Okay. Calm down.
It’s just dinner. Just Wilder. Just the man I live with. The man I sleep beside every night. The man who makes me feel safe in ways I didn’t know were possible.
The man who might freak out when he hears what I have to tell him.
My stomach does a violent flip.
I press a hand to my belly, the gesture still strange and new, terrifying and wonderful all at once.
“I can do this,” I whisper to myself.
The apartment smells warm and comforting—garlic, herbs, fresh bread, and burned sauce. I spent the entire afternoon cleaning even though it was already clean. I set the table twice. Changed my dress three times. Checked the test again even though I know what it says.
Pregnant.
The word makes my chest feel tight. My eyes sting as I glance toward the test strip laying precariously on the edge of the dining table.
In a not-so-distant past, I never dared to dream about this—about having a baby. But here I am…
The sound of the front door opening makes me jump, my pulse spiking.
Wilder steps inside, closing the door behind him. His eyes find me immediately like they always do, and something in my chest softens even as nerves tighten around it.
He looks…off. Tense. Distracted. Like his mind is somewhere else. Fear slides coldly down my spine as a million thoughts invade my mind all at once.
Oh God. This is it.
He’s tired of me.
He’s going to tell me I need to leave.
I force a smile. “Hey.”
“Hey, baby girl.”
His voice is warm, but there’s something else simmering underneath it. He walks over and kisses my forehead, lingering for a second longer than usual. His hand slides to my waist, holding me there like he needs the contact.
That makes my heart pound even harder.
Guilt? Regret?
We move through the motions. He washes his hands. I plate the food, and we sit to eat.
The silence is unbearable.
Normally, dinner is my favorite part of the evening. We talk. We laugh. We share every stupid little detail about our day. But tonight, the quiet stretches, heavy and awkward.
He clears his throat.
I grip my fork tighter.
He opens his mouth. So do I. The words explode out of both of us at the same time.
“Will you marry me—”
“I’m pregnant.”
We both go still, and the world seems to freeze in that moment. We stare at each other.
