CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next day was actually pretty nice, all things considered. The weather was warm(ish), the scenes being reshot weren’t painful to experience, and Sloane wasn’t screaming. Maybe it was because the director was far more focused on the actors and the choreography of the fight scene to really focus on his nemesis Annie, but overall, she had a good day. There were no complaints, and when things wrapped up that night, Dustin was waiting to drive her home, and he’d even brought her donuts since she’d mentioned them that morning. She knew she was taking him away from his work on the ranch, but he said not to worry about it, so she wouldn’t.
That evening, they had a wonderful dinner with the rest of the ranch crew in the big, rustic kitchen. Eli had made chicken and dumplings (since Cass was still figuring out cooking despite being the “cook” at the ranch), and it was delicious. The company was so much fun—as an introvert, she wasn’t really all that sure how she’d handle staying at the ranch when so many others lived there, but she could tell already that Cass was going to be a friend. Eli was silent but clearly doting on his wife, and Old Clyde and Jordy were a hilarious pair. They had her giggling into her spoon as Old Clyde shared the story of the first time Jordy had to help deliver a calf, and she swore her entire body ached by the time he was done. Dustin had rubbed her back and grinned at her pleasure, as if he liked her quiet inclusion into the group.
Dustin. She knew she should have been more open, more affectionate. It was clear he was trying to establish with the others that he was with her, and she loved it. But she was also scared. She’d hated him for eight months, and it was hard to get past the feelings of betrayal even if he was awesome now. He’d been wonderful for a few days, but she needed longer to trust again.
It also didn’t help that while he held her hand and touched her back and shoulder repeatedly, he never made a move to kiss her, really kiss her. It made her wonder if everything was just for show. Did he want to be part of the baby’s life and that was why he was pretend-romancing her? Or had his feelings cooled off in the months they were apart and now he didn’t know how to extricate himself? She wished he’d just tell her.
Or kiss the hell out of her.
Either one would be good, really.
She didn’t sleep so well that night despite being exhausted. Her dreams were full of Dustin, but every time she reached for him, he faded into the distance and all she grasped was smoke. She chased him through the rolling fog, but when she finally got to him, he had his arms around Theresa.
That didn’t make her feel better. She woke up cranky at the world.
Day three of the shoot was a foul one, and Annie was tense as they shot a scene involving Spidey and one of the horses. It was supposed to look like the two were communicating so dialogue could be dubbed in later, but the horse kept flicking his head and prancing, and the scene had to be shot several times before one take was good enough. The entire time, Sloane kept shooting Annie irritated looks as if she was causing the problems, which just made her mood even worse.
On top of this, Dustin was solicitous and kind and funny, and basically the perfect boyfriend.
That was partially why she was so frustrated—he was utter perfection and she’d been the jerk that separated them. She wished, just a little, that he wasn’t as perfect as he seemed. That he had flaws. That he’d show a flash of short temper and she could say “Aha!” and then disappear back to California because that would be so much easier than figuring out what she wanted.
That evening, she showered and considered shaving her legs. Granted, she couldn’t really reach them, but maybe if she flashed him a bit of naked, sexy leg he might jump on her and passionately kiss her until she spontaneously combusted. Or something. Anything would be preferable to the neutral friendship that seemed to be setting the pace right now. Not that there was anything wrong with friendship.
She just seemed to be one of those needy pregnant ladies that were constantly turned on. It wasn’t a problem until she was around him.
Now all Annie thought about was sex. She thought about it when he gave her a quick peck goodbye in the morning. She thought about it in the shower when she got home from a day of reshoots. She thought about it during dinner when he put his hand on her knee as if they were an old married couple. She thought about it when Eli and Cass gave each other sweet looks throughout the evening. She thought about it when she climbed into their completely chaste bed for another night of sleep and nothing more.
So yeah, she was considering shaving everything in the hopes of enticing him into making a move of some kind.
Something.
Anything.
But when she picked up the razor and tried to angle a way to run it along her leg without falling over, she realized how futile it was. There was no shaving anything this pregnant. With a sigh, she turned off the water and tugged a towel most of the way around her body, her belly sticking out from the soft terry cloth. She studied her reflection in the mirror. Her lips were a bit fuller due to the pregnancy, and her face was a little puffy from the extra weight she was carrying. Her breasts were definitely bigger (and some days downright uncomfortable) but her belly was the most noticeable part. It was enormous, with stretch marks along the lower curve no matter how much she lotioned the bulge of it. It was silly to compare pregnancy bellies with another woman, but Annie had definitely noticed that Cass was a daintier pregnant than she was, and that sucked.
Cass probably had sex, darn her. She and Eli probably had pregnant sex all the time, and the thought made Annie wistful. She brushed her teeth and flossed, lotioned up her belly, and then slipped on her nightgown. Then, she stared at her nightgown. Maybe it was the problem. Maternity wear wasn’t exactly the sexiest gear. Her nightgown was sleeveless pink-and-white floral and hung like a sack off her body. All right, that probably isn’t helping in the sexiness department. Frowning to herself, she left the bathroom and headed for her suitcase, picking through her clothing.
