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The thing was, he didn’t totally see his baby as a way to recoup what was lost. Or at least, that wasn’t the driving force behind his pushing for Hope to give him another shot. Not when he really thought about it.
The truth was he wanted her in his life and in his bed. He loved her. Fuck, the last few days since they told their families about the pregnancy had been the happiest of his life. He’d actually wanted to cook for her, and he’d spent the days looking forward to coming home and finding her there, working or cooking or doing her yoga in the backyard. His shitty little house had started to feel like a home, and it was all because of Hope.
And he’d gone and fucked it up.
Daniel pushed to his feet, startling Ollie. “Sorry, girl.” He reached for his phone and then hesitated. A call wasn’t going to cut it. He’d let Hope Moore slip out of his life thirteen years ago, and he couldn’t live with himself if he did it a second time.
He just had to prove to her that he was all in.Chapter SeventeenHope rolled out of bed at nine, which was the latest her pride would allow her to sleep in. As tempting as it was to hide in bed all day, there were too many things waiting for her attention, not the least being her plan for the future. She combed her hair and put on her brightest sundress, needing to feel in control of at least that. She glanced at her phone, hating the little thread of disappointment when the notifications showed no missed calls or texts from Daniel.
He didn’t call last time, either.
God, she was so sure she’d moved past all of that. All it took was one fight and she was right back in that dark place, calling and calling and never getting any answer. She wouldn’t do that again. She couldn’t. There was more than herself to think of now, and wallowing in despair couldn’t possibly be good for the baby.
That’s the only bright spot in this disaster, which is damned ironic.
She pressed her hand to her stomach. “It’s just me and you, little bit.” Except it wasn’t. There would be no cutting Daniel out of her life for good, not when the baby was half him. As much as it made her sick to think about, she had to face him, and soon. They had to hash out some kind of visitation setup before she left town, because she had no intention of setting foot back in Devil’s Falls. This town had done enough damage, and it didn’t matter if her pain wasn’t actually the town’s fault.
“Uh, Hope?”
She jumped and then felt guilty for jumping. She was in Jessica’s home, after all. It only stood to reason that the woman had come to check on her. “Yeah?”
“I think you’re going to want to come see this.”
She opened the door and started down the stairs, wondering at how strange her friend sounded. “What’s wrong?” When she got no answer, she picked up her pace, though she kept a hand on the railing. The last thing she needed was a tumble, especially when she was already feeling so off balance. She froze at the bottom of the stairs, not quite believing her eyes. “Danny?” She took a step toward him and then stopped, registering that both her parents were on the other side of the living room, and Jessica stood next to them, and all three of them were staring at her and Daniel with varying degrees of expectation.
“Hey, darling.” His face didn’t give anything away, didn’t give any indication of why he was here.
Painfully aware they had an audience, she bit her lip. “Maybe we should talk privately.” Judging from the way Jessica was practically salivating, anything he said would spread like wildfire through town by lunch. Hope couldn’t even blame her. It was just the way things were in this town.
“No, I don’t think we should.” He moved toward her, and she belatedly registered the flowers in his hands. Daisies. Her favorite.
She took them, not sure what to think. “You remembered.”
“I remember everything.” He took her hand, and for one breathless moment, she thought he was going to go down on one knee, but Daniel met her gaze, the naked longing in his eyes drawing her in despite herself. He squeezed her hand. “I fucked up. I fucked up when I put myself before us thirteen years ago, and I fucked up again last night by letting the past get a stranglehold on me. I’ve been so focused on everything that went wrong all that time ago, I forgot to focus on everything going right.”
“Danny—”
“Let me finish.” There was no heat to the words—just quiet strength. “I love you, darling. I’ve always loved you. The last few days have made me so happy that it scared the shit out of me, and so I went and poked it until it exploded. I was wrong, and I’m so damn sorry.”
