Page 42 of It Must Be Fate

He falls to his knees.

His hands grab my flowy shirt and he shoves it up to just under my bra, baring my stomach to him and everyone else watching us.

“Phoenix!” I exclaim, covering his hands with mine.

He ignores me, his face coming towards my stomach instead. And then he presses a soft, long kiss on my belly, right above my navel.

“Hi, baby,” he whispers in awe, speaking directly to my tummy.

I watch, speechless and throat constricted with emotion, as he splays his palm on my skin and caresses it gently.

“I’m your Daddy.”

Phoenix looks up at me from his knees and the expression on his face is so raw, so open, it brings immediate tears to my eyes.

“We made a baby, wild girl,” he says, wonderment filling every word.

I choke on a sob. “We did.”

He looks back at my belly, quietly stroking my skin with his thumbs in awe. He says his next words almost to himself. “I wish Astor was here to see this.”

I run my hands through his hair. “I think he is. He’s looking down at us and smiling right now, I’m sure of it.” My nails rake down his neck. “So you’re happy?”

He nods, looking back up at me. “I’m happy if you’re happy. I want what you want. I could have happily lived the rest of my life with it being just you and me. I didn’t need anything more. But now we have our very own little star and it’s my job to protect her.”

Warmth heats my insides and floods my chest.

“Why are you saying ‘her’? You don’t know that it’s a girl.”

He kisses my tummy again. “Yes, I do. She’s already daddy’s little girl.”

Phoenix jumps to his feet, grabs my face with both hands and kisses me passionately. I’m laughing against his lips at the intensity, at the pure joy coming off him.

He rips his mouth off mine, wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, and turns towards the crowd.

“My wife is pregnant!” he announces happily.

I hear a loud cheer and when I face away from Phoenix, I see dozens of strangers jumping up and down, celebrating our joy, and I see the faces of my friends pressed up against the ropes, screaming for us with abandon.

My heart is so full.

***

Chapter Twelve

Rhys

I jump up and down in the tunnel, loosening my legs and releasing the lingering tension from my body.

“You ready for this, Mackley?”

“Yes, Coach,” I answer, shaking out my calf.

“Good. I’m going to need some second half heroics from you.”

We’re down one-nil against Chelsea, playing on their home turf and being absolutely lambasted by their fans in the process.

That’s par for the course when two London-based teams play each other and it always fuels my competitiveness.

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