I blinked. “Oh, Jesus, is she still keeping an eye on the neighborhood?” I finished by making the birdy gesture.
“She gave me two thumbs up.” He picked up the bowls and handed me one, then sat on the bed next to me. “Not Friends.”
“Mhmm.”
“I didn’t sign up for this.”
“Well, neither did I, so hush.” I tapped his nose to shut him up. “You’ll survive.”
He sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – IMMY
Reality Check
I was pregnant.
My ankles were swollen, my boobs were all veiny, and my stomach closely resembled an oversized beachball.
And there were four kids at my ankles.
One was a baby less than a year old who was covered in their own poop, two were toddlers who were both crying for my attention, and the fourth was—
Maya.
My breathing quickened as I surveyed my surroundings. It was a kitchen I didn’t recognize. The backyard was large but open, and there were three dogs running around. Two Labradors and a Shih Tzu that looked a lot like Dolly.
Dolly.
Maya.
Holy shit.
Where the hell was Mason?
Why wasn’t he in this dream?
A dream.
Holy shit, this was a dream.
All I had to do was wake up, and all these little crotch demons would disappear.
Wake up, wake up, wake up. Wake up, Imogen!
I gasped into the darkness. A thin sheen of sweat covered my brow and the back of my neck, and I was glad I’d stolen one of Maya’s hair ties earlier before bed.
Maya.
I glanced to my side. The light that eked its way in through the cracks in the curtains illuminated Mason’s face, and I stared at him for a moment.
He was so fucking handsome. It was almost painful to look at him—it was unfair for someone to look the way he did and be so smart and just such a good fucking person.
And a good dad.
A good dad.
God.
I pushed the covers off me and quietly got out of bed. My feet padded silently against the wood floor as I made my way into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned on the light.
Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, one thing became obvious: I looked like hell.
I used the baby wipes from the shelf to remove my makeup and wipe my face. After washing it with cold water, I retied my hair into a knot on the top of my head and used the toilet.
Then went back to the mirror.
What the hell was that dream all about?
Was it because I’d found the baby doll under my pillow? Had that triggered some kind of reminder that Mason wasn’t the same guy I’d fallen for in college?
Was I holding onto a person who didn’t exist anymore?
Was I overthinking everything here?
Or was it just me being a pain in the ass?
I was prone to that, after all.
“Ugh,” I groaned quietly, running the tap once more to splash my face with cold water. The chill of it against my burning cheeks jolted me out of the post-dream haze I was in.
I didn’t have time to think about what that dream meant right now. I needed to sleep, and if I let my brain run away with some theories, I’d never get back to sleep.
I dried my face with the towel hanging on the ring next to the sink and shut off the light, then headed back into the bedroom.
Mason turned on the lamp on the nightstand and looked at me through sleepy eyes. “You okay?”
“I just needed the bathroom,” I lied, slipping back into the bed.
He made a noise that could have been either an argument or an agreement, then switched off the light and rolled over to face me. Wrapping one strong arm around my body, he tugged my back against his chest and bent his legs so every part of us was touching.
Warmth quickly spread through my body, and I took a deep breath as I relaxed into him.
I’d done nothing but overthink ever since I’d seen him step out of the moving van.
And four a.m. was not the time for philosophical conversations, because he was already asleep behind me.
So instead of allowing my brain to run away with all sorts of things that would just freak me out and keep me awake, I turned my thoughts to yarn and threads and paints and brushes…
***
A big sign that read ‘CLOSED FOR STOCK TAKING’ was on the door of Art by Numbers, and I’d bribed Hannah into helping me with the promise of lunch.
And pay.
She didn’t do anything for free, even for family.
“Isaac said he had Mason’s puppy in,” Hannah said, counting a box full of yarn. “Is she better?”
“I think so. He called Mason this morning and said he wants to keep her until tonight, but she should be fine to go home.” I put a box back up on the shelf and pulled down another one. “And he’s getting his car back this afternoon so I don’t need to take him.”