Page 104 of Erik's Redemption
The doctor kept talking, but Hannah barely heard a word. She wanted to be happy. She wanted to cry tears of joy. But one question kept rolling around in her head—in gaining a child, would she lose the man she loved?
CHAPTER 37
The ring sat in Erik’s palm, the afternoon light reflecting off the diamonds. It was perfect. The slim band, the oval-cut white diamond.
All he wanted to do was get it on her finger now. Today. But Hannah deserved the moment to be special. She deserved candles and romance and magic. And damn, he wanted to give that to her.
At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he dropped the ring into his pocket and turned to see Hannah stepping into the kitchen.
Her eyes immediately closed, a groan slipping from her lips. “Mm, something smells amazing.” She moved straight over, rose to her toes, and kissed him. “Are you making me dinner, Mr. Hunter?”
“Chicken cordon bleu skillet.”
She sighed. “Don’t tease me. Really?”
“I would never tease.” He nipped her lip before lifting a glass of red wine and passing it to her.
For a moment, she hesitated, some emotion he couldn’t identify flashing across her face, but then she slipped the glassfrom his fingers. “I shouldn’t. I need to drop some keys to my safe at work before dinner.”
His brows flickered. “Is that all?”
She nodded quickly. Too quickly? “Yeah. And I’m also tired.” She set the wine on the counter. “How are you feeling about Rachel leaving this weekend?”
He lifted a shoulder. “She’ll be back soon, so I don’t mind.”
The woman had given them notice that she was moving to Redwood…for a while, at least. She certainly wasn’t leaving until they located Moreno and ended him.
Erik wasn’t dumb enough to assume she’d be here long-term. She had too much of a restless soul to stay in one place for long. But having her here, even just for a couple months, would be nice. “Are you okay with her being here?”
“Of course. Idolike her, Erik. And she’s been so great since everything happened. We had lunch together the other day, and she was pretty protective of me the entire time.”
That was the Rachel he knew. A badass on the outside, but a softie at heart. “Everything at work okay?”
“Yeah. With Leo and Henry dating, I’ve been seeing a lot more of Henry at the office, which is nice.”
He stirred the pasta. “So, the problem isn’t work. It’s not Rachel. Is it money or your diabetes?”
She swallowed, looking nervous.
Yeah, something was definitely going on.
Her chest rose on a deep inhale. Then she looked at him—andnowshe seemed almost scared. “I’d like to talk to you again about us having kids.”
The panic was instant. It seized his chest, catapulting his heart into a dangerously fast rhythm. Because all he could think about was the past. The loss.
He had so many fucking memories of Vicky’s pregnancy. Her beautiful round stomach. The appointments. Seeing sonogramsand hearing the heartbeat. Fuck, he could still hear that heartbeat in his head…and he’d sworn to protect them.
Their deaths had nearly killed him.
“I’m not open to talking about that, Hannah. I’m sorry, but you know where I stand on the matter.”
“What happened to Vicky was a tragedy. And I’m so sorry for what you lost. But it won’t be the same with us.”
His heart tore in two. What had happened was worse than a tragedy. It was a nightmare he still couldn’t wake up from some days. A devastation that repeated in his head more often than Hannah knew. And the idea ofherstomach swelling with his child, then something happening… It made a fear like nothing he’d ever felt seize everything in him. Choke him.
“I can’t.”
Hannah took a small step forward. “I know you’re still healing. But eventually, you need tolive. Creating a family together doesn’t have to be painful. It can be so many wonderful things. Beautiful and peaceful, bringing so much love to our world—”
