Page 49 of Shameless
“Are you keeping it?”
I balked at the question. Never would I have thought that would be the first thing he’d ask. “Yes, of course.”
“And you plan to stay here in Houston?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was waiting to see what the results were.”
He arched a brow. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“You’ve lived in Houston this whole time. Where else would you live?”
“I might go back to San Antonio, or maybe even to Dallas, considering you’re the father.”
Eddie blinked. “You’d move to Dallas?”
“Yeah, I mean, that’s where you are and it’s your baby. If you want to be in the child’s life, then I’d move to Dallas. If not, then I need to go where my mom is.” And his dad. Our parents were still together. How were they going to react when they learned Eddie was the father?
“What about your job?”
“I’ll have to find another one wherever I end up.”
“You know”—he stood up and began pacing—“I’ve thought about this a lot. Been wondering if it would change things between us if I was the father.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’ve loved you since I was seventeen, Stacey, and now you’re having my baby and not married to someone else. It’s fucking with my head, my heart, my entire being.” He ran his hand through his short brown hair. “It’s like a crazy twist of fate or some shit and I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t really know what to do either,” I cried. “You’re the one who broke up with me and left me in San Francisco.”
“We already tried to hash that out and look where it put us.” He waved in the direction of my stomach. When we had talked about him leaving me in California because he thought I had cheated on him with Blake, he’d asked me if I still loved him. When I told him I did, that had been all it took for him to kiss me and then one thing led to another, resulting in me carrying his child.
“I know, and you said it was water under the bridge.”
He stared up at the ceiling. “I need to know …”
“Yeah?” I prompted.
He took a deep breath and met my gaze. “It was only a few months ago you admitted you still loved me. Is that still the case?”
“Yes,” I admitted softly.
Eddie dropped to his knee in front of me. “Then marry me,” he begged, and hit his chest where his heart was. “I’ve loved you most of my life, and somehow I fucked it all up with you. But I don’t want to go another day without you. I don’t want to have to go through the agony of you dating someone else—of you marrying someone else. I’m so madly in love with you and I want us to do this right. To be a family. To be together forever. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and even if there was no baby in the picture, I still need you in my life. So, will you? Will you marry me, sunshine?”
“I … wow …” Stunned, I was unable to find any words except one. “Yes.”
19
Sarah
Grabbing Skye’s leash,I placed her on the ground after getting out of my Jeep and headed toward my apartment. I’d taken her to work with me so she could get her shots and meet my co-workers. Everyone fell in love with her, and it made me feel good to have a dog again. I’d missed having a cuddle buddy, and she was already turning into one.
I let Skye go potty before walking up the stairs to my apartment, all while keeping my eyes on my surroundings. The man who had banged on my door hadn’t been back as far as I knew, and I’d hoped he truly was just at the wrong apartment and wouldn’t be back. Whatever the case may be, it still freaked me out, and I couldn’t wait for Skye to get bigger and more protective. It was the first time I’d ever lived alone, and maybe that was why I was eager for Blake to stay. Not that I needed him, but more that without him, I felt lonely.
After unlocking the door, Skye ran in before me and I dropped her leash as she went straight to Blake. He was standing at the stove, and something smelled delicious.
“Whatcha cookin’, good lookin’?” I placed my keys and purse down on the breakfast bar next to a big cardboard box.