“Something wrong?” Dustin asked as she emerged. He was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, tugging his boots off and looking just as deliciously sexy as ever, damn the man.
If he could fling her down on the darn bed and kiss the heck out of her, that would be great. Damn him for looking so mouthwateringly delicious. She tore through her suitcase with new enthusiasm. Surely there had to be something even halfway sexy—well, sexy-ish—in here that she could sleep in? He put his arms around her and slept against her every night, but she needed something to entice him into nibbling on her neck.
Of course, just thinking about neck nibbles made her entire body flush with need. Biting back a moan of frustration, Annie pulled out an old T-shirt and then discarded it. A bra and panty set? No, the ones she’d bought were hideously functional and not much else. Shoot. This was tricky.
“Annie?”
“I’m uh, looking for something.” Something slinky . . . which didn’t exist, apparently. “Never mind.”
“Can I help?”
Her cheeks flushed bright red as a thousand filthy thoughts sprang to mind. “Nope! I’m good. You can go shower.”
Dustin gave her another puzzled look before heading off to the attached bathroom and shutting the door behind him. When the shower spray started, she lay back on the bed and sighed in frustration, staring up at the ceiling. She was just a mess. Why had no one told her that being pregnant would also mean that she would be constantly turned on while feeling incredibly unsexy? Life was so unfair.
The baby turned in her stomach, and she rubbed the bulge. “Sorry, baby. You’re wonderful. It’s just my hormones that are making me crazy.”
Really, all he had to give her was a sign. Just one tiny sign that he found her appealing still and she’d be all over him like green on grass.
Of course, she could make the leap herself. She could snag him by the collar of his shirt and haul him against her for one of those delicious, tongue-tangling kisses like they used to share . . . but she needed him to be the one to make the first move. She already felt wildly vulnerable. He was so perfect and she was the heavily pregnant woman who’d thought he was the devil for the last eight months and had nearly cut him out of the baby’s life.
So yeah, “vulnerable” was a good word for it.
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice that Dustin was done with his shower until the door opened and he stepped out in nothing but a towel. “Oh.” Annie propped up on her elbows, startled at the sight of him nearly naked. His tanned skin was glistening with droplets of water and how had she never noticed those two dimples at the base of his spine? Gosh, she wanted to lick them . . . among other things.
“Sorry . . . is this uncomfortable for you?” He froze, glancing over at her. “I figured since we’d both seen each other naked . . .”
“It’s fine. I was just surprised, that’s all.” Tearing her gaze away, Annie pretended to fluff her pillow and then lay on her side. Left side, always, because pregnancy had all kinds of rules about how you could and couldn’t lie down. It was just another one of those things that made her feel like a balloon ready to pop, and the fact that Dustin seemed to only like her in a platonic way now was just the icing on the cake.
Just one real kiss. That was all she asked. One kiss that would show her nothing had changed between them.
Dustin turned off the light and she heard the sound of rustling fabric as he pulled on some clothes. He got into bed next to her, and then tucked his long body along her back, spooning her against him. “Night.”
Annie scowled into the darkness.
Hormones thwarted once more. She bit back a sigh, reminding herself that despite having sex, despite being seven months pregnant with his child, they were still strangers. They didn’t know each other as well as most couples did, so of course there’d be miscommunications and missed signals. It happened. If she wanted something, she should just say it.
But she’d always been a shy, private person. To open her mouth and demand that a sexy man kiss her . . . it wasn’t something she could do. What if he just wanted sex for the sake of sex and she mistook that for love? It would break her all over again.
Better to just take things slow and hope he’d realize he wanted her as desperately as she wanted him.
The baby kicked in her stomach, as if agreeing with that sensible thought.
She felt Dustin’s big body twitch in response. “Was that . . .”
“The baby? Yes.” Then, she couldn’t stop the giggle that threatened. “What else would it be?”
“I don’t know.” Annie could hear the amusement in his voice. “Bad gas?”
“Gee, thanks. No, it’s the baby. He—or she—tosses and turns all day long. You want to feel?” It occurred to her that he hadn’t really asked to touch her stomach. Oh sure, he’d brushed against it at the bar, but he hadn’t experienced what it was like to feel the baby moving and wriggling inside her. “He’s a real gymnast.”
“Do you mind?” His arm slid around her, moving lower and his hand splayed over her belly, just above her navel.
“Of course not.” She even hitched up her ugly, unattractive nightgown and pressed his big hand to her bare skin so he could experience it as closely as possible. They waited. For a long moment, she wondered if the baby was going to calm himself and make a liar out of her, but after a few seconds, he began to do his usual flipping and kicking, as if protesting bedtime.
“Holy smokes,” Dustin murmured, awe in his tone. His breath fanned hot against her shoulder and a moment later, his chin rested against her arm, and she loved his response. “He’s really moving. She’s really moving. Whichever. You don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl?”
