Page 51 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

She settled her confused gaze on me. She frowned and said, “You sound like Cassidy.”

“Cassidy is a very wise woman. I’m glad you have a friend in her,” I said and smiled.

She sighed and stared at the papers. Her eyebrows drew closer together. She was warring with herself on the right thing to do. And I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t like her unhappiness or struggling with anything.

I had let her down. More than a man should have in my position.

There had to be a way to make up for my shortcomings.

I wanted to thank fate for bringing me to her again. But I also held by breath for fear that she would disappear right in front of me.

I gripped the table. “Please. Give me the chance to show you. I want to prove myself to you.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why now? Why not six months ago or even three?”

“You made it blatantly clear you wanted nothing to do with me,” I said. “I was trying to respect your space. Didn’t I already explain that?”

“Until today…” she said. She pointed at me and then at the table. “You stayed away until today. You only started explaining yourself today.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry for crashing your lunch date. I couldn’t help myself. I just had to see you,” I said. “I needed to find out for myself how you’ve been.”

“Again, why?” she asked.

“Because I’m in love with you, Gemma,” the words flowed out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Every single part of you. Every cell in my being gravitates toward you. Because of reasons I have yet to discover or understand, but with your permission, I would spend the rest of my life searching for that answer and making up for my shortcomings when it comes to you and our baby.”

I sucked in a breath as my heart hammered against my chest. I waited for her to process everything I had just said. Her breathing picked up. Her expression was one of confusion and pain. Tears filled her eyes.

“That is if you would allow me the honor,” I added.

She shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. “I don’t know.”

She had said those words while she rubbed her belly, barely above a whisper, but I heard every single one of them. I wondered if she realized what she was doing. Then the urge to touch her belly too came over me, nearly overwhelming me.

I wanted to feel my child move inside her again. But I wouldn’t ask her yet. I would bide my time until the right moment. I also wanted to go to her and wrap her in my arms. I wanted to whisper endearments into her ear and tell her that everything was going to be okay. We would figure it out together. One day at a time.

My ass and fear of rejection kept me glued to the seat. Why did it feel so awkward to do the simplest, sweet things for her?

Because she intimidated me. In ways I had yet to fathom.

“You barely know anything about me,” she said after several moments. She whipped her face clean of the tears that streaked her cheeks. “How could you love me? Why would you say that?”

I shrugged and smiled. “I don’t have an answer for that. But I figure it doesn’t matter. We can spend the rest of our lives figuring that out. But I need you to give me another chance for that to happen.”

“And how do you think that is going to go? What about the other woman? I have so many questions,” she breathed out and shook her head.

I nodded. “I’ll be more than happy to answer them. But first, I want you to come back to my place. I have something to show you, and then I can try to answer all the questions you have there.”

I waited as she gave me the impression she was mulling over her options. She slumped against the back of the chair and huffed. It was as though she warred with different parts of herself. On one side, she wanted to go with me, which was incredibly encouraging. But there was the other side of her who tried to talk her out of it.

She needed time to come to a decision. So long she ended up with me, I would give her all the time she wanted.

“I can’t,” she said, finally. “I can’t blow off my job for you. I still have bills to pay.”

I leaned back in my chair, resting a hand on the table. “I understand. Just a couple of hours is all I’m asking for. I’ll drive you back and forth. Whatever decision you make, I will support it. I don’t want to make you feel like I’m forcing you. You can consider it step one of proving myself to you.”

Her eyes met mine. For the first time during this visit, there was a light in them.

I was getting my hopes up, but perhaps that was a good sign.

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