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“Preeclampsia?” she murmured, shaking her head.
“It’s pregnancy-induced high blood pressure that—”
“I know what preeclampsia is, you freak. I just can’t believe you do.”
“I’m a detective. I like to know things.”
“Luke—”
“I just want to be there for you. And for the baby, if you’re keeping it. Shit, I don’t even know if you’re keeping it.”
Both her hands went to her belly. “I am.”
His heart tightened at the thought. She was going to be really good at this, but he could feel the uncertainty crawling beneath her skin. “Are you scared?”
“I don’t know,” Simone breathed. “It’s just… It doesn’t matter if I’m scared, does it?”
“It matters to me. That’s what I want you to know.”
Nodding, she took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ve got it.”
“Listen, I know you were in foster care for a long time, so I assume your family isn’t in the picture. Does someone go to classes with you?”
She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and let her eyes slide away from him. “They start next week. I have a doula. She’ll be there for the birth.”
“Okay, good. Just know that I’m here for you, if you want me. You and the baby. All right? I don’t know anything about babies, but…”
“Neither do I,” she said with a tiny laugh, but the laugh turned into a gasp that sounded suspiciously teary.
Luke put his arms around Simone, moving carefully in case she didn’t want to be touched. He hadn’t put his arms around her since that one night when they’d had too much to drink and made a stupid mistake. But this wasn’t anything like that. This wasn’t a mistake, and she leaned into him, her forehead pressing to his shoulder. He expected her to sob then, to break down completely, but that wasn’t Simone. She was strong, and she simply let her breath out on a slow rush.
“We’ll figure it out together, all right? I know you can do this on your own, but you shouldn’t have to.”
She took another deep breath and nodded. Luke felt a startling relief spread through his chest. After he patted her back over and over, they both stepped awkwardly apart at the same moment.
When she smiled, Luke realized it was the first true smile he’d seen from her in a long time. He didn’t give a damn who the father was. He didn’t even care if people thought it was him, as long as Simone would be okay.
TESSA STOOD AS QUIET as a mouse on the tiny front porch of Luke’s condo. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but it had started out innocently enough. She’d walked up and raised her hand to knock, then realized the voices she was hearing were coming from Luke’s place.
She hadn’t dared interrupt. Luke and Simone were finally talking, and the open window next to the front door didn’t offer any disguise as to the topic. Tessa had frozen. She didn’t want to walk away or even breathe too loudly as Luke had begged Simone to let him help. He was so good. So…noble. No wonder he’d always wanted to be a cop.
Silence fell inside, and Tessa’s skin started to crawl with anxiety. She backed down the step, took two more steps backward, and then she heard the doorknob began to turn.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, backpedaling until she stood just in front of her car’s bumper. When Luke’s door started to open, she lurched forward as if she’d been in midstep.
“Hey!” Tessa called out to Simone. “How are you?”
Simone’s nose was slightly red, but she managed a smile and a few moments of small talk before heading for her car.
“Crap,” Luke cursed from the doorway when his gaze fell on Tessa.
“Nice to see you, too, Detective.”
“No, it’s not that.” As if to prove it, he stepped down and gave her an enthusiastic kiss. The taste of his mouth evoked all kinds of lovely sensory memories for Tessa, and she melted into him like a schoolgirl with her first crush. She draped herself against him, winding her arms around his neck, taking his tongue against hers like the taste of something perfect.
When he broke the kiss, he was breathing almost as hard as she was. “Jesus, woman.”
“Not disappointed to see me anymore?”
