Chase looked at Willow for confirmation, who smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. We’ll see what works once everyone gets settled.”
“Okay. We’ll see you guys later.”
Kenny took his wife’s hand and began to head to the baggage claim area. Chase gathered Willow close.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, my feet are starting to kill me.”
Chase frowned in concern. “Come on then. I don’t want you uncomfortable.”
Willow chuckled. “Newsflash Chase. I’m pregnant. The days of being comfy are long gone.”
He smiled in response, but quickly started formulating a plan to prove her wrong. Considering the fact that she was carrying their child it was the least he could do.
Chapter Twelve
Willow closed her eyes and moaned as Chase found a spot of tension and began to work on it in a way that seemed to cause her spine to melt. Even the baby she carried inside of her was more calm today. After he’d gathered up his large duffel bag they’d headed out to his truck that he’d left in military air field long term parking. He’d dropped her off at her apartment and made her promise to take a nap while he went to his place on base. He assured her he would be back in time to take her to dinner.
As he’d walked back down the stairs, she’d closed the door to her apartment and did as he’d ask without hardship. What had surprised her was how well she’d slept. Having him home made it easier for her to rest. The nap had only been a brief one and when he’d called to inform her that he was on his way to pick her up, she’d gotten up and dressed. She had just slipped her feet into her flats when Chase knocked on the door.
Now she sat one end of her couch, full from the wonderful meal at the Mexican food restaurant and enjoying a thorough foot massage by Chase. He was currently kneading the arch of her foot providing her the sort of relief she hadn’t had in a while. She was so glad she’d invited him in after he’d assisted her up the stairs to her apartment.
“Are you getting sleepy?”
Slowly, she opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. “What?”
“I don’t want to keep you up too late.”
“You’re not,” she responded, then yawned.
He chuckled and released her foot. “I’m going to go now. You need your rest.”
Everything in her tensed up undoing all of the work he’d just accomplished. “I don’t want you to go. You just got here.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I won’t be shipped out for several months to come.”
She shook her head. “I mean, I don’t want you to leave tonight.”
He opened his mouth as if to insist upon leaving, but no sound came out. Finally he gave a brief nod. “Okay. I’ll spend the night, but you are going to bed. You’re exhausted. I can tell.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there.”
He rose to his feet, then turned to assist her to hers. “You go get ready for bed while I make sure everything is secure.”
Willow made her way down the hallway to her bedroom. She grabbed a nightgown out of the drawer then went into the bathroom. Pregnancy had changed her body in ways she still wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with. The last thing she wanted to do was bare it to Chase. While he seemed to be enamored by her changing shape, she didn’t want to push it. She changed as quickly as she could then brushed her teeth. Before she left the bathroom she pulled out a spare toothbrush and placed it on the counter.
She opened the door to walk out and froze in mid-step. A shirtless Chase stood with his back to her. She watched the muscles in his back ripple as he undid the buckle on his belt. When he shoved the pants over his hips a surge of hormones so strong swept through her that she had to lean against the doorjamb to remain upright.
Forcing herself to get it together, she straightened and continued into the room. When he heard her footsteps, he looked over his shoulder. The expression that appeared on his face made her hesitate again. If she weren’t mistaken, it was desire, but he turned back before she could fully decipher it.
“I left an extra toothbrush on the counter for you.”
“Thank you,” he replied as he folded up his clothes and placed them neatly on the trunk at the foot of her bed.
As he disappeared into the bathroom, she slipped beneath the covers and turned out the lamp on her side. She closed her eyes and did her best to relax again. When she’d invited him to spend the night, all she’d been thinking about was she didn’t want him to not be within arms reach. She realized now she might have bitten off more than she could chew.
While things were good between her and Chase, she wasn’t ready to resume an intimate relationship with him yet. She wanted to be sure that the connection they’d built while he’d been in Afghanistan wasn’t a fluke.
She was pulled from her thoughts as the bathroom door opened. As much as she wanted to open her eyes, she kept them closed. A few moments later Chase crawled into bed beside her. She opened her eyes, the instant the light clicked off.
She lost track of how long they lay there in silence before Chase shifted toward her.
“Willow?”
“Yes?” she replied after a few heartbeats.
“Are you comfortable?”
She decided to be honest. “No. I usually sleep on my right side, but I didn’t want to crowd you.”
“You wouldn’t be,” he stated without hesitation. “Come here.”
She turned over to face him, slightly shocked when he pulled her so close that her head rested on his chest. A gasp escaped her when he rested his palm on her stomach. When he went to remove it, she stopped him.
“Wait. You didn’t hurt me. The baby just reacted to your touch.”
“Really? I didn’t feel it.”
She nodded. “I just started feeling movement the past couple of weeks. Dr. Mayer says it’s normal. Took me a little while to figure out what it was though.”
Chase rubbed her stomach as if trying to feel it for himself, but the baby had settled. “Are you excited about the appointment on Monday?”
