Page 96 of The Genius
“What do you think they’re going to say?”
Shelly leaned her head back and looked up at the white clouds. “They’ll say I’ve lost my mind.”
Her words worried me. “You’ll still move in with me, right?”
With a tired smile she gave a small nod. “If you think I’ll let others’ opinion of me dictate how I live my life, then you underestimate me. I’m used to people seeing me as crazy, eccentric, odd, awkward –take your pick.”
“My pick would be a unicorn.”
Her eyebrows rose with a look of surprise. “Isn’t that a horse?”
“Yes, but the most rare and beautiful one there is. It’s magical.”
“I don’t believe in magic.” Shelly yawned. She probably hadn’t slept much last night either.
“You’re tired. Do you want to go back to my place?” I asked, hoping to spend more time with her.
“I’m just overwhelmed by the whole thing. This wasn’t in my plans and I don’t think I’ve fully understood it yet.”
We were still standing in the stream letting the water run over our bare feet. “Yeah, me too. Once your belly starts growing it’ll be easier to understand and maybe then you’ll be more excited about it.”
“Yeah, maybe when the initial shock subsides. It’s different for you. At least you always knew you wanted children. I hadn’t thought about it until you came in me five weeks ago.”
“But you’ll love our child, won’t you?”
“Of course I will.” She reached up on her toes and touched my face. “And I’ll love you.”
I was so stunned by Shelly’s unexpected words that she had started walking back the way we’d come before I kicked into gear.
“Do you mean you’ll love me because I’m the father of your child or will you love me for real?”
Shelly kept walking. “The two are the same.”
“No, they’re not. Would you love me if there was no child?”
She cast a glance over her shoulder. “Ah, so we are asking each other the same question. I asked you if you’d be here if not for the child and now you want to know if I would love you if not for the child.”
“So what is your answer?” I asked.
Shelly climbed up a group of stones to where we had placed our shoes.
“Shelly, do you love me?” My arms were spread out and my head leaned back to look up at her.
“I do.” It felt a little flat since she was putting on her sandals and didn’t look at me.
Unsatisfied, I climbed up to her, brushed my hands off on my pants, and rose to my full height in front of her. “Why do I sense there’s a ‘but’ in that sentence?”
“Marco, I’ve always liked you.”
I stepped closer. “Just tell me if…”
With a hand to my mouth she silenced me. “Please, Marco, I’m exhausted and need some time to digest this whole thing.”
I stood back watching her walk to the drone while I put on my shoes. She said she loved me but there was no indication that it was a romantic kind of love. More like she’d just realized that we were related and now she felt obligated to love me as her kin.
Make her fall in love with you.
Never had I craved anything as much as this. I would find a way to convince her to accept me as more than her roommate. She was carrying my child. Whether Shelly understood it or not, that made her my mate.
