Page 37 of The Last Thing
I almost say yes because I’m exhausted, but then I spot theInvestigatorsbook series on the nearby bookshelf.
“How about we read for a bit?”
“Okay.”
With that, Sophia and I get cozy on the couch and read.
All the other craziness aside, it’s moments like these that I live for—that bring me peace.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WILSON
I’m a fucking twat.
That’s the conclusion I’ve reached about fifty times today.
And a hundred more last night.
I almost stormed back into Hallie’s apartment multiple times after I left like the asshole I am.
She told me she was pregnant with my baby, and I walked out.
She mumbled those words while I stood there catatonic, then I just left.
Fucking moron.
It’s no surprise she didn’t want to talk to me this morning, but seeing her uber professional mode was jarring. And hot.
I grip the steering wheel tighter. Two more red lights and I’ll be home to face the dumpster fire anew.
Especially because this revelation changes everything.
Hallie’s no longer a woman I once hooked up with and still run hot for. She’s not Sophia’s nanny who I want but shouldn’t get involved with. She’s the mother of my child. And while I wasn’t willing to cross professional lines because Sophia needs someone like her, it’s all different now.
If there hadn’t been any continuing chemistry with Hallie—if she hadn’t made me feel alive the way she did—I wouldn’t even let my mind go where it’s going.
But fuck.
It’s Hallie. My hellion.Mine.
Now that I know exactly what’s at stake, I want her to be. I want a chance at being the man who takes care of her. Who supports her. Who cherishes her. And that’s fucked up because I haven’t wanted anything like that in a long, long time.
It was there, deep in my gut, the night we spent together. But I knew I couldn’t have it. Or I thought I couldn’t.
I keep going back to fate.
Did it throw us together for a reason?
I pull into the parking lot, at odds with the idealistic side of me I don’t let out often.
But damn it all if I don’t want Hallie to be mine, and I’m willing to grovel to prove to her how sorry I am for how I handled this.
I trudge up the stairs to the apartment, cursing the fact that we have to wait to talk until Sophia is asleep. I haven’t even let my mind wander to what we’re going to tell her or when, but we’ll have to figure it out eventually.
The second I open the door, Hallie spins around and starts moving quickly through the apartment.
“Hey, your dad’s here.”
