Page 85 of Cross Check Daddies
I press my forehead to hers and close my eyes. “I was an asshole.”
“I know,” she whispers.
“I was scared. Doesn’t make it better. But I need you to know it.”
She nods, her hands resting on my chest like she’s debating whether to hold me or shove me.
“I want to be with you,” I say. “I’m not saying I’ve figured it all out yet. But I don’t want to lose this. I don’t want to loseyou.”
Something breaks in her face, a shift in her eyes, and then she kisses me. Hard. Desperate. Her mouth opens against mine like she’s been holding back everything, and now it’s spilling free.
My hand slides to the back of her neck. Her fingers yank at my shirt. We move as one toward the counter, knocking over a glass as we go. It shatters against the floor, but neither of us stops.
She lifts herself onto the counter, legs wrapping around my hips. I push the shirt up, fingers grazing her bare skin. She’s already pulling at my pants, urgency in every movement, and my mouth moves to her neck, her collarbone, the top of her breast. She gasps, hands tight in my hair.
It’s messy and fast and full of everything we’ve been holding back. Her thighs clench around me, and my hips rock forward, grinding against her with no patience. Her breath stutters, and her head drops to my shoulder.
When we finally still, when the rush fades just enough to breathe again, she’s quiet. Too quiet.
Then I feel it.
Her tears against my shoulder.
I freeze.
“Brooke,” I whisper, pulling back enough to see her face. “What’s wrong?”
She wipes her cheek quickly, embarrassed. “I don’t know. Everything. Nothing. It’s just... a lot.”
I press a kiss to her temple. “You’re allowed to cry. You’re allowed to be overwhelmed.”
“I didn’t plan any of this,” she says. “I didn’t plan to fall for three men. I didn’t plan to get pregnant. I didn’t plan to be this confused.”
I nod, brushing her hair back. “And I didn’t plan to lose my shit when I heard you were carrying a baby that might not be mine. But I did. I panicked. And I hurt you. I know that.”
She sniffles, steadying herself. “You were honest. That matters. But this... this is bigger than any of us.”
“I know,” I say. “But I meant what I said. I want to be with you. However that looks. If that means sharing you, I’ll do it. Not because I’m weak or giving up, but because I care enough to want you happy, even if it’s not just with me.”
She’s silent for a long time, just watching me. Then she exhales slowly.
“I need some time,” she says finally. “To think. To figure out what this could be... especially with Jackson in the mix.”
“Of course.”
I press another kiss to her shoulder, then rest my head there.
We stay like that for a while. In the quiet, in the weight of everything. It’s not perfect. But it’s real. And for now, that’s enough.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Brooke
“I should go,”I whisper, pulling my shirt down, trying to get my breath back, and not completely fall apart all over again.
Ace’s hand slides over mine, catching it. “Wait.”
His voice is raw, pleading, quiet in the way that pins me in place.
