Cadence walked beside Jameson as they slowly made their way back to his house. Dinner was fabulous. Sure, her mouth was still burning a little from the “mild” curry, but even though it was spicy, it was delicious. She’d been craving spicy food since she got pregnant, so it hit the spot. At the restaurant, people stared at them at first, but he assured her they just weren’t used to strangers, and that was why. And that, in turn, reassured her more about being here. What he told her was true, then. They most definitely noticed when strangers showed up.

And the company had been amazing. Slanting a look at Jameson, her breath caught as the setting sun highlighted his strong form, bringing out the red glints in his hair she loved so much. He’d been attentive, funny, and engaging throughout dinner.

It so felt like a date.

She had no idea how he viewed it. He could have just been being a good host, and maybe that was it. But the looks he gave her, especially when he thought she wasn’t looking, his hooded blue eyes burning with desire and appreciation, made it clear he wanted her, no matter how he viewed their dinner.

Lord Almighty, the changes a few days could bring. Before she met him, she would have said with absolute fucking certainty that she’d never feel desire for a man again. Never even be friends with one, never let one close to her, let alone ever, in a million years, trust one.

And look at her now. Trusting him completely, despite what he did for a living. Enjoying the time spent with him. Wanting to touch him, get close to him—be with him in every way.

Fuck a duck. She couldn’t even pretend this was pregnancy hormones anymore. It was just her wanting him, in every way. Pregnancy hormones wouldn’t make her want to sit and talk to a man for hours, like she did with Jameson.

He placed a hand lightly on her lower back to guide her around a crack in the sidewalk, and it sent a shiver of heat up her spine that she didn’t even try to hide. She was beyond that now. Once they were passed it, he moved his hand, but he trailed it slowly from her back to her hip. When it left her completely, it brushed her hand, and she acted on instinct, without thinking, grabbing hold of it.

His head whipped toward hers, but when she remained calm, he smiled slowly as he shifted his grip, twining their fingers together and tightening his hold. His eyes had a question in them, and she smiled back at him, letting that be her answer.

“Did you enjoy dinner?” he asked, his voice deep and husky, sending another shiver down her spine.

“I did. The curry was really good, although their version of mild was still pretty spicy. I liked it, though. I’ve been craving spicy foods lately.”

“I wonder if it’s a boy. I’ve heard women who are carrying boys want spicy food.”

She shrugged. “I’ve heard that, too. Maybe. But like I said, I don’t really care what it is, as long as it’s healthy.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

They walked in silence for a few moments, and then he stiffened beside her. Following the direction of his gaze, she saw an older woman with snow white hair walking toward them. Jameson seemed worried, but she didn’t know why an old woman would worry him. Maybe nervous was a better word than worried, but that still didn’t make sense.

“Old Alice,” he said, bowing his head respectfully to the woman as she came to a stop in front of them.

Old Alice? Who added old to a woman’s name, especially one they liked, or at least respected? It was clear he did both, by the nod and the affection in his voice. Still, the way he cut Cadence a nervous look made her brow twitch with confusion.

“Jameson, my boy! Bend over so this old woman can give you the kiss you deserve.” He did as she asked, bending over enough that she could easily kiss his cheek. As he stood, Old Alice’s gaze shot to Cadence. “And this must be your mate! Congrats, boy. I know you’ve been wanting one, and a family as well. Looks like this one is going to give you a ready-made family.”

Jameson cursed under his breath, glancing at Cadence and taking in her raised eyebrows. “I’ll explain later,” he told her before turning to Old Alice. “You’ve got this all wrong. Cady’s not my mate, and she’s not giving me a ready-made family.”

Old Alice cackled—there was really no other word for it—and rubbed her hands together. “You can’t fool me with that. And I sincerely hope you’re not trying to fool yourself with it, either.” Turning to Cadence, she surprised her when she took her hand. “How far along are you, dear?”

Eyes widening, she looked at Jameson to see him shrug, expression resigned. “It’s not too obvious just yet. Don’t worry about that. But Old Alice knows things. She’s basically a baby expert. Don’t worry, she won’t tell anyone. That’s not her way.”

Old Alice frowned, clearly offended. “Of course I won’t tell anyone. None of this is anyone else’s business. Now, dear, if you let me touch your belly, I can tell you a lot. How far along you are, if the baby’s healthy, what the sex is if you want to know.”

Eyebrows high, she glanced at Jameson. “Is she for real?”

