Page 22 of Daddy's Reckoning

I moved as quickly as I could to relieve myself, knowing it was just the first of many bathroom breaks I’d take today, gargled with mouthwash because I didn’t know where Theo had put my suitcase and he hadn’t unpacked it yet, splashed water on my face, and stared at myself in the mirror. Even I had to admit I looked a little peaked.

When I pulled the door open to the bedroom with the intention of climbing back in bed, not just to do what I was told, and what was expected, but to avoid Theo as best I could, the low rumble of voices coming from somewhere in the house pulled my attention. Was it the TV? Theo didn’t watch a lot, and surely not in the middle of the day. The dull din was followed by a roar of communal laughter that I could tell was not a canned laugh track. Cocking my head, I listened some more, stopping in my tracks before I ever made it to the bed.

I walked toward the door and realized the voices sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

I kept walking like they were the pied piper’s flute and I was just a lowly village rat, powerless to stop my attraction to the sound. I pulled open the door and realized at once there were people in Theo’s apartment. Instantly, I knew it had to be his friends and business partners, the ones from the club, the ones he’d won the lottery with while they were still in college.

I’d met them all many times when Theo and I were regulars together at their Friday night club nights. They were all very nice and down to earth, but what were they doing here in the middle of the day?

I probably should have gone back to the room and just texted Theo to let him know I was awake. I wasn’t fit for company and didn’t really want to see anyone, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself as I made my way down the short hallway and into Theo's large great room.

As soon as I turned the corner, the noise stopped, and six sets of eyes swiveled to me. I met their gazes as mine flitted through the room, naming them all in my head. Bas and Nyla. Two of the original six. They’d always been the closest, and when Nyla moved back to Philly after divorcing a man she never should have married, she’d entered a trial-run Rent-A-Daddy situationship with Bas that was just supposed to be a temporary thing while Nyla got back on her feet, and also a test run for their new Rent-A-Daddy business venture. Now they were engaged, about to be married any day. My attention flicked from them to Bain and Jasmine. Jasmine had hired Rent-A-Daddy services after the death of her husband left her in a deep depression she couldn’t climb out of, and ended up getting Bain, an old fling and crush as her Daddy. They were also engaged now. Archer was there, as well, but I didn’t know the blonde sitting in his lap. She must be a new development, something that had happened after I stopped coming around the club. And then there was Lennon. He was the party boy of the group, and had the classic surfer dude looks to match. He was there, too, and an older woman was beside him. That must be a new development, also, because I had no idea who she was. Another client? Where was Theo? I searched the immediate area, and he was nowhere to be found.

“Hi,” I said tentatively, raising my arm to give a short half-wave because I didn’t know what else to do.

As soon as I spoke, Theo came rushing from the kitchen area and was at my side. “Erin! What are you doing out of bed? You have to be careful. You know what the doctor said; you need to stay off your feet as much as possible.”

“I’m fine.”

I tried to wave off his concern even though I knew he wouldn’t buy it. I didn’t expect him to, and I would sit, but I didn't want him to fuss. I didn't want him to say all the things he was saying, talking about doctors and bed rest and all that in front of his friends. But as I tried to smile and assure them I was fine, I noted the concern in their eyes mirrored the concern in his, and I realized they already knew. The room swayed beneath my feet and before I could even breathe, Theo was guiding me to an unoccupied chair, helping me to sit.

“Were we too loud?” he questioned, turning to glare at the crowd gathered in his living room. “I told you guys to be quieter.” He turned back to me. “I’m sorry we woke you.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t. I woke up because I had to pee, and also because it's the middle of the day and I’d been sleeping for hours.”

“You need your rest.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to grit my teeth. Was he going to be this annoying all weekend, or worse, through the duration of my entire pregnancy? And what would he be like once the baby got here?

“I’m resting,” I said, waving my arm at my body in the chair. He’d even popped an ottoman under my feet. “What more do you want from me?”

“Well, since you asked,” he said gently with a hint of an indulgent smile, “I need to take your blood pressure as well as your temperature, and I’d like you to drink some more water.”

There was nothing I wanted less than to have him fuss over me, checking my vitals in front of his friends, but I knew I’d brought this on myself by coming out here in the first place.

So I just nodded and watched as he ran to get the things he must have had delivered from the pharmacy while I was asleep. His friends parted to let him through, their eyes on the two of us as he knelt by the chair and pulled the monitor out of the box, carefully reading the instructions.

“Here, let me.” Exasperated and embarrassed, I made a grab for it, only to be leveled with a very Daddy-like glare. I told myself I couldn't help that my body still reacted to that. Old habits die hard. But I withdrew, holding my arms on the rests of the chair, and sucking in a breath as he wrapped the cuff around my arm. It took everything in me to not tell him it was too high or too low, or too tight, or not tight enough, but the truth was, it was just fine. And I knew better. If I protested too much, I wouldn’t put it past him to hire a doctor to come in and take it, or worse, drag my ass back to the hospital.

His eyebrows furrowed and the corners of his mouth scrunched into a worried frown, and I couldn’t help but worry myself at his expression.

“What is it?” I winced when anxiety crept into my voice.

“135/89” His eyes met mine, and he smiled, but I could see the strain. He was such a worrywart.

“Oh, but that’s fine,” I tried to reassure him, even though I wasn’t confident myself.

“It’s a little high. Not too bad, but you need to relax and take it easy.”

I didn’t point out that it could be high because I was being held captive in a home that wasn’t mine, and had woken up to a houseful of people who apparently knew all my business. At least, I was pretty sure they did, but I wasn’t about to make a statement like that, just in case.

I thought Theo would get up then and maybe put me back to bed, or demand I have something to eat, but he just opened another box. I glanced at it and saw it was a forehead thermometer.

“I’m fine,” I protested when he stood and bent to press it against my skin. He pulled it away and for a second I thought I’d won, but I should have known better.

His voice was low as he bent close, whispering so that only the two of us could hear. “I’m glad to hear you’re fine, but I would like to confirm that. So I’m going to take your temperature, and you’re going to let me. Because if you don’t, I’m going to carry you back to the bedroom, pull your pants down and take your temperature the old-fashioned way.”

My mouth fell open. I didn’t have to ask what he meant by that. I knew exactly what the old-fashioned way was. “You just going to keep making pharmacy orders?” I sassed, unable to stop myself. The truth was, I was crabby and I didn’t feel well, not that I’d admit it.