Kristie didn’t know what she was expecting, and that just left her in a whirl. She had plenty of scenarios in her head of this impending face-to-face, and each of them were really different.
It was making her head hurt.
She had to think of it as good news, although knowing that Steve was chomping at the bit to get after Tyler was not really helping. It was worrying that her brother could get in the way and make things difficult. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen, and Steve would get his head out of his ass to stop behaving like a dick. Kristie really didn’t want that right now.
It was dark when Kristie pulled into Tyler’s driveway. Dark and freezing. Given the recent weather forecast, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was going to snow in the next day or two. Her fingers were already feeling like they were about to snap off in her gloves. Huddling in her coat, Kristie locked up and hurried over to Tyler’s house. She knocked, only to realise that she was still wearing her gloves. So she tugged off one glove, wincing at the cold, and knocked again.
A moment later, the door opened, and Tyler was there. Kristie felt the sudden urge to throw her arms around him and hold him tightly. But she stayed where she was, staring at the man before her.
He looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he hadn’t shaved in a few days. Kristie’s resolve was softening seeing him like this. She felt tears starting to build, and she blinked them away.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Tyler hesitated. “Come in.”
Kristie braced herself, and then she entered the house. She didn’t turn around as Tyler shut the door. Then his hands were on his shoulders.
“Do you want to take your coat off?”
Kristie didn’t answer. She just unbuttoned her duffle coat and allowed Tyler to slip it off her shoulders. He also took her bag, hat and gloves, placing them on the hall table. Kristie didn’t look up, finding her gaze snagged by her reflection in the hall mirror. God, her stomach somehow looked huge. She wondered if the doctor had missed another baby and she was carrying twins. Were pregnant women were meant to be this big at five months?
“It’s a good look on you.”
Kristie jumped.
“What?”
“Being pregnant.” Tyler moved in behind her, putting his arms around her. “You look really beautiful.”
She should have been pushing him away. She couldn’t concentrate when he was touching her. But the feel of his embrace, his hands on her belly, was too good. Kristie closed her eyes and leaned into him, wanting to savour the moment for a while longer.
“You look tired.” Tyler’s lips brushed against her ear. “Have you been resting enough?”
“It’s easier said than done. But I’ve been trying.”
“You should be taking care of yourself.”
“Yes, sir.”
She felt his mouth twitch. Then he kissed her cheek.
“You’re adorable when you’ve got sass. It’s better than your brother’s anger, I can tell you that much.”
Kristie stiffened.
“Has Steve spoken to you yet?”
“Yes. He almost took a swing at me earlier.”
Kristie groaned. God, why did her brother have to get in the way?
“Let’s go in the living room, and then we can talk.” Tyler turned her around, sliding his fingers through her hair. The feel of his fingers against her scalp was almost soothing. “Just let me do this first.”
His kiss was gentle, almost as if he expected her to disappear suddenly. Kristie leaned into him, running her hands over his chest. Damn, she had missed this. She had missed him.
If only they could do this more often.
Was it warmer than it had been a second ago? Kristie had an itching urge to take off her sweater just to cool down, even if she was just wearing a bra underneath.