Kitchen Promises (Riverside Trilogy, #3) (The Riverside Trilogy) (3 page)

“So how was your day, sweetie?” I asked, pouring her a cup of milk. She shrugged, not looking up from the table. “What’s wrong?”

“First grade is hard,” she pouted.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Anything I can help with?”

“Can I bring gum to school?” She looked up bright-eyed.

“Gum? I don’t think you’re supposed to have gum in school, are you?”

“It’s not for chewing,” she informed.

Confused, I asked, “Okay…what’s it for?”

“It’s a secret.”

“You can trust me, I promise.” I crossed my arms on the table, leaned my head on top, and gave a wink.

“I want to give it to someone.” She smiled, almost blushing.

“Who?” I asked curiously, leaning back up to take a drink of my water.

“My boyfriend,” she answered bluntly. Shocked, water spat out of my mouth and nose. She laughed as I covered my face.

“Your what?” Molly interjected, dropping a pan in the middle of the table. “Did you just say boyfriend?” She placed a hand on her hip, raising her eyebrows.

“And the fun begins,” Michael muttered, taking a seat across from me. He chuckled as he saw Molly’s scowl.

“You, young lady,” Molly said, pointing a finger at Stella, “are not allowed to date nor have boyfriends until you’re thirty, you hear me?”

Stella giggled.

“Thirty? Girl, please,” Michael snorted. He reached across the table and grabbed a scoop of casserole.

“She’s gonna need a tracking device.” I chuckled.

“You better get a chastity belt on her,” Michael continued.

“Oh my god! Stop it, you two!” Molly snapped back. “I mean it. There will be no talk of boyfriends!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It was innocent teasing, but I could tell it was really starting to bother her. On top of already being emotional, she was having a hard time letting go. Stella was her first baby and had been the center of her attention for five years, and now here Stella was already acting grown up.

“Okay, no more teasing,” I promised. I put my hand over my heart and crossed it so she knew I meant it.

“So…” Michael began. I could tell he was trying to come up with a better topic. “Have you guys given any thought on the wedding? I mean, are you going to set a date sometime soon? I’d
really like to get planning.” He stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork and popped it in his mouth.

“You’re planning it, huh?” I asked amused.

“Well, you want it to kick ass, right?” Michael raised an eyebrow, grinning.

“I’m not really sure, Michael,” Molly interrupted. “With the babies, it just makes more sense to wait, don’t you think?” She turned to look at me. I hadn’t really wanted to wait that long, but I could definitely see her point.

“Whatever you want, baby. We could wait until after the babies are here.”

She smiled and took a sip of her water. “I mean, unless you just want to elope,” she teased. Honestly, I could care less what route we took. Of course, I wanted it to be special for us, but I just wanted to make her mine. I wanted to call her my wife. I wanted to stamp my initials in her to keep any wandering eyes off her.

“Hey, Elvis could marry us Vegas-style, for all I care.” I smiled back at her. I grabbed her hand in mine and brought it to my lips.

“Oh gross,” Michael groaned, ruining our moment. “I will not allow you two to get married by Elvis. Absolutely not. Hell will freeze over before that happens.”

“And why is that, Michael?” Molly snapped. “If I want Elvis to marry me, I will.”

“Unless Elvis himself resurrects from his grave, I can’t let you do it.” I watched as Molly rolled her eyes and stabbed another piece of chicken.

“Hell!” Stella screamed, jerking all of our attention toward her.

“Excuse you, young lady?” Molly narrowed her eyes.

“Michael said it first.” Her body lowers in the chair.

Molly slowly turned her attention toward Michael. “Nice going.”

Michael busted out laughing as Molly cringed. “I teach her all my best qualities, remember? She’ll have a great sense of fashion, and a foul mouth. Get used to it, babe.”

“You are no help,” she growled.

The rest of our evening was spent listening to Michael test Molly’s limits. Apparently, Michael had a death wish. I just sat there, shaking my head as Michael dug his own grave. But I knew they had a relationship I would never understand.
Whatever works for them…

-----<>-----

Molly

Drake left early for work the following morning, leaving me alone for a few hours before I had to go into work. I enjoyed working the later shift, giving me enough time to get through my nausea and morning sickness. Not only that, it gave me some peace and quiet time.

“Damn, you swallow a watermelon?” Michael walked into my room, raising an eyebrow as his eyes roamed my belly.

Apparently, quiet time is over.

“Two actually.”

“I don’t envy you, that’s for sure. Just the thought of how those babies are getting out makes my balls hurt.” He made a pained face,
which made me laugh.

“That’s exactly why men could never go through labor. You’re all a bunch of babies.”

“Oh, is that so? You think women are the only ones that could stand the pain?” he retorted. He sat on the bed next to me, causing the bed to dip.

I
moved closer to him and twisted his nipple. “Ow, oh my god!” he squealed.

“
Case in point.”

“That’s not fair. That’s sensitive,” he whined, rubbing over his chest.

“And my vag isn’t? Please, men could never handle it.”

He rolled his eyes, not willing to argue with my raging hormones.

