The First Time I Saw You

Chapter 22

"What?" Claire pouted as she was leaning against the couch in her office. Owen was kneeled on the floor between her legs, eagerly undoing a pair of dress pants that were now excessively tight on his fiancée.

"You are squeezing my jelly bean in these things." He frowned. Claire gently scratched the lines the waistband had left around her skin.

"It itches." She blushed, feeling Owen taking her hand away and replacing it with soft kisses, her office being filled with her giggles.

"Keep them undone when you are in here, please?" Owen begged.

"Babe, I would but it takes me forever to button them back. That thing is already hanging by a thread." She chuckled in embarrassment.

"You need more clothes." He suggested softly, very careful on his choice of words... using 'more' instead of 'new', after all there was nothing wrong with her 'old' clothes. Claire had been a little sensitive on the subject, lately.

That morning he hadn't been able to pull up the dress she wanted to wear beyond her lower waist, and after telling her the obvious, she'd gotten mad. He should have known better than his choice of words: "It doesn't fit you anymore", words Claire's hormones took as him telling her she was a fat ass that had gone from size 2 to 14 over night.

Claire gave him a look. "It's not like there's a boutique on the island I can shop at!" She explained. She wasn't doing this on purpose, it was just the matter of their location being an inconvenience.

"You always buy your stuff online." He offered between kissing her round belly and caressing it, hoping he could feel his baby but, at 18 weeks, they still hadn't had any luck with that.

"Sure, because I know what size I am on the fat ass chart!" She snapped. "Do you wanna help me with my bra? It's killing me too." She leaned over so Owen could unclasp it.

Owen looked away, completely letting that first part slide. He had learned his lesson from that morning to just not acknowledge her. He quietly moved his hands under her top and did as told, the strap had also marked her skin.

"I'm sorry." She frowned once her boobs were loose and she could breathe normally. "It's just that I've been very uncomfortable lately." She frowned, knowing her mood swings were out of control and she was exaggerating on many things. "The whole island hates me and you probably do too." She pouted ready to start crying.

"I don't hate you, I love you too much to ever get close to that..." Owen adjusted and sat on the couch next to her. "And no one here hates you, what makes you think that?" He frowned, brushing his fingers through her hair.

"They keep complaining that I've been yelling at them too much and I was ripping your head off just now too." She sobbed, resting her head against his shoulder.

Owen kissed her forehead gently and held her close. "I don't think you were ripping my head off." He assured her.

"No? So you still want to marry me?" She sniffed.

"Babe, of course!" Owen tilted his head. "You know what?" He took her hands and kissed them gently.

"What?" She murmured with a pout.

"I think we should set a date and start planning our wedding." He suggested with a smile.

"Really?!" Claire beamed. She sat straight on the couch and brought her laptop over her lap. There was nothing she liked more than planning ahead, and her hormones were driving her crazy, making her believe Owen had slightly changed his mind about marrying her because she was fat and grumpy now.

"Yes, really" He kissed her lips soundly a couple of times. "Let's start with season. What's your ideal season to get married?" He asked with a dead pan look.