He nodded. “Yep. If you let her do it, you’ll figure it out for yourself soon enough when she tells you exactly how far along you are. She’ll be right about the rest of it, too, though of course you have no way of knowing. She’s never once been wrong.”

The curiosity was eating her alive. Like he said, if Old Alice was right with how far along she was, then Cadence would know she was for real. And she was dying to know for sure the baby was healthy, and what she was having. And if she wasn’t… well, there was no harm in trying.

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself to have someone else touching her, she nodded to Old Alice. “Okay. Go ahead.”

Expression delighted, Old Alice placed her hands on Cadence’s belly and closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them, looking at her with gray eyes just a bit cloudy with age.

“You’re four months, three weeks, and six days along. Would you say that’s accurate?”

Stunned, she stared at the old woman with wide eyes, shooting a glance at Jameson before looking back. “Yes, exactly that.”

“I told you I know what I’m doing.” Old Alice’s face showed her concentration again, and then her smile faded a bit as she looked at her. “The baby’s healthy, but underweight. She should weigh more for where you’re at. Not much, mind you, but enough. You should eat more.”

Shame and worry hit Cadence with the force of a wrecking ball. She hadn’t had much money to eat, but dammit, she’d done her absolute best. But her best obviously wasn’t good enough. Maybe she shouldn’t believe everything this stranger was telling her, but hell, she was one hundred percent right when she said how far along Cadence was. Odds were, then, she was right about this, as well.

Moving her hands from her belly, Old Alice took her hands, shoving Jameson’s hand away. It brought a small smile to Cadence’s face, despite everything. Old Alice squeezed her hands, waiting until she focused on her before speaking.

“I can see that you’re freaking out, as the younger generation says. But I promise you, there’s nothing to worry about. The baby is healthy. Small, maybe, but healthy all the same. You’re doing things right. You just need to eat a tad bit more.”

She nearly snorted. Easy for the old lady to say. Cadence was eating well here, but once she left, it would once again be a struggle.

“Now,” Old Alice continued. “Do you want to know the sex?”

Worry receding for a moment, her breath caught. “Absolutely.”

Smiling, Old Alice put her hand on Cadence’s belly again, winking at her. “I already know, but I like feeling new life under my hands. Your baby’s a girl, dear.”

Holy shit. A girl. She was having a girl. And for some reason, as the joy welled up inside her and her eyes misted over, her first reaction was to look at Jameson. He smiled at her, looking a little emotional himself, and she wrenched her gaze away, looking back to Old Alice. This time it was she who took the older lady’s hands, squeezing the fragile bones as hard as she dared.

“Thank you. So much, for everything. It hurts to know I’m not doing completely right as her mother and protector, but I wouldn’t have known that at all if you didn’t tell me. And I didn’t care what I was having, honestly, but knowing it’s a girl… I feel like everything just changed. You gave me an amazing gift.”

“The pleasure was all mine, believe me. I live for moments like this. And Cady—you’re doing everything right by her. You’re fighting right now to give her a better life, are you not? Along with being able to tell if a baby’s healthy, I can also sense how happy they are. Most are happy, some content, and then there are a few who are unhappy. Who don’t want to be born. Who don’t want the mothers they have. It’s rare, but still, it happens more than you might think.

“Your little girl is ecstatic. She’s happy, extremely so. She loves being alive, can’t wait to be born, loves that she belongs to you. You did that, dear. Maybe she’s a tad bit smaller than she should be. Maybe if you ate more—though you don’t need much more, don’t think it’s bad, because it’s not—she’d be bigger. But, that aside, you’ve given her something more important. She has a zest for life, and that’s because of you. Don’t let the other stuff overshadow that. Little or not, she’s still healthy. Still happy. You should be proud of that.”

Old Alice squeezed her hands one more time before slowly hobbling away. Cadence’s eyes and nose stung with tears, and she tried her best to fight them. But they were coming no matter what she did, and they were coming in hard.

Oh, fuck. She was about to hardcore lose it, right there in the street. Without another moment’s thought, she turned and went straight into Jameson’s arms, burrowing into his hard chest.

He was strong. He could handle this, maybe transfer some of his strength to her. And she knew, deep in her bones, that there was no safer place to be. He’d protect her, and her baby girl, always.

Jameson froze as Cady threw herself in his arms, but only for a moment. His arms came up, wrapping around her and holding her close. She felt like a dream nestled in his arms, and he was basking in it. Basking in the feel of her baby bump pressing into his stomach.

