Page 187 of Even Exchange

“Twenty-fivethousanddollars?” I shriek.This is too much. “Have you lost your mind?”

“My mind is perfectly in place, thanks.” He smirks a smug smile that makes it so damn hard to resist his charm. My heart pounds.

“I can’t accept this,” I say, holding my phone in his face. As if the gesture alone could transfer the money back to his account.

He grabs the phone, locks it, and puts it in his pocket. “I care about you. And I won’t have you struggling with something I can solve with the tap of my finger.”

Mom’s words echo in my mind.“You get an NFL football player with a seven-figure bank account, and he gets a broke, aimless, has-been cheerleader knocked up with some other man’s baby.”

“I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary,” I say, holding his gaze, the black hole inside seconds away from swallowing me entirely. “There’s a tutoring job open at CBU I’m applying for.”

He scoffs. “You’re not working some shit job paying twelve dollars an hour when I have plenty of money to support us. You need help. And I have the means to, so please accept it.”

“How aboutyouaccept letting me pay my own way?” I say, poking his chest.

He wraps his fingers around mine. “We’re having a baby, babies cost money, and, respectfully, you don’t have any.”

“I’mhaving a baby,” I correct, and Noah tenses, pain flickering in his eyes.Why did I say that?

“Charlotte,” he says, his tone concerningly calm. “I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest.”

“What?” I flatten my hand to his chest, and his heart pounds against it. His hand covers mine, relieving a minuscule fraction of my fear.

“And know that whatever you answer, it doesn’t affect the money I gave you,” he says, and my skin crawls with anxiety.

“Noah.” My hand trembles against him. “Please spit it out.”

“I’ve always said I’m not going anywhere, but…” He pauses, and my heart rate skyrockets. “I never considered asking you—to tell you that if you... ifyouwant to leave, I would understand.”

My mouth drops open. “You want me to leave?”

“What? No.” He squeezes my hand. “I just don’t want you to feel trapped.”

“Doyoufeel trapped?” I ask.

“Of course not,” he says, stepping away and dragging his hands through his hair. “Shit, this is coming out all wrong.”

“Ya think?”

He releases a shaky breath, glistening eyes meeting mine. “All I’m trying to say is, I know legally you and this baby aren’t mine. And I don’t want you to feel like you’re stuck here. And I want you to know, I support your decisions, even if they’re not what I would want.”

One look at his broken face, and the realization hits me.

My noble prince. The most selfless man I’ve ever met. He’s accepted a woman who’s pregnant with another man’s baby, who he has no legal right to, and must be holding his breath she’ll leave.

And yet… he’s not pressuring me to stay.

He’s not guilting me into submission.

He’s terrified I’ll go but still offers me an out.

Once again putting my feelings first. Puttingmefirst.

“What doyouwant, Noah?” I ask, poking his chest.

His fingers wrap around mine again, and he flattens my palm against him like a tether. “It doesn’t matter what I want,” he murmurs, but the wild pounding of his heart tells mejusthow much it does.

“It matters to me.” I slide my hand up and rest it against his neck. “Stop worrying about me, and what I want, and what youthinkI want or need or whatever. Just please, this once, I want you to be selfish. Ineedyou to be honest. What doyouwant?”

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