Page 84 of Ghost's Obsession

“I never imagined this.”

“This?”

“This life. This house. You.” She looks down at the ring again. “Finally, being wanted like this and not by just anyone. Being wanted by the person you love is the best feeling in the entire world.”

I step closer. “Hell, Heather. I’ve wanted you since you knocked on my damn garage door.”

She smiles.

“And then you when you found out you were pregnant, and I was fuckin’ thrilled because I wanted to be the one you turned to first when you started looking for a father for your child.”

“Sure you want to raise another man’s child? Your enemy’s child?”

“Hell the fuck yes, I do. I already told you that once. That baby in your belly will be what makes him.” I reach out and cup her face. “I believe in nurture, not nature.”

She nods, tearing up again. “I’m glad you see him that way. He’s going to need a strong male role model in order to learn right from wrong. I don’t want him to end up like his sperm donor.”

She lets out a little laugh because we both know that’s just what Carnage was. God knows he wasn’t father material, much less father-of-the-year material.

I tell her reassuringly, “Don’t worry, sweetness. We’ll love him and raise him up right.”

She gazes up at me, her eyes warm and soft. “I love you for wanting to be my son’s father. You’re a good man. I hope you know that.”

I tell her one of my most closely guarded secrets, “I don’t know if you realize it or not, but you make me better. And you make me softer in the ways I didn’t think I was allowed to be.”

Her eyes are warm and loving. “Maybe we make each other better. You make me feel safe enough to share all my deepest secrets.” she says quietly. “I’ve never had that before.”

I step forward and wrap her up in my arms. She doesn’t fight it or try to speak. Just melts into me like this is where she was always meant to be. Her hands clutch the back of my fancy jacket. Mine settle on the small of her back and the round curve of our baby.

When we eventually make it into bed, she rests her head on my chest.

She drapes her hand over my heart, her thumb tracing lazy circles over the ink on my skin.

“Were you really nervous tonight?” she asks.

“Fuck yeah,” I admit.

“Why?” she asks, her voice innocent and curious.

“Because you matter more than anything I’ve ever had or tried to hang onto.”

She’s quiet for a second.

Then she says, “I’m not going anywhere.”

I tighten my arm around her. “Neither am I.”

And just like that, it’s settled. Not the proposal or the ring, but us being together for the long haul. And tomorrow, the real forever starts.

Epilogue

Heather

Two Months Later

The sun is barely up when I wake to the sound of birdsong and a warm hand sliding over my now huge belly.

It’s not a cautious touch, because my man never touches me like I might break. His touch is always firm, protective, possessive even. But in the way that makes me melt. Even now, at seven and a half months pregnant, he’s as obsessed with me as he ever was. I don’t feel ugly in his warm embrace.

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