“Oh, my doctor knows. I asked him not to tell me. I want to be surprised.” She rubbed the lower curve of her belly. “Sometimes I think it’s a boy, though. I’m carrying low, which all the old wives’ tales say is a boy, but beyond that, it feels like a boy to me. Just a hunch I have.”
“A boy,” he murmured, and his fingers lightly rubbed her skin, sending little jolts through her body. “That’s amazing. I’d be happy with a girl, too.”
“Same. I’m just ready for him or her to show up.”
“You pick out a name?”
She bit her lip. “I was thinking something gender neutral, so it wouldn’t matter what the sex is. I like Morgan and Lee and Dakota. I guess I should have checked with you first, though.”
“You didn’t know,” he said easily, and chuckled when the baby turned in her stomach again. “I like all of those names. You have good taste.”
Funny how hearing that would make her glow with pleasure just five short minutes after she’d been wondering if he wasn’t attracted to her anymore. She supposed if he was a good dad, she couldn’t ask for more.
Could she?
He felt the baby move for a bit longer, then slipped his hand away. “I should let you sleep.”
She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t all that tired, that she wanted him to keep touching her, to caress her and kiss her and tell her that he still found her beautiful, that nothing had changed from that kiss-filled week back in the spring.
But all she said was, “Good night.”
All right, people, that’s a wrap.” Sloane waved a finger in the air, indicating that they were done.
People cheered. Some clapped. Annie yawned. Not that she wasn’t grateful for the movie to be done, more or less, but the baby made her sleepy in the afternoons, and today was surprisingly warm for Wyoming in the fall, and with the sun shining down on them, it made her think of naps more than anything.
At her side, Katherine elbowed her, clapping. “Show a little enthusiasm, the boss is looking this way.”
Annie clapped excitedly at that, and she beamed at Sloane as he looked in their direction. She didn’t miss Katherine’s little snort of amusement. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Yeah, well, you’re already in the dog house, no pun intended. Didn’t want you to make things worse for yourself.”
“It’s the baby,” Annie admitted, glancing over at her friend. “That and I haven’t been sleeping so well.”
“Only nine hours a night?” Katherine teased, bending down to pick up a stray piece of equipment. “Your ability to sleep through anything is legendary.”
“I found something that causes me to stay awake,” Annie said. “A big cowboy sleeping next to me.”
“Oooh, spill.”
Around them, people were packing up. Annie began to stuff Spidey’s toys into her bag. “Not much to tell. We share his bed and he sleeps and I don’t.”
“That’s . . . boring.”
“Isn’t it?” She grimaced. “I mean, we’re getting along. That’s wonderful. I really like him and he says he wants to be in the baby’s life. He says he wants me to stay for a while longer so we can get to know each other.”
“Are you?” Katherine looked curious.
Annie sighed, wiping down a slobbered-on Kong bone with a cloth. Spidey immediately ran to her side, thinking they were going to play, and she handed it down to him, instead. “I don’t know. I like the ranch and no one has made me feel unwelcome.”
“But?”
“But . . .” She licked her lips, thinking. “So when we first got together, Katherine, we kissed all the damn time. Every time we saw each other, it was instant attraction. It was like we couldn’t stay apart from one another.”
“Ah. And now you’re fat and pregnant and he’s not kissing you?”
“Ouch.” Annie gave her friend a hurt look. “You go right for the jugular.”
“Sorry. I mean, you’re not really fat. You’re Hollywood fat. That’s like what, a size four?” She winked at Annie. “Besides, all of your fat is around the middle with that baby. What I should have said if I had a polite bone in my body was that you look different now and because of that, he won’t touch you, right?”
“Right.” Annie sighed again, gazing down at Spidey. The Boston made happy little grunts, chewing on the end of his favorite toy as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I know it’s small in the scheme of things, but I wish he’d give me a kiss like he did before to show me that he still likes me. That he’s not just tolerating me to get near the baby.”
Katherine frowned at her then said sarcastically, “Yeah, because guys are totally more into babies than boobies. That sounds like a dude thing.”
“Oh, be quiet.”
“Look, I’m just saying, if you want him to kiss you like he did before, you have to remind him that pregnant women have needs, too. Maybe he doesn’t want to push you into anything because you’re tired all the time.” She shrugged. “Guys are guys. I’m not entirely sure that they don’t think pregnant women are aliens. My sister Laila? Her husband kept saying he didn’t want kids. When she got pregnant, he was devastated. Turns out the dumbass thought that it meant no sex until she stopped breast-feeding.” She rolled her eyes. “Men can be dumb. Tell him you need to get laid.”
Annie’s cheeks grew hot as she zipped up the bag, focusing on it. “I can’t say that!”
“Why not? You have needs. Just because you have a baby in your uterus doesn’t mean you’re dead. You want your friend to send him an anonymous text message? Give me his phone number and I’ll do it.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll talk to him tonight.” It couldn’t hurt, after all. They needed to get everything out in the open. If Dustin wasn’t interested in her anymore, she wouldn’t blame him . . . but she also wouldn’t be sticking around for her heart to get broken, either.
She’d go back to LA and lick her wounds. Again.