“You’re lucky I love you.” He grinned.

“Or what?”

“Or I wouldn’t—” He grabbed my hips and started tickling me uncontrollably.

“Michael, stop!” I squealed.

“Never! Let’s see how much you can handle! Mwahaha!”

“You’re an evil man! Stop! I’m gonna pee
my pants!” I screamed back, wiggling out of his grasp. “Seriously, I think I leaked!”

Michael finally stopped, but he couldn’t contain his laughter. I swatted at him as I clenched my thighs together, waddling to the bathroom.

“Sorry, babes. But…I still have it,” he gloated, brushing his hands together.

“Don’t be so sure. I’ll retaliate when you least expect it,” I threatened, pointing a finger at him. Michael and I use to get into tickle fights back in high school
, and because he was bigger and stronger than I was, he’d pin me down and always win. Then he’d hold me down and make a spit bubble until I cried out, “Michael’s the greatest!” Oh yes, he had it coming to him big time now.

Michael was like a brother to me. He was my best friend, but he was more than that. He was my gay soul mate—if there was such a thing—but it was true. He was my other half in being the perfect best friend.

As I walked out of the bathroom, Michael continued, “Maybe if I tickle you enough, your water will break.”

“That’s gross. Plus, I don’t want it to break for like 4 months yet.” I walked back to the bed and lay down.

“Okay, fine. We’ll renegotiate in four months,” he teased, grinning.

“Whatever.” I made a face at him. “Now, go away. You’re interrupting my quiet time.”

“Fine. I guess you don’t have much of that left.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

As I watched him walk away, his words roamed in my head. He was right—I didn’t have a lot of time. And yet, it felt like it was taking forever.

I decided I would just lay in bed, enjoying every solid second until I had to shower for work. This pregnancy was sucking all the energy out of me. I was always tired and had absolutely no motivation to do anything.

*   *   *

As I walked through the kitchen doors at work, I spotted Blakely right away. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” Blakely groaned, rolling her eyes at me.

“I’m so glad we’re best friends,” I quipped, grabbing my apron and chef’s hat. “I mean, who else could I booby punch and get away w
ith it?” Before she could react, I quickly squeezed her boob and laughed. “Damn, those things feel like water balloons.”

“You’re so lucky you’re pregnant right now, otherwise…”

“Otherwise, what? There’d be some girl on girl action?” Colin interrupted. He had a smug look on his face as he casually leaned up against one of the counters.

“You wish.” Blakely laughed. “If
, and that’s a big
if,
I were to do any girl on girl action, it wouldn’t be with Molly.”

“Hey, I take offense to that.” I stuck my tongue out. “And you’d be lucky to have me.” I laughed. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“And all before I’ve had my afternoon Red Bull,” Blakely groans.

“So anyway,” Colin said slowly, moving his eyes between Blakely and I. “Time to get ready for the dinner rush.”

“I think you’ve made Colin uncomfortable.” I chuckled, nudging Blakely as I walked passed her.

“That’s not the only thing I’ve made him.” She smirked and winked at me before walking to her
section.

“Ew. That’s just not something I needed to know.” And I definitely didn’t want to know about her hookups.

Blakely walked up to me and whispered, “I’ve made him whimper like a baby as he begged for it.”

I raised my eyebrows up at her and cringed. “Well, if I wasn’t nauseous before, I definitely am now.”

She laughed as she walked away in her evil, but satisfied laugh. I’ve actually grown to like her these past few months. Sure, she annoyed me and was often inappropriate, but some how she made everything lighter. She never took anything too seriously, and she made me laugh on a daily basis. And she hasn’t let her feelings for Colin go unknown. I think everyone at Riverside knew she and Colin were hooking up. Not that Colin wanted to broadcast the news, but it was obvious he enjoyed it. He was a single dad after his girlfriend left him, so I think him being chased down by bombshell Blakely fed his damaged ego.

We worked long into the night, keeping up with the dinner rush.
With the holidays approaching soon, the Chicago streets were packed. The restaurant stayed busy, making my shift go by quickly. Drake stopped in, but I didn’t have time to chat, so he grabbed some food to take home to Stella and Michael.

By the time I finally
slowed down, my body went dizzy. I leaned up against a counter to balance myself, but my eyes weren’t focusing. I took in a few slow breaths, hoping to get my heart rate down, but after a few minutes, nothing was working.

“Hey, are you alright?” Blakely asked from behind, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t know. I just got really dizzy all of a sudden.”

“Colin, grab Molly a chair from the office, please!” she yelled.

“I’m fine. Really, I just—”

“Shut up and sit.” Blakely grabbed
the chair from Colin and all but pushed me down on it. “You want me to call Drake?” she asked concerned. She was typically a goof ball, but now I could tell she was truly worried.

“Guys, I’m fine. I just worked too long without taking a break, that’s all. Next t
ime, I’ll take breaks in between,” I promised.

“There won’t be a next time.” I heard Drake growl from behind.
Shit.

I slowly turned and saw Drake leaning up against the wall, ankles and arms crossed. I could feel his
angry eyes burning into me.

“I thought you went home.”

