Looking at the four massive bottles of Gatorade, water, and whatever else he’d stocked up on, I pointed out, “Hardly likely when you’re a beverage pusher.”
“—and sunbathing isn’t recommended if you suffer from excessive nausea. Oh, I also picked up ketosis strips while I was in the store, so if you can pee into the red cup in the bathroom, I’ll stick one in it and check your levels.”
Blinking rapidly, I tried to figure out if he’d said what I thought he’d said. “Pardon?”
Turning to look at me, he frowned. “Ketosis strips, like the ones Parker used. Well, maybe not quite because these are for people doing the keto diet, but they measure accurately. I’ve got some disposable cups, so pee into one of them when you go to the bathroom, and we’ll test your ketosis levels to see if they’re going down.”
Yes, he had said what I thought he’d said.
If I didn’t want this cup of coffee so badly, I’d have tipped the whole packet of strips into it.
“Um, Elijah?”
“Mmm?” he mumbled, looking around us for the next hazard to worry about.
“Don’t you think you’re going overboard?” I asked, holding my fingers an inch apart. “Just a smidge?”
Looking utterly perplexed that I’d think this, he moved to join me on the shady patio, crouching down in front of me with his hands on my thighs. “Pixie, seeing you as sick as you were scared the fuck out of me, so you’re going to have to bear with me while I get my rational brain back online. All I want is to make sure that you,”—he pressed his hand against my stomach—“and our baby are okay and healthy. Is that too much to ask?”
When he looked at me all pitifully like that and said nice things, no, it wasn’t, but I had limits. Sighing, I shook my head and leaned forward to rest my forehead against his. “No, honey, it’s not.” When his eyes lit up triumphantly, and he went to pull away from me, though, I held fast to the back of his neck, keeping him in place. “But if you take away the two cups of medium strength coffee that I’m allowed a day and talk about testing my wee again, I’ll shove your thermometer up your arse. Is that too much to ask?” I fluttered my eyelashes at him.
I almost fell face first off the chair when he threw his head back without warning to laugh but caught myself at the last second. When it left him, he cupped my face in his hands and gave me a gentle kiss. “That’s not too much to ask, baby, but if you could try the test strips just until we know you’re okay, I’d be grateful.”
“Well, okay! Look at us being all mature and shit.”
The sound of a phone ringing confused me for a second. Have you ever gone on a vacation in a different country, and you didn’t want to pay the extra charges on your phone, so you switched it off? That’s what it felt like I was doing here, except I didn’t have my phone in case the big, bad wanker was tracking it somehow.
Reaching behind him, Elijah pulled his new phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen before hitting it. “Noah, how’s it—” he stopped and looked at me before getting up and moving onto the grass.
I couldn’t hear much of what was being said, but I saw his face go hard at whatever his cousin was telling him. Deciding enough was enough, I got up and walked over to join him, putting my hand on his back to get his attention.
Looking at me grimly, he sighed, “Yeah, I’ll tell her. Has anyone told Ned?”
Wondering what was so bad and if my dad was okay, I didn’t hear him say goodbye or notice him putting his phone away until he was standing in front of me again.
“Pixie, do you know a girl called Ramona? I think she comes into Rebels sometimes with Shonelle.”
The name was familiar, but I couldn’t put it with a face. Well, that was until I remembered a situation not that long ago when she’d been drowning her sorrows at the bar, not long after Ariana and I had started working there. “Yes, cooch toot chick.”
“Cooch toot chick?” he repeated slowly. Why he was confused, I didn’t know. The name was totally self-explanatory.
“Actually, no, she didn’t cooch toot, she uh…” figuring it was best left at that, I just smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve met her once or twice.”
“She got drunk last night in Rebels and was telling anyone who’d listen that Shonelle has been missing for over a week. Apparently, the last time somebody saw her, she was heading to meet up with a guy who was helping her with something. Tate let Connor know, but a missing person report had been filed by her parents a couple of hours before that.”