Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“And…?”
“And… that’s mental, Walker. You manipulated this whole thing and are acting like I should think it’s completely normal… that it’s okay.”
“All is fair in love and war. I told you that in the beginning.”
“And I still don’t know what that means!” she yells.
“It means that even if you refuse to fight for us, I always will, because I know what we have is worth the effort. You’re the first woman I’ve ever loved and the one person in my life I can’t stand being away from. My life, my future, and my fucking happiness depends on you.”
“Great.” She sits down on the edge of the couch, covering her face. “Now you made me cry.”
Walking to where she is, I get down on my knees in front of her and grab her hands. “I love you.” Her glossy eyes meet mine. “I know we weren’t planning on you getting pregnant, and I know we’ve got a lot of shit we’re gonna have to figure out, but you are not alone in this. I’m right here, and I will be right here.”
Shaking her head, tears fall from between her lashes. “I hate that you’re gone all the time. I don’t want to go through this by myself.” The softly spoken confession cuts me to the quick.
“My contract with Toni is up in three months. I’m going to hate every second I have to be away from you, and I know it’s not going to be easy, but I need you to keep being strong for just a little longer, baby.”
“Then what?”
“That’ll be up to you. We can stay here or move back to the States.”
“But your job—”
“I’ve been shoving almost every penny I make into investments for over twenty years,” I cut her off. “I could retire tomorrow and still take care of you and any kids we have.” I squeeze her hands. “That said, Otto, Ham, and I have been talking about starting up our own business, but that would most likely mean we’d need to move to Florida, and you’d have to be willing to move there too.”
“I can work from anywhere,” she says quietly.
“About that….”
“About what?” She frowns.
“I don’t love the idea of you flying all over the place while you’re pregnant.” Her frown deepens—a cue I need to tread carefully. “Do you know if it’s safe?”
“I’ve known I’m pregnant for about two hours, so I have no idea.”
“Do you know any women you’ve worked with who have been pregnant?”
“Of course.”
“And how long into their pregnancy did they continue flying?”
“It depends.” She chews the inside of her cheek. “Every airline has different rules, and every pregnancy is different.”
“All right, we’ll table that for now.” I cup her face in my hands. “Now, tell me what the doctor said.”
“She just told me I’m pregnant, and then she did an ultrasound.” Tears fill her eyes. “I heard the heartbeat.”
Fuck, I hate that I missed experiencing that with her. “And everything is okay? He’s healthy?”
“He or she is perfect, and I’m between seven and eight weeks along.”
“When is your next appointment?”
“I have to make one with an obstetrician.” She looks down at our hands.
“I’d like to go with you, if possible.”
“I’ll call tomorrow and see when the earliest is they can get me in, so you can be there.”
“We’re having a baby.”
“Yeah.” She closes her eyes and drops her forehead to mine.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too, even though you’re crazy.”
Smiling, I lean in and brush my mouth across hers, then gather her into my arms and hold her on my lap, resting my hand on her stomach. Never once did I think I could love anyone as much as I love her, and I never expected that emotion to overwhelm me in just an hour.
And yeah, she’s right. I manipulated things between us, but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
CHAPTER 22
walker
“Do you really think you need all those?” Hanna asks.
I look down at her and watch as she takes a sip from the fruit smoothie I ordered her down the block from the bookstore. Some concoction with spinach, berries, and bananas—three things I found out through Google are good for a woman to have when she’s pregnant.
“Can you ever have too many books?”
“Normally, I’d say no. But I’m pretty sure that no one needs ten books on pregnancy.”
“They’re not all on pregnancy. This one is baby names, and this one—” I hold it up. “—is for the expectant dad.”
“Right, sorry. I forgot about those two.” She rolls her eyes, and if my hands weren’t full, I’d grab her face and kiss her. “We don’t need the baby name book.”
“We don’t?”
“No, if it’s a girl, we’re naming her Luna, and if it’s a boy, we’re naming him Draco.”
“Where did you come up with those?”
“Harry Potter.” She grins.
“We are not naming our kids after Harry Potter characters.”