Page 64 of Love Is Ale You Need

“There’s only one other thing I can think of that warrants the ‘we need to talk’. Are you pregnant?”

My gaze drops to the floor.

“Wait. Are you serious? Are you pregnant?”

I lift my head and nod. A giant knot forms in my throat, not allowing me to form words. He drops his arms and I stroll past him to retrieve the pregnancy tests from the bathroom. When I return to the kitchen, I fan them out on the counter.

“Look, I know this is completely unexpected. Hell, I wasn’t ever expecting this to happen, but here we are. Just so you know, I don’t expect anything from you. I know this isn’t something you ever wanted.” I swallow. Hard. “I’m happy to do this on my own.” A tear wells up in the corner of my eye and I fight to keep it from falling. I don’t want him to see me vulnerable.

Slowly, he turns to meet my gaze. His expression is blank. I don’t know if he hates me. Resents me. Or never wants to see me again. I wait it out for him to say something, but it never comes. Instead, he storms past me, yanks open the door, and slams it closed behind him.

TWENTY-TWO

MARRY ME

Rylee

Every piece of me wants to cry right now, but I’m too shocked to do anything. I didn’t know exactly how he was going to react, but I wasn’t expecting him to leave. Or maybe I was and I’m just fooling myself. I message Marcie and ask if she can keep Abby for a couple more hours and to let her know I have pizza if she wants it. I need some time to myself so I can digest everything that just happened and figure out what I’m going to do moving forward.

As I amble into the living room, I pull the blanket off the couch and throw myself down on a cushion. I can do this. I can make this work. It will be trying at times, but I’m resilient. I kind of have to be when others are relying on me. I rest a hand on my belly. A tear rolls down my cheek, until it’s absorbed by the blanket. Exhaustion takes over and I close my eyes.

* * *

A knock on my door jolts me awake. I blink several times as my eyes adjust to the darkening sky. I peer at the clock on my phone when another knock echoes through my apartment, a little louder this time.

“Rye! Open up!”

“Trey?” I mumble to myself. I leap off the couch and race to the door, pulling it open. His fingers grip the door jamb, turning his knuckles white. The strands of his dark hair are tousled, giving the impression he’s been running his fingers through it. Our gazes meet. His normally bright eyes are dull and tired, like he hasn’t slept for two days even though it’s only been two hours. The deep ridges on his forehead are etched with regret.

He sucks in a deep breath. “I sat in my car for over an hour processing everything. My life. Where I want to go. Where I want to end up.”

I exhale the breath I was holding as my hand clutches my heart. “Oh. Trey—”

“Please let me get this out.” The lines on his face soften slightly. “I can’t let my past dictate my future. I can’t let my ex lying about being pregnant affect who I am now. You’re nothing like her. I need to move on from the past. You're strong, fearless, independent. Everything that anyone could ever want. You’re everything I want. The only thing I need.” His hands drop from the door frame. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I want to be there for you and Abby and the baby. I’m going to screw up but know that I will always be there. I’ve lived my life selfishly because why not? I had no other responsibility besides myself… until now.”

He reaches out, his fingers tremble as they wrap around my hand. Slowly, he slides down on one knee. My heart jumps out of my chest. “Trey.” My voice quivers. “What are you doing?”

“Rylee. Marry me.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a white paper ring coated with black ink. Carefully, he slides it down my ring finger on my left hand. “It’s a little big. I didn’t know exactly what size it needed to be. Abby taught me how to make it, but she never showed me how to size it. Doesn’t matter. I’ll buy you a real one. The jewelry store isn’t open right now.”

I don’t know if I’m going to burst into tears or pass out. Both are viable options right now. “Trey. Stand up,” I grit between my teeth. “Trey.” I pull him to his feet. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?”

His gaze jumps across my face, searching for the perfect words. “Because I want to do the right thing. I want to be there to support you, Abby, and the baby. I want to take care of you.” He glances up at the ceiling. “Yeah. That’s all I got.”

I drag him inside my apartment and close the door. “I’m not marrying you.” His face falls as if I told him his puppy just died. “Let me finish. It’s not because I don’t want to, but we’re friends.”

He flinches. “I’m starting to hate that word.”

“Look, I like you, but I’ve been down this path before. Get pregnant. Get married.” I motion my hand around my meager apartment. “Get left with this. I’m not ready to do it again.” I exhale a breath. My hands tremble as I work up the nerve to ask my next question, mostly because of what his answer will be. If yes, I know I won’t be able to say it back. If no, then he's doing this for all the wrong reasons. “Let me ask you this. Do you love me?”

Trey's entire body goes still. If he didn’t just blink, I would think he was a statue.

“Exactly.” Suspicions confirmed. I wrap my fingers around his and press his hand to my chest. “This is far too complicated for either of us to digest right now. Marriage isn’t going to fix anything.” I snort a laugh. “In fact, it will make things worse. How about this? For the time being, we continue getting to know each other and navigate the pregnancy together.”

Trey offers me a sheepish smile.

I pull the paper ring off my finger and hold it in my palm. “You can have this back.”

“No.” He gently closes my fingers around it. “Keep it. Maybe one day I’ll get to put a real one on your hand.”

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