Page 147 of Trapped
I wrapped my non-IV arm around her. “Hey.” My voice made sandpaper sound smooth.
“Nathan!”
I moaned when she pushed off my chest.
“Sorry,” she said, pulling away.
“Don’t apologize.” I coughed.
Ashley extracted herself from my grip and grabbed a glass of water. “Here.”
After finishing the cup, I asked Ashley if she was okay. And about the baby.
“I’m fine, I swear.” She confirmed her test was negative, then asked if I remembered the car ride.
“It’s a bit fuzzy, so I wanted to verify I wasn’t dreaming.”
“You weren’t.”
Is that sadness I hear in her voice?That didn’t make any sense.
“Ashley.” I pulled her chin until she faced me. “Are you sad you’re not pregnant with Finn’s baby?”
“No!” She shook her head. “It’s just… it’s nothing. I’m stupid.”
“Hey, no one calls my girl stupid, not even you.” I squeezed the back of her neck and pulled her down for a light kiss. “Now, tell me.”
“I’m happy I’m not having his baby, but I kind of got used to the idea of Emily, Meg, and me raising our first babies together.” She laughed at herself. “See, stupid.”
“It’s not stupid. You found a positive to focus on.” I caressed her cheek. “If things were different, would you want to be pregnant?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” She shrugged.
I grinned. “If you want to, we can make a baby as soon as they release me.”
Her eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped.
Thinking about baby-making caused me to look Ashley up and down to appreciate her gorgeous body.She’s wearing different clothes. Before I could ask about them, she laughed.
It was loud and raw and real. And the most beautiful sound in the world.
“Slow down, Cowboy.”
“Cowboy?” She’d called me that in the cabin, too, but I’d forgotten until she said it again.
“After what happened, I’ll never call you Casper again.”
Thank God.“Appreciate that.”
“We can’t make a baby.” I raised my eyebrows, certain we could. She ignored my unspoken question. “We haven’t even gone on a date.”
“I’ll take you on a date as soon as I get out of here.” I thought about it. “Well, maybe I’ll take a shower first.” I joked.
“We’re not married.”
“Easy problem to remedy. Marry me.” The only thing I could think about while feeling my life slipping away with every beat of my heart was Ashley. I’d probably been in love with her from the instant she hit on me with a devilish grin and cheesy pickup line.
“You can’t be serious?”
