Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 334(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“I know you can’t stand me. You looked at me like you wanted me to die when you found out what happened with Becky. You’ve done nothing but treat me like crap. You’ve made it very clear how you feel about me. That is not how I want a baby raised.”
He looks like I’ve slapped him, but his face softens a touch. “I fucked up. You’re right. I didn’t treat you well. When you told me what happened with Becky, I lost my shit, and I can’t take that back, but I will not mistreat the mother of my child if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”
“The mother of your child,” I laugh bitterly. “That’s it. That’s how you see me?”
“No,” he grinds out. “I see you as far fuckin’ more than that.”
“Bullshit,” I yell, jerking my arms, but he’s got a good hold on them. “You can’t stand me. You’re in love with someone else. I’m not having a baby with a man that can’t stand me.”
“You’re fuckin’ wrong,” he bellows, making me jerk. “You’re far more important than you know. The reason I started doubtin’ my feelings for Becky was because of you, Poppy. Fuck.”
I stare at him, shocked and confused.
I don’t quite understand what he’s saying.
“I thought I loved her,” he grinds out, “until you rolled in. Then...fuck, I don’t know what happened, but shit changed, and I’m left wondering what the hell is goin’ on. All I know is when I’m around you, I can be exactly who I am, and that isn’t somethin’ I’ve ever had before.”
I stare at him, confused, shocked, and completely blown away. “You hate me, Beckett.”
“No,” he growls. “You assume I hate you. I’m not always nice, Poppy, but if I hated you, then you wouldn’t be here right now. I wouldn’t be tellin’ you to keep that baby.”
“I can’t keep the baby,” I whisper. “I can’t do it on my own.”
“You won’t,” he murmurs, and the air surrounding us suddenly changes. “I won’t let you do it alone.”
“It’s not just that,” I say, closing my eyes for a moment. “It’s the fact that we’re not together. I don’t want a child that’s going to be handed back and forth. Hell, I didn’t want a child to begin with, but I certainly don’t want a child that doesn’t have a stable family.”
“Then we give it one.”
I shake my head, confused. “What are you saying?”
“Give me a chance. Let’s see if this can work.”
“What?” I whisper.
“Us.”
A thousand fireworks explode in my heart as I stare at him. “You want us to be a thing?”
“I think it’s worth a fuckin’ shot, yeah. The feeling is there. You and I both know it. I don’t want a child raised in separate houses. Might be a lot of things, but that ain’t so much of a dick that I’d do that to a kid I helped make. It’s on me, too. I want to do right by you both.”
“What about Becky?”
He shrugs. “Becky and I weren’t goin’ to work. I’ll make sure she’s safe because I care about her, but I made the decision before this happened to end it.”
“You were so angry at me,” I tell him, recalling the way he spoke to me when he found out what I had done. “Now you’re saying you want to be something with me?”
“I thought you betrayed me, Poppy,” he tells me, his voice low. “Thought you went behind my back and hurt someone to get back at me. I was wrong.”
I stare down at his chest, my mind spinning. This could almost be a dream, really it could, and yet it’s so very real. I can smell him, feel him, touch him. He’s asking me to give him a chance, a chance to be together, a chance to be a family. No more running, no more hiding, freedom. Not in the way I expected, but freedom all the same.
“Are you sure about this,” I say. “This is a child, Beckett. A child.”
“I know.”
“It’s not going to be easy.”
“Know that, too.”
“I’m a pain in the ass. I’ll drive you crazy.”
He grins, and my heart does a little flip-flop. “I fuckin’ know that more than anything.”
“And you still want to try?”
He nods.
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck sake, Poppy. Shut up and kiss me, yeah?”
He grabs me and pulls me in close, kissing me long and deep, his tongue dancing with mine, his hard body pressing into all my soft places. The kiss goes on, making my knees weak and my toes curl. When he finally pulls away, we’re both panting. I look up at him, and then my own grin spreads across my face.
“God help you, Beckett.”
God help him, indeed.
“MATEO WILL CHECK-IN by tonight,” Riggs tells the group the next day. “He’s got it under control and has Becky’s location. Gotta trust what he’s sayin’ and hope like fuck she gets back in one piece.”