“Yes, but not for the reason you probably think. I’m excited to finally share something with you here.”
“I’m sorry that I missed out on so many of the important things.”
Willow smiled in the darkness. “It doesn’t matter. You’re here now.”
“Yes I am. I’m not going anywhere.”
Willow stifled a sigh. She had him to herself for two weeks before he had to report back to base. She planned to take full advantage of it. Unfortunately, there was something coming up next weekend that had her more than nervous.
“Do you really think your parent’s are going to like me?”
He reached for her hand and brought it up to his mouth, placing a kiss on it. “No, they are going to love you. You are a wonderful person. They’ll have no reason not to like you. Plus you are going to make them grandparents. I’m pretty sure my mother is going to have a pedestal in the trunk of the car to pull out and put you on once she arrives.”
She laughed. “Surely she won’t.”
“You just wait and see. What about your parents?”
“They are looking forward to meeting you as well. Like your parents, mine are excited about a new addition to the family.”
A few moments of silence passed between them before he spoke again. “Has this made you rethink your stance on trying to find your birth mother?”
“I honestly hadn’t thought about it. I’ve been too nervous worrying about you and preparing myself for motherhood.”
He gathered her closer and she responded by pressing her face into the crook where his neck and shoulder met.
“That’s understandable, but you don’t have to focus on that anymore. Instead let’s think about all of time we are going to make up for. So get some rest, I plan to keep you busy tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Well, you’re all smiles today. That’s nice to see,” Dr. Mayer commented.
/> Willow laughed. “What can I say? I’m excited about today’s appointment.”
“Good.” Dr. Mayer extended a hand toward Chase. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Major Ackers. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“All good I hope, and please call me Chase.”
“Nothing but. I know Willow is thrilled to have you home. She’s put up a brave front, but I know she feels more reassured to have you here.”
Chase frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh no. Everything is going as well as we’d like it to. It’s just that as well as Willow has tried to hide it, she’s been worried about you.”
“I’ve been concerned about her as well, but I knew she was in good hands with Geneva, so that made it easier to focus on my job while I was away.”
“Speaking of Geneva, is she going to join us today?”
“No, since Chase is back, she’s taking a step back to let the two of us have our time,” Willow responded.
“In that case, let’s get started,” Dr. Mayer stated. “The last sonogram that I did showed that everything is on schedule with the baby. I approved this one at Willow’s request for you all to hear the baby’s heartbeat and to see if we can determine the sex. Now, I already know from the last results but I’m hoping I can get a clear picture today as well, for you all to take home with you today.”
For once, Willow lay back on the examination table without apprehension. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d longed to have Chase by her side. Now that he was, everything seemed to be brighter. The surge of emotions flowing through her took her aback. Over the past few months, she’d started to fall head-over-heels for him. But she wasn’t ready to confess that yet. Not until she was certain they were on the same page.
While something was clearly developing between them, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain it was because of his attraction to her or because she was carrying their child.
“Are you ready?”
She was pulled from her inner thoughts by Dr. Mayer’s voice.
“Yes,” Willow responded as she lifted her shirt to show her expanding stomach.
As soon as she did, Chase’s gaze was drawn to the skin she’d revealed. It dawned on her that it was the first time he’d seen her belly in person. All of the photos she’d sent him of her expanding waistline had shown her covered.
The moment was interrupted when Dr. Mayer began to spread the cold gel over her stomach.
“Okay you two, let’s take a look.”
Dr. Mayer began the rub the wand over Willow’s stomach. An image appeared on the screen and Willow gasped.
“There’s your baby. You can see an arm and a leg there,” Dr. Mayer stated before moving the wand again. “Everything is developing just the way we want it to.” She looked up at Chase. “Want to take a gander at what the two of you are having?”
He studied the screen for a moment, then chuckled as he looked down at Willow. “Sweetheart, it looks like you are giving me a son.”
Willow glanced over at Dr. Mayer who nodded her confirmation. “That’s correct. The two of you will be the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy in about thirteen to fifteen weeks.”
Tears sprang into Willow’s eyes as she stared at the screen again. Her son. Their son. The life she and Chase had created. He brushed a tear off of her cheek as it fell.
“Are you happy?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then it’s about to get better. Let me take a few photos for you then we can listen to your son’s heartbeat.”
Willow waited patiently as Dr. Mayer finished. But she was totally unprepared for the emotions that swamped her once the doctor pressed a button on the machine and the sound of her baby’s heartbeat. It was rapid and strong. She didn’t feel so bad about being such a crybaby when she looked up and spotted tears in Chase’s eyes.
After a few more minutes, Dr. Mayer shut the machine down and handed Chase a warm towel. Willow lay still as he gently removed the gel from her stomach. Once he was finished, he placed a kiss on her stomach, before pulling her shirt back down. He helped her upward into a sitting position as Dr. Mayer moved the machine to the corner.
