to get to this point, but there’s no one I’d rather have taken the journey with than him.
He lifts a french fry up to my mouth, letting me take a bite before he puts the rest of it in his mouth. Never did I believe we’d be like this. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it. To have a man who cares about me the way he does, I never dreamed I’d find it, but look at where I am now.
“What are your plans for Halloween?” Holden asks.
“We’re dressing up and handing out candy since Anthony doesn’t have to work.” We’d gone over the things we could do, but neither one of us had wanted to be out on the roads with all the crazy people. In the end, that seemed like a tradition we could keep up for years to come.
Leighton claps her hands. “Like in matching costumes? A couple’s costume? Because that would be awesome. If you are, I’ll definitely come by and see you. Holden’s gotta work.”
“Come hand out candy with us,” I encourage her. “We’re gonna be Captain America and Wonder Woman! I’m really excited. It’ll be so much fun.”
“Oh great!” Leighton rolls her eyes, sighing. “Y’all will be superheroes, and I’ll be a huge-ass gumball machine.”
“Is that what you’re gonna be? Those are so cute, especially with this belly you have.”
She groans.
“I meant that as a compliment,” I defend my choice of words.
“I know you did, I’m just so uncomfortable right now.” She grabs hold of her back and attempts to stretch it. “I can’t sleep, I can’t stand, and I can’t sit. I’m at the stage where absolutely nothing makes me happy.”
“Not too much longer.” Holden rubs her stomach while he places a kiss on her neck.
“He’s right,” I add. “Soon you’ll be holding this child,” I emphasize the word because neither one of them have told the secret yet. “So come have fun with us for one night.”
“Oh alright.” She sighs. “Why not?”
“I’ll drop you off before I go on shift,” Holden offers, seeming to be happy that she’s going to have somewhere to go while he’s working.
“And I’ll take you home when we’re done,” I offer. “That way you don’t have to be out by yourself, and you can still have a good time with us.”
“Okay,” she concedes, looking kind of excited. “Okay. If I show up tomorrow night dressed as a damn gumball machine, you better be dressed up.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “I promise.” I laugh. “We’ll have a good time.”
Leighton doesn’t look convinced, but I give her a huge smile and pray to the gods above that I’m right.