Page 35 of Red King (The Dragon Tributes #7)

35

P aisley

Five days later…

I’m still smiling from ear to ear when I take my clothing out of the closet and toss it on the bed. I can’t wait to tell Becs. I can’t!

Actually, she’s not going to be happy at all. No, she will. She has to be happy for me. I brush my still-wet hair. Put on some deodorant.

Rushing because I want to catch Becs before she heads for work, I slip on my underwear. Then I pull up my jeans…and I can’t get the clasp closed. I pull and yank and fail.

“What the…?” I mutter as I walk to the full-length mirror, which is on one of the doors of the closet.

Did I wash my clothing in a hot cycle? Did I shrink my favorite jeans?

“That’s it,” I mutter as I catch myself in the mirror. “I’m going on a diet.”

I’ve been lazing around and eating unhealthy, fatty foods. No wonder I’m looking chunky. My breasts look bigger, too. I touch them, and they’re a little tender.

“Great,” I mumble. I get my period once a year, if that, and it looks like once a year is right now. It does account for some of the bloating. I’ll blame the hormones instead of Reese’s Cups and pizza.

Yep, great idea, let me do that.

After taking the jeans off, I grab a pair of leggings and pull those on instead. Much better. Then I throw on the shirt and leave my bedroom.

“You look gorgeous, as always,” I tell Becs, who is dressed in a business suit and nibbling on a piece of toast. A steaming mug of ginger tea sits next to her plate. “Just butter?” I look at the bread in her hand.

“It would seem that my morning sickness has reached new heights. And I don’t know why they call it that, since I have it all day long.” She looks miserable.

I wrinkle my nose. “You poor thing. I don’t envy you one bit.”

We look each other in the eye for a few charged seconds because that isn’t true at all.

I shrug. “You know what I mean.”

“I know.”

“Low blood sugar makes morning sickness worse. You should put a cookie or a cracker next to your bed with a glass of water. Eat the cookie before you get up in the morning. It might help with the nausea.”

“I’ll try it. Thanks for—”

“Morning, ladies,” Dave says as he walks in from their bedroom. “Did you sleep well?” he asks me.

“Yep, I did. Lately, I’ve been sleeping like the dead, which is weird because I don’t do very much during the day to warrant it.”

“Stop saying that. You keep the house clean. Cook all the meals and do the laundry. You take those naughty pups out for walks all the time. They’ve actually lost weight since you got here.”

“They’re lucky,” I mutter. “I’m the one taking them for walks, and I’ve gained weight. My jeans wouldn’t close this morning, hence the tights.” I look down.

“Join the club,” Becs groans. “I’m going to have to start buying maternity wear soon.”

“At least you have an excuse. You’re growing a whole baby. The only excuse I have is being lazy and all the junk food I’ve been eating.”

“I think that you both look great,” Dave says. He leans in and kisses Rebecca. “Especially you, my soon-to-be wife.” He kisses her again.

“Thank you, babe.” Becs smiles up at him and then wrinkles her nose. “What is that smell? Is that a new cologne?” She gives him the side-eye.

The scent hits me, too. I take a step back and widen my eyes. “Yeah, I agree. No offense, Dave, but it doesn’t suit you. Are you trying something new?”

It’s awful. I can’t believe someone formulated that and that people actually buy it. It’s too strong and makes my mouth do that weird thing where it fills with saliva. I swallow a few times.

Dave looks at us like we fell out of something’s butt. “Ummmm…no. It’s the same cologne I’ve used for years.”

“Oh…a pregnant woman’s sense of smell can change, especially in the early days,” Becs says. She laughs. “What’s your excuse?” she asks me.

“I haven’t had my morning coffee, and it’s that time of the month.” I make a face.

Dave snort-laughs. “That’s too much information, thank you.”

“Sorry.” I cackle.

“I need to go. I have an early meeting.” He kisses Rebecca. “Bye, Paisley,” he yells as he walks out the door.

“Bye,” I call after him as I pour myself a cup of coffee. I add some cream and forgo the sugar.