“Okay, Willow and Chase, before I conclude the visit, do either of you have any questions for me?
“None that I can think of.” Willow responded. “Chase?”
“No, between Willow and Geneva, I think they’ve both managed to answer my questions.”
Dr. Mayer smiled. “Yes, I recall one particular appointment when Willow brought in a list of questions from you.”
A red flush appeared at the base of Chase’s neck. “Just doing my best to be an active participant even though I was miles away.”
“Well, you did an awesome job. However, speaking of distance, you’re home now and I know you and Willow will probably spend some time rekindling your relationship. Sexual intimacy is perfectly okay. Mother and baby and perfectly healthy, if that changes, I’ll be the first to let you know.”
Willow wanted to get off the examination table and crawl up underneath it. She felt Chase shift beside her, but she refused to make eye contact with him.
“Thank you, Dr. Mayer,” he finally replied. “That’s good to know.”
Willow was relieved when she and Chase finally exited the doctor’s office. Until she’d seen him half naked last night the thought of sex hadn’t crossed her mind. The past six months she’d been plagued with an array of emotions, but none of them sexual that she could recall. Now it seemed to be the only thing she could think about.
“Do you have time to grab a quick lunch, or do you need to get back to work?” Chase asked.
“I’m craving a hamburger, so let’s get something quick.”
“Then let’s go get you one,” he responded as he took her hand into his.
A short time later she sat in a booth across from him, doing her best not to scarf down the wonderful burger in front of her. Instead she forced herself to eat like the civilized human being that she was.
“You’ve been quiet since we left the doctor’s office. Is something wrong?” he asked.
Willow gave a slight shake of her head since she’d just stuffed a French fry into her mouth. Once she finished chewing, she spoke. “To be honest, no. I’m just a little embarrassed about how the appointment ended. I swear I didn’t know that Dr. Mayer was going to bring up sex. I don’t want you to think you have to be intimate with me.”
He frowned. “Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be?”
She leaned back in the booth. “Seriously? Look at me. I wasn’t a tiny woman to begin with, and I’m okay with that. But I’ve definitely put on weight. I just don’t feel attractive right now. That being the case there’s no way you can think I am either.”
His eyebrows arched so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. “I’d ask you to repeat yourself, but hearing what you just said once was enough.” He leaned forward. “Let’s get something straight right now, seeing you carrying and nurturing my child turns me on more than you will ever know. It has taken every ounce of willpower that I have to keep my hands off of you.”
He dragged a palm down his once again clean-shaven face. “Perhaps that was a mistake on my part, but I wanted things to be different between us this time. I wanted to continue to build upon the connection we’ve been working on the past six months, before we become intimate again.” He paused, leaning closer to her. “But make no mistake, Willow, I plan to have you underneath me again, sweetly crying out my name in pleasure as you come, but I’m not going to rush it. Understand?”
She squirmed in her chair under his passion filled gaze, tempted to tell him that she was ready now, but she wasn’t. So instead she gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
There was nothing else to be said. Chase had let her know what he desired with no qualms. She hoped she didn’t disappoint him when that time came.
Chapter Fourteen
“Willow, sit down and relax. You’re going to wear y
ourself out before our parents get here,” Chase stated.
“But I want everything to be perfect,” she replied as she checked the oven fried chicken again, to make sure it was exactly how she wanted it.
To say her nerves had been on edge all week, would be putting it lightly. Chase had been the one to come up with the bright idea of a casual meeting between their parents. She wasn’t surprised when both of their parents agreed. However, that didn’t do anything for her nerves. She was about to drive herself to the brink of insanity. Not only would she be introduced to his parents, he would be meeting hers and their parents would be becoming acquainted with each other. All at the same time! What had she been thinking when she agreed to this?
But that wasn’t the worst thing about the situation. After spending a full week with Chase, she was in a constant state of arousal. He took her to lunch every day and they had dinner together every night. He’d even spent the night a few times, holding her in his embrace all night. The plus side was she’d never slept better. The downside was, she was close to snapping and jumping Chase like a cat in heat. She knew, hands down, it would be the fastest way to embarrass herself; but she was almost to the point where she didn’t care.
There was a knock on her apartment door and she jumped. Her eyes widened. Either his parents had arrived or hers had.
“Oh my God. They’re here! I’m not ready, Chase.”
The corners of his mouth curved upward as he pulled her into his arms. “Willow, calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick and then both of our parents will be worried.”
She closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his chest as she drew in a deep breath. He was right. She was letting her emotions get the best of her again. That was not going to help the situation at all right now. Her shoulders sagged as she forced the rest of the tension from her body.
“That’s better. Now look at me.”
She leaned back and raised her head until her gaze met his.
“We are in this together,” he stated. “Today is going to be perfect. Once it is all said and done, you’re going to laugh over how worked up you allowed yourself to get. Now let’s go see who’s at the door.”
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