“I did. I tucked Stella in and wanted to come back and pick you up. I didn’t think I’d see you sitting out of breath like this.” He pushed off the wall and walked toward me. “I don’t want you working anymore if it’s going to put you and our babies in jeopardy.”

“We’re not in jeopardy. Like I just said, it’s because I didn’t take a break. I won’t let it happen again,” I promised
again. Drake knew how important it was to me that I keep working. I’d go stir crazy if I had to stay at home all day. I needed to be doing something—contributing something. Not to mention, that I really loved what I was doing. Plus, I knew the restaurant needed me, even if Drake insisted he could get a temp to replace me.

“Okay, but—and I mean this—
if this happens again, you are done. I don’t want you overworking yourself into preterm labor.”

“Deal.” I smiled, agreeing to his terms because I knew it wouldn’t happen again. When I got too big or too tired to work, then I’d stop, but I wanted it to be o
n my terms. I wanted to continue working until I could no longer do it. I didn’t just want to give it all up after I had worked so hard to get here in the first place.

Before I met Drake, I had put myself through culinary school. Those dreams were still important to me. I knew I didn’t
need
to work, but it’s what I loved doing. I’ve always wanted to set a good example for Stella. I want to teach her that if you try hard enough and set your mind to it, you can accomplish your goals.

I said goodbye to Colin and Blakely before letting D
rake take me home. He could be tough sometimes, but was also very sensitive to when it came to making his family or me happy. After everything that went down with Travis and Nikos, he’d been more protective than ever—
not that I blamed him.

“Are you mad?” I asked as we pulled out into the street.

“I’m not mad. I’m just worried.” He didn’t look at me, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

“I know. And I’m sorry for making you worry, but I really will be careful from now on.” He nodded and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.

I tiptoed to Stella’s room and quietly kissed her good night and covered her back up. She tended to kick the sheets off in her sleep. I brushed her hair off her face and smiled as I watched her sleep peacefully. I couldn’t help thinking how proud her daddy would be if he were still here. She looked so much like him that it’s hard not to think of him often.

I quietly shut her door and walked back down the hall to our bedroom. I decided to take a shower and get the restaurant smell off me.

“You’re free to join me, if you wish.” I slowly unbuttoned my chef’s coat and he watched as I slid it down to the floor. I walked backwards to the bathroom, unbuttoning my pants and giving him a view of the black lace panties, I’m wearing.

“Hmm…you are making a shower very tempting.” He grinned.

I smirked as I opened the bathroom door and walked inside. I shut it briefly and took my pants off. I slipped my panties off and cracked the door back open. I waved the panties in my hand, giving him a view of what he was missing.

“Just in case you change your mind…”

I heard him laughing as I shut the door again. I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up. I took my hair down and combed my fingers through it, untangling the knots. I took the rest of my clothes off and opened up the shower door.

I grabbed the luffa and poured body wash over it. I lathered it up and began washing over my body. I smiled as I washed over my swollen bump. The reality of having twins suddenly overcame me as I felt butterflies and kicks on the outside for the first time.

“Oh my god!” I squealed, smiling. I dropped the luffa and brought my hands over my belly, anxiously waiting to feel them again. “Drake!” I called out, opening the shower door. I wanted him to feel this.

I left the door open as I waited for him. I heard the bathroom door open and heard Drake, “What is it? Everything okay?” He peeked in looking worried.

“Everything’s great! The babies just kicked!” I pointed down at my belly, all giddy. “I can feel them on the outside!”

“Really?”

“Yes, come in here!” I smiled. I waited as he stripped down and slowly stepped in. “Here, put your hands right here.” I placed his hands on each side of my belly.

As the water sprinkled over us, both babies kicked simultaneously. Drake’s face lit up as the little movements kicked against his hands. The moment was simply incredible—watching Drake’s expression as he felt his babies for the first time.

“I can’t believe this,” he gushed. “It makes it so much more real.”

I watched as his hands roamed over my belly. I could tell it was making him emotional. This was the absolute best part of pregnancy—watching Drake become a father and finally being able to experience these moments with him.

“Isn’t it amazing?” I looked up into his eyes.

“It’s incredible.” I wiped under his eyes where I could tell he was crying.

He cupped my face and softly kissed my lips until they were nearly bruised. The water continued sprinkling over our heads as we kissed under it, not moving or saying a word—just soaking up every second of this moment.

*   *   *

The following morning, I woke up feeling sick. I’ve been blessed with not much morning sickness, but this particular morning was different. Something was different.

“Drake!” I called out, not exactly sure where he was.

“Coming!” I heard him yell from the hallway. I sat up and leaned against the bedrails. I pushed a pillow behind my back, hoping to reduce the amount of pain I was beginning to feel.

“Everything okay?” he asked, walking in as he adjusted his tie.

“I don’t know. I just feel…weird. My back is in some pain. And my stomach isn’t feeling so hot either.”

He rushed over and immediately put his hands over my belly to soothe the ill feeling. He shoved another pillow behind me and one behind my head. I finally started to feel comfortable, but I still felt like something was wrong.