Page 78 of Wish You Would

I knew she was doubtful of men and relationships when she moved back here, and now that I know the reason why, I don’t blame her. Anyone in her shoes would feel the same way. Hearing this, I’m glad we decided to go slow. She needed time to believe that she could trust me.

“You know I would never hurt you, right? Tell me you know that.”

“I know that, Holden. You have always been good to me. You accept me for who I am. You build me up instead of tearing me down. You make me feel good. I think I’ve spent the last few months letting myself believe that I deserve this. That I deserve you. I’m making myself whole again, making myself better.”

She leans into me, and my heart does a flip inside my chest. “Thanks for listening. But can we please forget about all of this? I’m done talking about him.”

I wrap my hand around the end of her ponytail and pull. Her face tips up to mine. “Let’s talk about something else.”

I kiss her. She smiles.

“Should we talk about how turned on it made me to see you get so protective over me?”

“I will ruin any man who tries to hurt you.”

She wraps her hands around my nape and straddles my thighs. I kiss the underside of her jaw, earning a giggle. “You are sweet, Holden Banks.”

“I’m lucky.”

“You are?”

“I am. I have you. Him not seeing how good he had it is my gain.”

Her gaze holds mine, fingers playing with the strands of hair at the base of my neck.

“Holden, you need to stop saying the most perfect things while I’m pregnant,” she says, smiling softly. “All you’re going to do is make me cry.”

Curling my arms around her waist, I kiss her, showing her that I’m here for her, and that I always will be no matter what.

TWENTY-ONE

WHAT IF IT ISN’T A BOY?

Briar

Holden sings the lyrics to a Riley Green song with one hand gripping the steering wheel of his truck, the other holding mine in my lap. Golden hour oranges and reds stream through the windshield, highlighting the vivid green of his eyes. I ask myself for the hundredth time how I got so lucky.

I take my time admiring my boyfriend while my heart flip flops in my chest. I silently tell myself not to cry when I feel tears prick my eyes yet again. My life feels like a dream. I’ve been like this for two days, my heart in my throat, since leaving my 20-week ultrasound with Holden.

I lost it when the ultrasound tech showed us our baby on the screen. A little head, arms and legs.Our baby. Holden and I were both in complete awe as the wand slid over my stomach. When she was done taking the measurements, she printed off a photo with the baby’s sex and sealed it in an envelope. We drove it straight to Daisy’s so she could get ready for the gender reveal party she was co-hosting withSierra and Everly—the party Holden and I are on our way to now.

“What if it isn’t a boy?” I ask him.

“What?”

“The baby. If it’s a girl, will you be okay?”

Holden laughs. “Are you really worrying about that, Bee? Of course I will be okay. I’ll be more than okay. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a boy or a girl. But I happen to know it’s a boy.”

I groan. “How are you so sure?”

He shrugs with that damn smirk. “I just am.”

I shake my head. “You’re impossible.”

I look down to where my hand is resting on my belly, which has gotten so much bigger over the last two weeks. As have my boobs. Most of my clothes are too tight, my pants now held together with a hair elastic looped through the buttonhole and then around the button.

It’s still wild to me that I’m growing a baby inside my body. I’ve never been happier in my life.

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