“And now you don’t have to.” Kyle pushed down his irritation and smiled. “I brought all your favorites. I thought you could show me what you’ve been working on while we eat.”
When Melody hesitated, Kyle’s gut twisted. He must not argue with her. Not today. Not after what they’d shared at the doctor’s office. Seeing their baby for the first time had brought them closer than they’d been in months. He would not ruin that new beginning because he was annoyed that she was heading out to have dinner with Hunter.
“Sure. You don’t mind?” she asked Hunter.
“It’s fine.” Hunter took in Kyle’s tense expression before flashing a knowing smile. “You kids go have fun. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Kyle didn’t bother to watch him go before catching Melody’s elbow and turning her in the direction of the hallway that led to the various recording studios. He could feel a trace of resistance and noticed her glance over her shoulder in Hunter’s direction. He tried not to let it bother him, but something about seeing Melody with Hunter made it hard for him to be rational.
“So were you two working on something together?” He thought the question came out sounding neutral enough.
“No, I was working with Craig when Hunter stopped by to ask me to dinner. I didn’t even realize I was hungry until he mentioned grabbing a burger.”
They entered a control booth. She snagged a couple bottles of water out of the mini-fridge, and then sat on the couch and watched while Kyle unpacked the food onto the coffee table.
“I brought pasta, salad and a cheesecake for dessert.” He eyed her to gauge her reaction. She didn’t seem overly thrilled by any of his choices. “I didn’t realize you were eating red meat these days,” he added, wondering what else about her he didn’t know.
“It’s being pregnant, I think. I’ve been craving all kinds of weird things. And there’s some stuff I can’t stand the smell of anymore.”
“I hope shrimp isn’t one of them because I brought you lemon Parmesan garlic shrimp over angel hair pasta.”
“No, shrimp is fine. It’s weird but I can’t stand the smell of peanut butter.” She popped the top off the plastic container and rolled her eyes in pleasure as the sent wafted from the bowl. “I ordered a salad with Thai peanut sauce a few weeks ago and it sent me scrambling for the bathroom.”
“But you love peanut butter.” They’d once taken a jar to bed and enjoyed licking the sticky stuff off each other.
“And hopefully I will again once the baby comes.” She shuddered. “In the meantime I’m staying far away.” Her eyes widened when he brought out dessert. “Whoa, is that cheesecake?”
He nodded. “I brought you several kinds to choose from. Or you can eat them all.”
“You went to a lot of trouble,” she said, giving him a soft smile that made his pulse race and his mouth go dry.
“It’s not any trouble taking care of you. And that’s my plan from now on. You and the baby are my top priority.”
“That sounds really great.” Suddenly there were tears in her eyes. She laughed as she dashed them away. “I swear everything makes me cry these days.”
“Not everything, I hope.”
“Mostly when people are nice to me.”
“Then you must be crying a lot because you’re someone people want to be nice to.”
Melody stopped eating and stared at him. “That’s really sweet of you to say.”
“I wasn’t trying to be sweet,” Kyle said. “I was just stating a fact.”
“What time are you heading to the club?”
“I plan to get there around nine.” He surveyed her features, gauging the level of her exhaustion. “How late are you planning on staying here? You look like you could use some rest.”
As if on cue, she yawned. “I thought to stick around for another couple hours. Hunter offered to help me with the bridge for one of my songs.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea that you’re working with him?” The question slipped out before he could stop it.
“I don’t understand what you mean.” She frowned at him.
“He still has feelings for you. Why else would he have taken a job at Club T’s and come to Ugly Trout to work with his clients?”
“Because Trent offered him a ridiculous amount of money to DJ?” Her blue eyes glittered as she regarded him. “And me being here isn’t why he is using the facilities.”