Page 65 of Love Is Ale You Need

Tears well up in the corners of my eyes. “Dammit Trey.” I playfully slap his chest. “You can’t say things like that and expect me to not say to hell with it. That my plan is stupid, and we should just go for it.”

A salacious grin spreads over his face. “Too bad we’re not in Vegas right now because I would carry you over my shoulder to a chapel and make it official.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me to his chest.

“Again, off track.” His body against mine is warm and comforting. But I’m still not at ease. I pull out of his grasp, needing some space between us so I can get out what I need to say. “But there is one thing you need to know. You can’t walk away when it gets tough. If you do, you can’t come back. See, I don’t have that option.” I splay a hand over my stomach. “I’m not going to be that girl anymore. You’re either in or you’re out.” Moisture pools in the corners of my eyes, afraid of what his answer will be.

“Fuck, Rye.” In one giant step, he’s in front of me, wrapping me in his arms. His hand gently caresses up and down my back. “I’m sorry. I’m in. One hundred percent. I’ll be here for you, Abby, and the baby.” He continues to slide his hand over my spine, as seconds tick by in silence. He leans back just enough to peer down at me. He brushes a loose strand of hair off my forehead. “I know you don’t need me, but I need you. I need you like my next breath.”

I snuggle into his chest as a lone tear rolls down my cheek. Those were the words I needed to hear. Maybe things will be different this time. Maybe the universe will give me a happily ever after.

His hands lazily slide over my shoulder blades. “One more question.” I peer up at him as a lazy smile spreads across his lips. “We can still have sex, right?”

I drop my forehead to his chest as my shoulders shake with laughter. “Sex is still definitely on the table, but not the actual table because I don’t want to get a new one again and I still don’t have the one you got me.”

“It’s being built as we speak.” He buries his nose into my hair right above my ear and whispers, “Any thoughts on starting right now?”

I glance up and nibble on my lower lip. “Abby is at Marcie’s, so we have the apartment to ourselves.”

“I’m all about seizing every opportunity.” He bends at the knees and lifts. I wrap my legs around his hips, cup his cheeks, and slam my lips to his. He breaks away long enough to walk us to my bedroom.

* * *

I’m lying next to Trey, my cheek resting on his chest as the rhythmic thumping of his heart lulls me to a half sleep. His thumb brushes up and down my bicep as he holds me close to him.

“Can I go with you when you go to the doctor?”

“Of course. I’m going to call and schedule an appointment tomorrow and I’ll let you know when.” I trail a finger over every rise and dip of his abs.

“When are you going to tell Abby?”

“I’ll wait until after the doctor's visit and everything is confirmed.”

His thumb stops. “Can I tell her with you? If that’s okay. Since I’ll be in your lives for the foreseeable future, and I’ve grown quite fond of my chipmunk.”

My heart melts that they’ve developed a connection and even have nicknames and secret handshakes with each other. “Yeah. We can tell her together.”

“Also, there are four bags of baby things in my SUV. I didn’t know what to buy, so I started throwing things in my cart.”

I sit up, resting my elbows on the mattress. “Baby things? I just told you.”

“Well, after I sat in my car for an hour and made your ring. I went to the store. I wandered up and down the six aisles of baby things. How can a baby need so many things? And how do you know where to start? As I was pushing my cart along, I got nervous that people were watching me fumble my way around, so I just threw stuff in the cart and got out of there.”

My hand flies up to my mouth as I choke back a half sob, half laugh. “Slow. We’ll take this slow. Okay? There is no baby yet to need things.”

Bright silvery gray eyes meet mine. They’re filled with excitement and nervousness. All the things I’m feeling as well. I press a soft kiss to his lips in hopes of reassuring him we got this.

My phone buzzes from the pocket of my jeans that are haphazardly thrown across the dresser. I roll out of bed and retrieve it. A message from Marcie pops up along with a slew of other messages I ignored while Trey and I were pre-occupied.

Marcie

Why is there so much banging?

Marcie

You do know I share a living room wall with your bedroom, right?

Marcie

Ooooh! The moaning tells me all I need to know.

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