I need to be strong and lose this extra weight. I also need to check to see if my pencil skirt still fits me.

“I have an interview,” I tell Becs.

I take a sip of coffee and grimace because it tastes…off. I smell it.

“What’s wrong?” Becs asks.

“I think the cream might be turning.” I push the mug away. I’ll make a fresh cup in a minute. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“I’m happy for you,” she says in a deadpan voice.

“Tell me how you really feel.” I laugh.

“It’s my wedding next month. I don’t want you to go. Why don’t you live here? You can keep helping around the house. And when the baby comes—”

“The two of us will share a room, and it’ll be cozy.”

“Yes, you can share a room with the baby. It’ll be fun. Like one big campout. Or, I know, we can buy a bigger house. Yes! That’s it!”

I laugh. “You are so funny. Your house is perfect. Just right for a family of three. I have to go, my friend. I can’t stay, and you know it. Dave is being sweet and kind and so lovely, but that isn’t going to last. I’m in your space. It’s time to move on.”

Time to move on.

My mind goes straight to Arctic. His eyes, his smile, his laugh, how he looks when he’s inside me.

No!

I still think of him all the time. I picture him dating the other Tributes. I picture him kissing Hannah. I picture him whispering in her ear and —

Stop!

“I need to go, Becs. I have to move forward.” My eyes get all teary and totally out of the blue.

“Oh, Paisley.” She grabs my hand.

“I’m sorry. I still miss him,” I admit, sniffing.

“Your CEO?”

I nod. “Yep. I feel like I’m still stuck, that I won’t get over him until I’m somewhere new, meeting new people, and I need to get back to work. Don’t worry about the wedding; I’ll negotiate to start afterward.”

“Where is this new job you might get? Will get,” she grumbles. “Where would you be based?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t freak out.”

“Where?”

“In Melbourne.”

Her eyes go wide, and she sucks in a breath. “Australia? You’re kidding me. That’s on the other side of the world. We’ll be in totally different time zones.”

“I haven’t taken the job yet. I haven’t even been to the interview; I could fluff it.”

“You won’t!” She gives me a dirty look from over her mug. She takes a sip. “You’ll ace it. They’ll offer it to you,” she mutters. “I am happy for you.”

I laugh. “You have a weird way of showing it. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

“When is the interview?”

“I don’t know. I only just got the correspondence from them. The email was in my inbox when I woke up. There’s an online interview first. If I pass that, I have an in-person interview at their sister hospital in New York.”

“That’s exciting.” Becs smiles at me like she means it. “It’s just that I’m going to miss you, that’s all.” She sighs.

“I know that. I’ll miss you, too.” We hug awkwardly over the table.

“I’d better get going,” she tells me as we let go. “Please make moussaka again tonight. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.” She implores me with her eyes.

“Of course I can make you moussaka. I’ll go to the store and get everything we need.”

“Don’t worry about it if you have to go to the store especially.”

“No, it’s fine. I need tampons, unless you have some?” I lift my brows.

She laughs. “I’m pregnant, so no.” She shakes her head. “It’s one of the few perks of being pregnant.”

“Then I have to go to the store, anyway, so no sweat.” Of course, I would have gone, regardless. How can I deny a pregnant woman in need? I can’t.

“Yay. Since you made it last week, all I can think about is eggplant. I’m craving it.” She picks up her laptop bag and keys from the counter.

“You got it. You, my lady, shall have your moussaka tonight. I’ll make extra so that you can take some to work tomorrow.”

“You’re a godsend, Paisley.” Her heels clack on the wooden floor as she walks toward the door. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

The beagles run up to me and start bounding around. Cookie runs to the door and starts whining.

“You two will be the death of me,” I tell them. “What will you do when I leave? I haven’t even had my coffee yet.” I look at my mug, but I get a queasy feeling when I think about drinking it.

Yep, the cream must be turning.

“Okay, then.” I stand, and the dogs go wild. “I’ll take you. I could do with the exercise.”