eyes and gazed morosely at her large belly. Of course Jadon hadn’t been interested, why would he? She was the size of a house!
Before she could wallow too deep in her pool of self-pity, Jadon and Simon returned with the first load of stuff from her apartment. Jadon hauled in the mattress from outside, laughing and shaking snowflakes off his dark hair as he entered the house. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him, especially the way his muscles flexed as he maneuvered the mattress down the hallway to the spare bedroom he’d already cleared out for her.
So far, Jadon certainly didn’t look as if he minded the extra work. Or that he was regretting asking her to stay. Did he really want to talk about the possibility of a future? And could she trust him if he did? How could she know if Jadon would really stick around for the long haul? Especially with the stress of raising not just one baby but two?
“Hi, Alyssa,” Simon greeted her, coming in behind Jadon, lugging a large suitcase she hoped was full of her maternity clothes. She felt like a lost waif in Jadon’s sweats. “How are you and the babies feeling?”
“We’re fine,” she said with a smile. Simon was a nice guy—in fact, they’d gone out on a couple of dates prior to her meeting Jadon, but there just hadn’t been any spark. She was glad they’d been able to remain friends. “Thanks for moving all my stuff.”
“No problem. I think it’s very good that you’re staying here with Jadon,” Simon said in a serious tone. “You shouldn’t be alone, not with all the complications you’ve had.”
“I only had complications because I was silly enough to fall into Lake Michigan,” she protested. “Not because of my pregnancy in general.”
“It wasn’t silly to save Ben’s life,” Jadon said, walking back through the living room.
“No, but I should have been able to get Ben out of the water without falling in.” She wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t factor in how much larger and lower my center of gravity is.”
“All that matters is that you’re both safe,” Simon said.
“Come on, Simon.” Jadon clapped him on the shoulder. “Help me carry her bed frame inside.”
“How did you get all this stuff over here?” Alyssa asked with a puzzled frown.
“Jadon rented a truck,” Simon answered over his shoulder. “And a good thing because the four-wheel drive sure helped us get up that hill on your street.”
She vaguely remembered Jadon saying something about the slippery, snow-covered hill on the street leading to her apartment. It was one of the reasons she’d ended up here with him in the first place. She didn’t ask any more questions until they had everything moved in.
Including her small, lopsided Christmas tree.
“I can’t believe you brought it along,” she murmured as Jadon set it up in the corner of the living room, directly in her line of vision from her position on the sofa. Simon had left a few minutes previously, to return the rented truck.
He rocked back on his heels, flashing her a quizzical, sideways glance. “Well, I couldn’t just leave it there in your apartment, the poor thing looked lonely enough as it was. And since I didn’t have any Christmas decorations up of my own, I figured this would cheer you up better than nothing.”
“Thanks, Jadon.” She was foolishly touched by his consideration. “I’ve been really looking forward to Christmas this year.”
“Yeah?” His smile was infectious.
“Yeah. So, uh, do you have to work tonight?”
“No, I’m off the next two nights.” He spent more time making adjustments to the tree, until he finally stood and put his hands on his hips in disgust. “I swear I’ve done everything to straighten this tree. Nothing works. It’s still crooked.”
Her lips twitched at his vexed tone. She lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “I kind of like it that way.”
He rolled his eyes. “Figures. Okay, I give up, then. The tree is up, and Simon helped me put your bed back together, so all we need to do is unpack your clothes. Do you want me to do that for you?”
“Ah, no,” she said hastily. It was bad enough that her maternity clothes probably looked like giant tents, she didn’t need him going through stuff any more than he already had. “I can do it.”
“But you’re supposed to be resting.”
She took her feet off the table and struggled to her feet. “I’ve been doing nothing but resting.” And despite the fact she’d already been up to the bathroom several times, she needed to go again. She paused long enough to put a hand on Jadon’s arm. “Thanks, Jadon. I mean it. I appreciate how you went out of your way to bring everything over here.”
“Hey, having you move in was my idea, remember?” he joked. But he placed his hand over hers, squeezing it gently. “Everything will be fine.”
She wished, really wished that were true. If only he’d see her as a woman, and not as a burden to care for.
Jadon couldn’t sleep. Across the hall he could hear Alyssa’s bed frame creaking as she tossed and turned, and figured she wasn’t getting much rest either. For long moments he stared at the ceiling, fighting the urge to check on her. She’d claimed he was hovering too much, and he supposed she was right.
He couldn’t help it. The very idea of Alyssa delivering the twins early sent him into panic mode.
She’d be fine. The twins would be fine. He couldn’t control her labor. He had to lighten up a bit.
He jerked upright when Alyssa cried out. In alarm, he leaped out of bed and dashed into her room.
She was moaning, thrashing in the covers, obviously caught in the throes of a bad dream.
“Alyssa,” he whispered, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. “Wake up. It’s only a dream.”
He had to repeat himself several times before his low voice penetrated her subconscious.
“What?” She blinked at him through the darkness. “Jadon?”
“I think you were having a bad dream,” he told her, sitting on the edge of her bed, wearing only his boxers. “Are you okay?”
She stared at him for several heartbeats and then slowly nodded. “It was a bad dream. Some guy was chasing me and being pregnant I couldn’t run fast enough to get away from him. For some reason he wanted to hurt my babies. When he grabbed me I thought I was going to die. Sorry if I woke you.”
“You didn’t wake me. I wasn’t sleeping.” He was glad he’d come in. What an awful dream. “Do you want me to get you something?”
“No.” She pushed up and propped herself on her elbows. “But now that I’m awake I need to go to the bathroom.”
He chuckled and held out his hand. She took his hand, using his strength to lever herself out of bed.
“Thanks,”
