Page 55 of Unpredictable

“I would never,” V chokes out.

I rub her upper arm. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. I know you would never use me, which is why you’re perfect. You love me for me, not what I can give you. I was just so caught up in keeping a promise I made to myself as a kid that I didn’t realize how much it would suck without you in my life. I want you, Victoria. I want us. I want the life we can only build together.”

We’re both silent for a little while, swinging back and forth.

“We go slow,” she says softly.

“Whatever you want, love. Slow, fast, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s with you.”

V stands and holds out her hand. “Come on, show me this house.”

I grab her hand and walk her into the house we will make into a home.

???

Chapter Sixteen

July

“Hey, what are you doing?” Victoria asks softly.

I turn and find her leaning against the doorframe of the nursery. “Making sure everything is ready to go.”

“Brooks, you’ve had the room ready for over a month. You’ve had the bags packed and in the car for just as long,” she teases.

I shrug and feel my cheeks warming. “I’m excited to meet my daughter.”

“We don’t know if bean is a girl or a boy.”

“It’s a girl.”

“What will you do if it’s a boy?” she asks curiously.

“Knock you up again until you give me a little girl.” And I mean it.

“Brooks, what am I going to do with you?” V groans.

“Love me.”

“And I do,” she says gently before walking over to me. Victoria wraps her arms around my waist while looking around the room. “I know I’ve said it, but I’ll say it again, you killed it picking everything out then setting it all up.”

“Thank you.” I squeeze her a little tighter into my side as we look around the room.

I wanted to surprise Victoria with the nursery. We looked online, got ideas of what we both liked and disliked, and then I hit the ground running.

The crib and changing table are a dark distressed grey, solid wood that took more than one person to put together. The walls are painted a light grey. Above the crib we have Brooks stenciled onto the wall. Above the changing table we have a world map drawn on the wall. The bedding has little mountains on it. A mobile above it is made up of little hot-air balloons. Little trinkets from some of the places we’ve been sit on shelves. There’s a bookcase in the corner with a glider next to it and one of those lamps that promise to keep you sleepy instead of waking you up, giving you enough light to feed but not much else. It’s perfect.

Only thing missing is our girl.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts when V hisses next to me and digs her nails into my side.

“You okay?” I rub her back.

“Yeah, it’s those stupid Braxton-Hicks,” she mutters.

“Come on, let’s go get you comfortable.” I pull her out of the nursery and towards the living room. A couple steps down the hall, Victoria goes still. Then I feel it. Water on the floor.

“Did you spill water?” I wonder out loud. V whimpers behind me, and I whip around towards her, seeing tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

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