Page 52 of A Surprise Baby for the Wolf Shifter

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GEMMA

Damn it all.

Why did he have to show up now? Was this the universe’s sign? Were we meant to be together?

I wasn’t sure. I had so many questions. So many things I turmoiled over and lost sleep about over the last several months. But my heart kept pulling me toward him. Maybe this was the universe’s way of saying we were meant to be.

Then my head needed to get in the way too, reminding me of all thing things I would have rather forgotten. What if he changes into a wolf and hurts me? What if he can’t control his changes? What if Tabitha isn’t out of the picture?

“If you need to take your own car for comfort, I will understand,” he said, adding in another compromise.

I couldn’t blame him for wanting me to give him another chance. He even said he wasn’t asking for a relationship, just a chance to be in his kid’s life. Was that too much to ask for?

He might have had a point. Someday, this kid will be grown up and they will have their first shift. But what if that doesn’t happen?

“Can the change not happen?” I asked.

He settled his light brown eyes on me. “I haven’t heard of that.”

I frowned and nodded.

My glance shifted to the papers on the table, starting to lift with a breeze that had picked up in the last few minutes.

It was getting later and later, and the crowd around us had dwindled to nothing more than empty tables, free from all the settings and placements. The waiter was probably going to be angry with us if we didn’t close out our ticket soon. He hadn’t been back in a while. I wondered if it was too late.

“It doesn’t even have to be today. But I would love the chance to show you before you hand those papers in,” he said.

I nodded and groaned inwardly. He was saying all the right things again, and I appreciated that. But none of that was helping me with making a decision. And though Cassidy has been great and super supportive this entire time, I couldn’t exactly phone a friend in front of him. How would that have made him feel?

Besides, I knew her well enough to know what she would say.

Go for it and call her when things got settled.

I sighed.

My brain argued again. “Why can’t you just tell me about it?”

“Because it’s one of those you have to see to believe things,” he said.

“Pictures?” I asked.

His expression was a mask of worry. “I-I could send you some. Sure. But I would rather you come and see for yourself. Pictures wouldn’t have done any justice.”

I nodded again.

More and more of me wanted to go with him. And really, was there anything to lose by going and giving him a chance to show me whatever was important enough it had to be seen in person? If anything, this would be the perfect opportunity for the closure I desperately needed.

My brain agreed.

I sighed and smiled. “Okay.”

He smiled back. “Okay.”

He stood from the table and held out his hand, helping me up from the chair. My belly bumped into him, which forced me to meet his gaze with an apology on my tongue, but I was caught within his gaze and struggled to find my way back out.

Luckily, he pulled away first.

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