She smiles knowingly. Living with three women definitely prepared me for hormonal emotions of a pregnant woman, and I shake my head as I remember all the emotional meltdowns I was witness to over the years from that damned thing known as the menstrual cycle.

“And you, Kale? How are you doing with all of this? Things seem to have changed since the last time we talked. For the better, of course,” she says, reminding me that I haven’t gotten a chance to tell her about the recent developments between Lucy and me.

I let out a slow breath and lean on the counter with my elbows, watching as she begins to prepare a salad. “Things are good. I’m good. Hell, I’m great even. My initial fears turned out to be unwarranted, and looking back, I should’ve known it was irrational, but well, you understand.”

She stops chopping the lettuce and gives me a sympathetic smile. “Kale, it wasn’t irrational. It was a natural reaction that someone like you would have. But I will say¸ I’m so glad they ended up being just fears. I’m not sure how you would’ve handled anything differently.”

I close my eyes, not wanting to even think about a reality where Lucy decided she didn’t want the baby. Shaking my head, I push the thoughts away. “I don’t want to think about that. All that matters is the woman I care about more than anything in the world is carrying my child, and in less than eight months, I’m going to be a father. That’s all I want to focus on.”

Mom nods in understanding but doesn’t drop the subject. “Have you talked to her about it? I mean, does she know?”

Curling my hands into fists, I shake my head and am immediately greeted by Mom’s disappointed look. “This is a happy time for us. We’ve only been together officially for a short time, and the last thing I want to do is put a dark cloud over it. There’s no reason to get into it right now. If and when the time is right, I’ll tell her, but for now, I just want her to be happy.”

“Okay, fine. I can understand that. But, Kale? You can’t keep it from her forever. And it’s going to eat at you until you finally let her all the way in. You have to trust that she’ll be able to handle it. Now that’s all I’ll say on that, but just know I’m always here if you need to talk, okay?”

I know she’s right. If Lucy and I are going to have any chance at a future, then she needs to be privy to every part of my past, even the most painful ones. The thing is that I don’t want to let Lucy into that part of my life yet. She’s my light. My sunshine. She’s the brightest part of my day, and I’m just not ready to invite her into the darkness. In fact, I’m not ready to revisit that part of my life either. I spent years locking it away. Right now all I want to do is focus on Lucy and Sprout. When the day comes that I’m ready to talk about it, I’ll figure it out, but until then, I’m pushing it out of my mind.

“I’ll deal with it eventually. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it or even hint at it.”

She huffs and gives me a glare. “You know me better than that, Kale Montgomery. I’d never meddle. That’s not my style, and I resent that you even felt the need to mention it.”

Sighing deeply, I know she’s right. “Okay, okay. My bad. I just want to make sure everything stays right between us. I’ve wanted Lucy for a very long time, and it only took me a year and a half to make her my girlfriend. Forgive me if I’m a little worried about keeping everything perfect.”

“Relationships aren’t about being perfect, honey, and the sooner you realize that, the better. It’s about love, trust, honor, and respect. Master those things and you won’t have to worry about perfect. Plus, perfect’s boring. Some of the most fun can be when you’re arguing as a couple. How do you think the twins were conceived?”

I bring my hands to my ears and cover them as I start to walk out of the room. “I’m going to pretend you did not just say that.”

She’s laughing and yells after me. “You’ll understand one day, and then you’ll be thanking me!”

Shaking my head, I slip outside and down to the beach, settling in the sand as I try to get away from the demons that are threatening to surface. Somehow I’m able to get lost in the sounds of the waves crashing, but I can still feel them in the back of my mind, banging on the closed door, begging to get free. I turn my thoughts to Sprout and imagine him being here, playing in the sand, making his first castle, getting his first experience in the water, and those thoughts beat the demons back until they’re nothing but a tiny whisper drowned out by the sounds of the ocean.

“HEY, YOU,” I hear from behind me, and I turn to see Lucy heading towards me.

She looks refreshed from her nap, and I’m grateful that she had a chance to rest. When she reaches me, she holds out her hand to help me up, but I pull her down to me instead, causing her to land in my lap. I wrap my arms around her waist and nuzzle against her neck, basking in the warmth of her.

“Hey yourself,” I whisper against her skin as I place slow kisses along her throat.

She shivers in my arms, and I reposition her so she’s cradled in my arms and looking up at me. For a moment, we’re searching each other’s eyes, and I wonder if she can read me, if she can tell I’m fighting like hell to keep my emotions from rising to the surface and bubbling over.

As if she can read my mind, her small hand comes up and caresses my cheek. “You okay?” she asks quietly, almost as if she doesn’t want to know the answer.

My mind is screaming at me to let it all out, once and for all, but some part of me just isn’t ready, and I don’t think she is either. I steel my nerves and finally do one last push to forget everything Mom’s talk brought to my mind. I’m here with Lucy, and I’m going to make the most of it and not let my own issues mess with the weekend.

Leaning down, I cover her mouth with mine, kissing her senseless, and she returns the favor. She’s the antidote to my plaguing thoughts, and I can’t get enough. Finally, she pulls away, breathless and panting with pink cheeks and desire in her eyes.

“If you keep that up, we’ll be putting on a show, and while your mom may be a free spirit, I highly doubt she wants to see you naked on the beach with me mounting you like a cat in heat.”

And just like that, all is right in my world again.

Laughing, I stand up and set her on her feet. “Yeah, that’s a visual for my eyes only. I might be into some things, but exhibitionism isn’t one of them, especially right outside my mom’s house.”

She cuddles up into me as we watch the waves crash against the shore. “You seemed lost in thought when I came down here. Are you okay?” she asks again.

Slipping an arm around her waist, I bend down and give her a kiss on the top of her head. “I am now,” I answer as honestly as I can—at least for now.

“Good. I woke up and you were gone. I hate waking up without you, you know?” she says, and I immediately take advantage of the situation.

“I know one way to make sure that never happens again. Or well, rarely happens,” I tease her, and she gives me a mocking glare. “Seriously, baby. I know you think it’s too soon, but we’ve been having sleepovers for a long-ass time. You moving in will change nothing aside from us no longer having to draw straws to decide whose place to stay at.”

She’s about to protest, but I cut her off. “And just think. You won’t have to worry about cooking or cleaning. I’ll do all that stuff for you so you can just relax and keep your energy up for you and Sprout. Not to mention I give a pretty mean massage. And then there’s the whole hormonal thing. I read that women get super horny when pregnant, and I promise that if you move in, I’ll be at your sexual beck and call. Whenever you want me, you got me.”

She giggles at the last little bit and just shakes her head. “Well how the hell am I supposed say no to an offer like that?” Lucy turns her head to look up at me and then stretch on her tiptoes to place a kiss on my lips. “Don’t worry, Montgomery. It’s only been a couple of weeks and you’re already wearing me down. Anyways, we can discuss that later. Your mom sent me out here to get you. She said dinner’s just about ready. Can I just say that I’ve never had Tofurky but I promise to be open minded about it? I had no idea she took this stuff so seriously. If it sucks, I’ll choke it down, but then later on tonight, you better find the nearest Whataburger so I can feed myself some real meat.”