And then he heard her sniffle, and her shoulders started shaking. Oh fuck, was she crying? He tried to pull back so he could look into her face, but she shook her head, tightening her arms around his middle.

“Don’t let go, okay?”

Her voice was shaky and barely above a whisper, and it confirmed that yes, she was crying. And her tears hit him like a punch to the gut. Swallowing hard, he sought his voice.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let go. I’ll never let go.”

She risked a look up at him at his words, her big brown eyes full of tears, tear tracks already making their way down her cheeks. But she didn’t say anything about his words, and he wasn’t about to say anything himself. Her glasses were tear stained, and he gently plucked them off her face. The moment he did, she lowered her head and burrowed back into his chest.

He rocked them back and forth for a bit, not saying a word. Just giving her the comfort and closeness she seemed to need, rubbing his hands gently against her back.

Fix it. Fix mate. She shouldn’t be crying. She should only ever be smiling and happy, his tiger pleaded.

I agree about her happiness, but I’m not sure I can fix this. I can only be there for her. But I’ll do my best to make her feel better, he assured his cat.

They were getting curious looks as people passed, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was holding her, making sure she was okay. The look on her face when Old Alice said the baby was smaller than she should be, that Cady hadn’t been eating quite as well as she should, gutted him. He knew she’d been eating—she wouldn’t risk her baby, he knew her well enough to know that. But he also knew money was tight, so maybe she hadn’t eaten quite as much as she should.

If, God forbid, he couldn’t talk her into staying, he thought he’d hide more than a couple hundred in her belongings. Five hundred might be enough. Maybe even more than that. She clearly needed it more than he did.

Fuck, he hoped she stayed, though.

The important thing was the baby was healthy. Nothing else mattered. A girl. It was a girl, and he’d only felt her move once, just last night, but he was already in love. She was his. Even if he couldn’t convince Cady to stay, he’d always feel like that baby girl was his.

“You heard Old Alice,” he said, needing to reassure her somehow. “Your baby’s small, but she’s healthy. That’s the important part.”

Sniffling, she nodded against his chest. “That’s not it. I mean, it’s part of it. I’ve been eating three meals a day, but I never imagined I wasn’t eating enough. It breaks my heart. I’ve been trying so hard to do everything right.”

“Clearly you are since she’s healthy. Yeah, she’s a little small, but that’s an easy fix. But if that’s not it, why are you crying?”

“Because she’s happy,” Cady said with a tear-filled laugh, pulling away and wiping her cheeks as she looked at him. “It’s probably a stupid reason to cry, but it hit me hard. She’s happy, and she wants to be born. To me. That’s… I don’t even have words for what that is.”

Smiling crookedly, he wiped a stray tear, watching as her gorgeous chocolate eyes slowly dried. “Of course she wants to be born to you. You’re amazing, and you’ll make an even more amazing mother. She’s not stupid. She knows what’s up.”

Cady laughed, the sound washing over him and warming him to his soul. “You’re crazy. Come on, let’s go home. I’ve made enough of a spectacle of myself tonight.”

Home. She called his house her home. But he tried to ignore it and scoffed. “Who cares? No one will think twice about it. Here, want to put these back on?”

She took the glasses he was holding out, but she didn’t put them back on. “We’re almost back to your house. I must look a mess.”

He shook his head as she linked her arm through his. “You look just as beautiful as always.”

Her eyes were warm as she glanced up at him, but she just shook her head, not saying anything else until they were in his house. “I’m gonna go wash my face, get this ruined makeup off. No matter what you say, I know it’s running like crazy right now.”

Before he could reply, she was making her way up the stairs. Yeah, her makeup had been runny, streaks of mascara down her cheeks and some of her freckles showing through. But he’d been telling the truth. She had looked beautiful. She always did.

Toeing his boots off, he walked to the couch and plopped down with a heavy exhale. The ups and downs of the day straight wore him out. But major progress was made today. She went to dinner with him and was completely at ease. And on the way home, she actually took his hand. All on her own, which was so huge. And then she turned to his arms when she needed comfort.

And for the first time, he felt like this could actually work. He might actually be able to talk her into staying here.

We can, and we will.

He snorted at his tiger. He was way too confident about the situation, but some of it was seeping into Jameson. Yeah, this could work.

Thank fuck for that.