Page 212 of Lose You Twice

“Your laugh in the kitchen early in the morning, your body next to mine every night when I go to bed, you cheering me on during games, and me finding you right after. I’ve had three years to learn what living without you feels like, and it’s like a piece of me was gone with you and finally came back once you did.

“It wouldn’t matter to me if you told me right now that there was a zero percent chance that you could someday have our babies. It wouldn’t change my mind. There are so many ways we could become parents. But even if that’s something you chose you didn’t want to do, I’d still want you.”

He brushes the hair from my face. “And if you do have endometriosis, if we run into future problems, I’ll be right there by your side for any tests or treatments. Whatever you need.” His eyes hold mine. “I’ll be right there with you, Freckles. Because I wouldn’t survive if I had to lose you twice.”

He kisses me then, and I melt into his touch.

The only time my mind quiets is when he’s around and when he kisses me like this; no thoughts outside of him exist. He consumes me completely.

Maybe the reason all of this scares me so much is because I can’t handle the thought of him not being in my life again. No one else has ever made me feel the way he does. Seen, respected, loved, cherished, and cared for, all while feeling supported, as if he’d be just fine no matter what I chose to do with my life, as long as it included him.

He pulls away, and I lean into his touch, not wanting to open my eyes quite yet.

“Freckles,” he murmurs.

“Hmm,” I hum, causing him to chuckle.

“Let’s get you home, okay? As much as I’d like to take you home with me, your mom said she needed to talk to you.”

I groan. “I may have been a royal bitch toward her earlier, and I owe her an apology.”

“Let’s get you home then.” He takes my hand in his, and together we walk toward our cars.

I pull back into my driveway, sitting there for a moment as Kai pulls in behind me. He hops out before coming to open my door, holding out a hand for me. I take it, letting him pull me into his chest once I get out of the car, breathing in his minty scent, grounding me.

“You sure you don’t want me to come in?” he asks, making sure I haven’t changed my mind.

I shake my head, pulling away from him. “I should probably do this part on my own, but I’ll text you when you can come in, okay?”

He nods in understanding before heading back to his car.

Sometimes I wonder how I actually deserve someone like Kai Mercer.

Someone so fiercely loyal, kind, hard-working, determined, and overall just loving. He’s good at everything he sets his mind to, especially loving me.

Walking inside, I move to the kitchen, finding Mom sitting there with two cups steaming in front of her.

I raise my brows, and she grins softly.

“Kai texted when you were headed back.”

A small laugh leaves me. “Of course he did.”

Mom pats the seat beside her. “Come sit.”

Sitting down, I clear my throat. “About earlier, I⁠—”

She places her hand on top of mine, stopping me. “You have nothing to apologize for, Wren. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me.”

I gape at her. “For what? The way I spoke earlier was completely out of line.”

She chuckles at that. “You were a little feisty, sure, but you weren’t wrong.” Mom brings a hand up to the side of my face. “I’ve put too much on you these last few months, honey. I was so wrapped up in what I was trying to do—my work, paying the bills—that I forgot to make sure you were truly doing okay with everything that I let you take over.”

Pulling an envelope from behind her, she lays it on the table between us. “I didn’t want to mention it until I knew what would be happening, but our bills aren’t the only reason I’ve been working so much overtime. I hired a lawyer to go after your father for the late child support. My appointment today was at their office to let me know that we won’t have to go to court because your father agreed to pay what is owed.”

Her eyes shine with relief. “Now, it won’t be all at once, but each payment is a very substantial amount. This is the first one.” She slides the envelope toward me. “I want you to take it. Use it for your school, so you don’t have to try and juggle the work-study situation after this term.”

I blink at her, completely shocked. “Are you serious?”