Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
All because of my soon to be husband.
“Do you want me to paint your toes?” Brittany asked.
I looked down at my toes. Or I would’ve if I could have seen them, that is.
“Do they need painting?” I questioned her.
Brittany snorted. “No, of course not.”
I shot her a sideways glare as we walked up the never ending steps.
Okay, maybe there were only eight, but I was carrying around a wide load now-a-days. Eight steps was a lot.
I’d really packed on the weight in the last three months. I’d gained nearly forty five pounds.
Although Loki said he didn’t care, I knew the truth.
He thought my ass was fat.
“You gonna make it?” Brittany asked worriedly.
I looked at her, and continued up the last two steps.
“Yeah,” I huffed.
She held the door open for me, and we walked into the blessedly warm building. “Jesus, why’s it so hot in here?” Brittany whined.
“Because you’re going through menopause,” I suggested with a raised eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Take that back.”
I ignored her and kept walking.
“Are you sure I should be bringing these up here? I feel like I’m holding a porn magazine in full view of the entire police station,” I said nervously.
The cookies in my hands felt like they weighed a ton, but they were nothing compared to the manila envelope holding my photos from the maternity shoot Brittany had forced me to do.
“Yes, I’m sure. It’ll be okay. I called Cabe when I pulled up. He said Loki’s been in his office all day making calls about the case he’s on,” she whispered loudly.
Why she even bothered to whisper at all was beyond me. She’d done it so loudly that she had made every head in the entire room turn towards us.
How was that possible in the busiest part of the station?
Mainly, it was because they were all a bunch of busy bodies.
Their gossip was worse than women drunk on Wine Wednesday.
Not that I’d gotten to participate in Wine Wednesday.
Being pregnant really was a drag sometimes.
“Hey, baby,” a deep male’s voice said from behind us.
I didn’t wait while Brittany stopped to speak with her husband.
“Those for me?” Trance asked.
“No,” I answered and kept walking. “They’d be for you if you weren’t so mean.”
Trance’s eyes warmed.
He sure was a cutie. Sometimes I was jealous of Viddy.
I only got to see Loki in uniform once a month, and that was for the mandatory department meetings with the Chief of Police, the Mayor, and the detectives to discuss their cases.
He stripped out of the uniform the moment he left the Mayor’s office.
“Hey,” Trance said as he snatched the cookies from me. “It wasn’t my fault. Viddy made me sleep on the couch for that, too. But he had it coming. I swear.”
Trance’s grin was contagious. “Oh, yeah? How about you just show me what you got, and then I might forgive you.”
He stared at me for long moments before he unbuttoned his long sleeved shirt, rolled it up until his upper forearm was exposed, and showed it to me.
I blinked at what I saw.
Then I started laughing before I walked away.
“Oh, shit,” I giggled.
“Can I have some cookies now?” He yelled at my retreating back.
“Sure,” I agreed quickly. After seeing that tattoo, he deserved the cookies.
I’d been holding a grudge against Trance for nearly a week.
A week and a day ago, Trance and the boys had taken Loki out for his bachelor party, while the old ladies, and quite a few of the police and fire wives, came out for a baby shower and housewarming party, at our new house.
Loki and I had been gifted with so many presents that we’d had to move the party outside.
We’d moved completely into our new house only the weekend before the bachelor party, and this was the first time for all the ladies to see the house with all the furnishings in place.
Loki had found a nice little place in the middle of nowhere that was only a few short miles away from town.
While we’d been busy opening presents, Trance and the boys had gotten Loki drunk.
He’d showed up at home drunker than hell, and sporting a new, hideously ridiculous tattoo.
At least it was covered easily.
Trance’s tattoo would be seen by anyone once his sleeves were gone. The fucker deserved it, though. I still couldn’t believe he’d dared Loki to get a tattoo. Especially that one.
Loki’s door to his office was partially open, so I walked right in without knocking.
I was startled to find him with someone, though.
Detective Eurie Lauder was sitting on the side of his desk wearing her short business skirt that showed off her beautiful legs.
Loki wasn’t paying the least bit of attention, though.
He was on the phone staring out the window.
Eurie and I had a hate-hate relationship.
I hated her, and she hated me. We both knew that. We both acknowledged that. However, we kept things civil because Loki didn’t need the added problem of having to worry about his current lover and his ex-lover getting into catfights anytime we were in the same vicinity.
I knew as soon as I met her that she was in love with Loki.
He didn’t know, though, and I planned on keeping it that way.
“Eurie,” I said nodding my head at her.
She smiled tightly at me. “Channing. How’s the baby doing?”
I looked down at my stomach, pressing my hand against the little elbow that was poking out of my skin. “Bryce Junior is doing well. He’s very energetic today. Do you mind giving Loki and me some time alone, please?”
She grimaced. “Sure,” she said and stood.
She didn’t look back and I was grateful.
It was time for her to move on. My man was very taken.
I knew he had eyes only for me.
Which he proved over and over again.
He was mine, and I was most assuredly his.
“Hey, baby. How are you doing?” Loki asked as he hung up the phone on his desk.
I smiled. “I’m good. I, uh, brought you some pictures. Brittany made me.”
His eyebrow quirked as he walked around his desk, threw the door closed beside me, and pressed his big body against my own.