Page 75 of Unexpected Redemption

I wrap my arms around his waist and fill my lungs with his scent.

“Sugar bear, can I ask if you’ve run through mental scenarios based on the outcome like I have? Or would you prefer silence? Or a non-related distraction?”

I quirk my head to glimpse his face without breaking my hold on him or removing my cheek from the solace of his chest. The damn glee on his features is like a love cannon blast to my soul.

Curiosity will surely kill me before we get the test results. “Tell me your scenarios. I’ve been steadfastly focused on denying I’m even alive, let alone possibly knocked up.”

“I never thought I’d have a child or children. Never thought I’d fall in love or know happiness like I’ve known with you. Hell, I never let myself even wish for those things. What good could come from hoping for something I thought was an impossibility?”

Oh, my sweet man.

His sexy neck grows taught with a quick swallow. “Ever since I fell for you, I’ve had more wishes, hopes, and dreams than one man should be allowed to have. And watching you become a mother would be the single greatest pleasure of my life.”

Despite how cherished his beautiful words make me feel, my mouth does that thing it’s known for—spewing unfiltered bratty thoughts. “It’s like you wrote the book on the perfect shit to say to an overly emotional woman in a time of crisis.”

“Didn’t write it. Didn’t read it. If that book exists, I’d peruse it, though.” His chest vibrates against my cheek with a soft chuckle. “You’ve helped me tap into my feelings—things I thought I never had. So when the opportunity arises, I speak from the heart.”

“Don’t ever change.” I kiss his chest through his shirt, silly as that may be. “Not to be the semantics police, but you told me your reaction and not the scenario. I thought you’d have plans, not just feelings about this.”

“Fair point, Ms. Holt.” His warm palm rubs the bare flesh of my shoulder and upper arm. “Scenarios. Plans. Let’s see. I have ten steps. First, proper medical care. Second, monitor your mental health and ensure you get the support you need. Be there for you in every way I can. Third, buy the ring.”

My jaw falls progressively lower until it rests on my upper chest.

“Fourth, sex without condoms. Fifth, stand by you when we tell Big Al, your mother, and your friends. Or I can tell them for you if you prefer. Sixth, we decide if we’ll live here or if youwant to buy a new house together. Seventh, once you decide which room should be the nursery, we pick out everything the baby might need. Eighth, watch you light up with joy and beam brighter than the sun as your body creates life. Ninth, eagerly await the arrival of the most beautiful baby to ever live. And tenth, love you both until the end of time.”

Done with his ten-point plan, he finally notices my dumbfounded expression. His face shines with unfettered happiness. My heart and ovaries explode. If I’m not already pregnant, I will be soon.

“I want all that too,” I admit, my reaction bursting out genuine and unfiltered.

He grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting my face upward. His lips slant over mine, embracing my mouth in the most tender and heartfelt kiss of my life. My breath quivers in my chest, and tears fill my eyes.

Joyful ones.

Fearless ones.

When he pulls back, he rubs the tip of his nose on mine. “I’ll be right back.”

Where is he going? I was two point six seconds away from jumping his bones.

I track his steps, heading to the bathroom.

Duh, Lettie.

What did I think? That he was running out for cigarettes?

My heels bob, and a fluttering sensation fills my chest and stomach. When he steps out of the bathroom, I bolt upright and eat up the space between us.

His face is blank. Stone-cold unreadable. A look he’s perfected over the course of his life.

My legs threaten to buckle, wobbling like a newborn deer. “Well?”

At an almost torturous pace, he sinks to the floor, lowering inch by inch to his knees in front of me. My eyes bulge as I stand paralyzed. Even my breathing ceases.

With loving hands, he gingerly grips my waist and tugs me forward, aligning his face with my midsection. He stares straight ahead as if he’s looking through the pink fabric of my flowery sundress and the flesh beneath it.

He exhales a shaky breath and kisses my belly.

My world tilts on its axis. Time stops.

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