Page 44 of Entangled By You
“Yes! I’m soready to know.”
“How about you, Dad? You ready to find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?”
Pierce is quiet, eyes wide as they lock on me.
The doctor backtracks. “Do you not want to know? We have that happen more often than you’d think. Sometimes one partner likes to keep the excitement of not knowing until they’re born.”
“Pierce? I don’t care either way, but when we talked about it, I thought we were on the same page of wanting to know.”
“No, yeah. I want to know. Sorry, Doc.”
He leans down, dropping a kiss to my forehead, his lips ghosting to my ear. “She called me dad. I’m going to be a dad, Lexi.” Pure excitement and joy radiate from his tone.
My muffled laughter adds to the lighthearted vibe in the room. I finally feel like I can take a full breath. Like, my life isn’t a complete mess and falling into shambles.
I’ve been so dissociated from this pregnancy. From this baby, because of our situation. I haven’t let myself fall in love with them. I didn’t want to start the nursery, and I’ve been in denial that our entire world is about to shift this summer. But now, it’s different.
I think I can let myself be happy now.
“Okay, let’s do this then,” the doctor says, moving the Doppler against my stomach.
I wait anxiously, watching, taking in our baby on the screen. They’ll be the perfect mix of me and the man I never thought would look at me twice with our history, yet here we are.
“Alright, Mom and Dad, right here,” the doctor points to the screen, “is where we can see that little miss is a girl. Congrats, you two.”
“We’re having a girl!” Pierce exclaims, grabbing my face and kissing the life out of me.
The doctor chuckles and finishes up, printing the scan so we can take it home.
“Well, now that we know…” Pierce starts when we make it back to the car, but his phone interrupts.
“Hey, man. Right now isn’t…” He quiets, letting whoever’s on the other line—probably my brother—speak. “Yeah, I got you. Give me twenty.”
“The club calls and you go, huh?” I don’t know why it sours my mood so quickly, but like a flip of a coin, I’m pissed. We were in our bubble, just the two of us, blissfully happy about our daughter.
“Lex, don’t be like that. It’s work. You know the club is more than riding and hanging out with the boys; it’s my job. My way to support you.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.” I huff. “You know I start at Josephine’s salon next week.”
“That’s not the point.” His head falls back against the headrest. “I want to take care of you, Lexi, fuck. But I can’t do that without being on call for the club when they need me.”
“So, this is how it’ll always be? That’s what you’re telling me? The club over me.”
The fierce look he throws my way, before he’s in my space across the center console, sends my heart rate galloping. He grips the back of my neck, demanding my undivided attention.
“Never, and I’m dead serious right now, Lexi, ever thinkanythingis more important to me than you and our daughter. But the boys are a huge part of my life. They’re family, too. When you were off with—” He stops, pinching his eyes closed, like even the thought of me with Evan causes him physicalpain. “When we were apart, they kept me together. Took me in after I had no family left. Gave me a roof over my head, a reason not to call it after the shit hand I’d been dealt in life. So yeah, baby, they matter and sometimes they’ll get in the way, but you willalwaysbe my everything, Princess.”
Maybe I’m overreacting… Okay, I’m obviously overreacting, and now I don’t know how to dig myself out of the hole I made. I hate feeling so off-kilter and insane because of these damn hormones running rampant through my system.
His forehead meets mine, breath fanning across my face from the deep sigh he lets loose. “Please, tell me you understand, Lexi. I won’t go until we’re good.”
“Won’t you get in trouble?” I choke out, not ready to eat my humble pie quite yet.
“Let’s just say, they can’t really get started without me.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, collapsing into his solid chest. “We had a good day, and I ruined it with my crazy.”
“I love your crazy, baby.” He laughs.
