Page 166 of Baby Surprise for my Brother's Best Friend

Then I finalized the paperwork on the house. Signed every damn page with one thought in my head.

Her.This place, this future, I want it to be hers as much as it is mine.

But the moment she closes the car door and starts walking toward me, all of it slips away.

Nothing prepared me for how much I still love her. Not even now, when she looks like she’s not sure whether to run toward me or turn back around.

God, I missed her.

I grip the edge of the railing to steady myself.

Please, let her still believe in us, even a little. Because I can’t go another day not seeing her face, not hearing her voice. I can’t go back to a life she’s not a part of.

She reaches the top step, and for a second, we just stare at each other.

“Hey,dolcezza. You have no idea how many nights I pictured you walking toward me like this.”

Her lips twitch like she’s fighting a smile, but her eyes… God, her eyes are still guarded.

Then I take a breath and gesture to the villa behind me. “This is it.”

She tilts her head, eyes narrowing slightly.

I nod. “Ours. If you want it.”

Her brows draw together. “What do you mean?”

I pull a set of keys from my pocket and gently place them in her hand.

“It’s for you. For us. And the baby. There’s a ranch out back. Enough room for horses. Space to breathe. To live.”

I try to laugh. “I couldn’t swing this on a bartender’s salary. Took out a loan from my old man. Pretty sure I’ll be working it off until I’m in my old age.”

She doesn’t smile. But her eyes linger on mine a moment longer, softer now, as if something inside her has shifted.

We step inside together.

It smells like fresh paint and citrus, the kind that reminds me of late summer and clean slates. Sunlight pours through massive windows, casting golden streaks across the hardwood floors.

It’s empty. Echoing. But it already feels full, with possibility.

I look at her. “I didn’t want to show you this until I was sure I deserved you. But then I realized… I may never feel worthy. But I just know I don’t want to live another single day without you.”

She looks around slowly, soaking it in, her fingers brushing the wall like she’s testing whether it’s real.

My voice cracks. “I want to give you everything, Sophie. Not just houses and cars or stupid jokes and orgasms. I want to give you peace. A partner. A place to belong. Home.”

Her eyes flick to mine, glassy and unreadable.

She opens her mouth like she wants to say something, then closes it again. A breath shudders out of her, and her hand presses instinctively over her belly.

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispers. “Part of me wants to scream at you. The other part wants to fall into your arms and pretend none of the pain ever happened.”

I take a small step closer, not touching her. “Then do both. Yell at me. Fall apart. Just… Please stay. Don’t walk away.”

She bites her lip, seems torn. And for the first time since she stepped out of that car, I see something break through the hesitation.

She studies me. Really studies me. The tired eyes. The nervous hands. The cracks in the armor I used to wear like a second skin.

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