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Tears ran down my cheeks as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I had to get away from the temptation of allowing him back into my life before I could think straight and think things through.
I felt like my life was falling apart. I was angry at Mia for planting the question in his head. I was angry at Devlin for pressing me and making me fall in love with him, for caring too much about me, for making it difficult to just walk away without pain in my heart. I was angry at myself for everything else.
I looked back expecting to see him fading into the distance, but he was right behind me, gaining on me. I was tired. I could barely run any further. I didn’t want to run. He had me. He reached out and grabbed my arm, and I fell to the sand sobbing uncontrollably.
He knelt next to me, his hand on my back.
“Naomi, damn it.” He pulled me to my feet and grabbed on to me. He was pissed, and he had every reason to be. “Stop running from me.”
“I—”
“Don’t say you can’t.”
“Let me go, Devlin.”
“I won’t ever let you go. I’ll come after you every time you run. I don’t know what happened to you to make you feel you have to run away from me, so I’ll just keep trying to get back in. I’ll keep running after you. I’ll keep telling you how much you have affected me. I’ll keep trying to show you how much I’m in love with you, Naomi.”
His words struck me, and I froze. “What?”
“I’m in love with you. You can’t see that? I can’t just let you walk away from me, not again. The first time hurt too damned much.”
“You’re wasting your time.”
“Then, so be it. It’s my time to waste. I’ll keep coming after you until you tell me you don’t want me. Say the words, Naomi. Tell me you don’t love me. Tell me I didn’t affect you the way you affected me. Tell me you don’t think about the night we spent together.”
“I don’t… want you,” I couldn’t even look at him when my lips formed the words.
“You’re lying. You came looking for me. You told me that yourself.” He forced me closer to him, and he wrapped his arms around me, causing me to cry harder. I couldn’t control my feelings for him, and being that close to him made me crumble. “Tell me the truth, Naomi. Tell me.”
He jerked me closer, his hands cupping the back of my neck. He directed my face to his and kissed me with the same passion that made me fall for him. His sex appeal was just the surface. He consumed me. He destroyed me. His kiss dissolved all doubt and fight I had. When he pulled away and looked at me, I stopped fighting it. I knew how to make him run.
I pressed my lips together and stopped crying. I stood up straight and waited for him to drop his hands from me. I took two steps back and held my chin up high. Everything froze for a moment.
“I’m pregnant, Devlin.” His face softened, but I couldn’t read him. “I’m pregnant with your child.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
I nodded. “I took a pregnancy test, and it came back positive. I have symptoms. I’ve been with no one else in months.”
“You’re going to have my baby?”
I nodded again, breaking my gaze from his. “You’re the only one I’ve been with. You’re the only one I’ve wanted to be with.”
Devlin didn’t run. He didn’t make excuses to get away from me. He didn’t say a word. He just stood there in front of me, staring.
“Say something,” I pleaded with a shaky voice.
“Ha ha!” He lunged at me, wrapping his arms around me. He picked me up and twirled me around laughing out loud.
I held on tight to his neck, confused at his reaction.
“Wait,” he said, putting me back down. “Is that the big secret you’ve been holding from me?”
“Yes,” I said, still confused.
“You had me scared, Naomi. I thought you were sick or someone was keeping you from me.”
“So, you aren’t upset or scared that this baby will ground you?”
“Hell no,” He twirled around and scooped me up, his kisses covering my face. “You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m not. Devlin, you’re a drifter. You haven’t stayed in one place for more than a couple of years. I couldn’t rely on you changing everything just because I fucked up.”
“I haven’t stayed in one place for very long because I have had no reason to. Until now.”
“Don’t tell me these things if you don’t mean them. I can’t handle it if I let you back in, and you break my heart,” I said.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I want to be a part of your life, your world. You didn’t fuck up that night, Naomi. We are in this together. This baby is ours, not just yours. If anything, this just strengthens how I feel about you. And I’m going to be the best damned father you have ever seen.”
