Page 38 of A Minute Past Midnight

She stirred slightly, and I immediately froze until her breathing settled again.

I closed my eyes.

God, I don’t know what You have planned for us, but I’m asking You to watch over us. Watch over her and our baby, and if she’s the woman You sent into my life, . . . please let me be the man she needs.

My eyes opened as I looked at her again, because I could really see myself loving her for the rest of my life.

The thought should’ve terrified me after that bullshit with Forever, but instead, it felt right.

Careful not to wake her, I slipped out of bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants before quietly making my way downstairs.

I had one mission—breakfast.

How hard could that shit possibly be?

Apparently, extremely fucking hard. I had never cooked a day in my life, so thirty minutes later, I stood in the kitchen staring down at what used to be eggs.

Now? I had no idea what the hell they were. The bacon looked like charcoal, and I was pretty sure I’d used enough butter to feed an entire family.

“What are you doing?”

I turned around. Juliana stood at the bottom of the stairs that led into the kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the disaster I had created.

I looked back at the stove. “Making breakfast.”

She blinked, walked over to me, looked at the pan, then back at me. “That looks like a crime scene.”

I narrowed my eyes while laughing inwardly. “Watch your mouth.”

She laughed while looking at the hard fried eggs.

“Samir, are those eggs?”

“They were.”

That only made her laugh harder.

I folded my arms. “You know, I was trying to do something nice for you.”

“And I appreciate it, baby.”

Baby? Yeah, shorty was feeling the kid.

She lifted on the tips of her toes and kissed my cheek before looking back at the stove.

“But for the safety of both of us, please step away from the kitchen.”

I chuckled. “You got jokes this morning.”

“I have plenty of them.” She reached around me and turned the burner off. “Come on. I’ll teach you.”

“I don’t need teaching.”

“You just murdered breakfast.”

“I was experimenting.”

“With what? Chemical warfare?”