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She’s a terrible liar when she’s hurt. It punches me through the ribs.
I grab her, pull her around to face me, ignoring how she elbows me in the chest for real.
Let her hurt me. Physical wounds heal easy.
“I love you. You, Reese Halle. I’m here for you. I was afraid I’d hurt you, or someone else would because of me. That’s why I walked away like a complete dumbass. I tried to protect you from myself, and I was wrong. It never had anything to do with not loving you.”
She struggles for a second, then goes limp, dry sobs racking her entire body. I settle her against my chest, and I’m grateful when she doesn’t recoil.
“What changed?” she asks bitterly as soon as she looks up.
“Me. I’m a changed man and I finally figured it out. A little chat with an angel and a demon made me realize I’m not who I used to be—and I’ll never go back to being him. I’m whole, sweetheart.”
“Angel and demon?” She blinks at me.
“Never mind,” I say. Osprey and Grandma aren’t the point of this.
I stare into her blue eyes and say, “What I mean is, I’m almost whole. You’re my last missing piece, and so is our kid.”
My hand is shaking—fucking shaking—as I bring it down softly to her belly.
I still can’t wrap my head around being a father. The fact that I might lose my chance before it’s even started scares the hell out of me.
I won’t force my way into her life, though.
If she hates me that much, if she truly wants me gone, I’ll give her the space she needs. And I’ll still love her and our child from exile, as long as I’m drawing breath.
She blinks her tears away with a hoarse moan of frustration.
“Your gifts are always lame, but your words...why do you have to be so effing sweet?”
There’s my girl. Easy to talk to and honest to a fault.
My smile almost breaks me.
“Can I have a kiss yet?” I ask, tilting her face up gently by the chin.
She crosses her arms in front of her. “Nope. I have mono.”
“Mono? How?” I blink at her.
“Kissing random dudes. Anyone I could find to get your taste out of my mouth.”
I snort. “Was it fun?”
She shrugs. “Better than the last guy I kissed.”
“You’re killing me. How many people do I have to hunt down in this city?” I growl with mock jealousy. No, not quite 'mock.'
Even the thought of some imaginary chucklefuck having her makes my blood seethe.
She’ll never belong to anyone else.
If I have to stand on her doorstep in pouring rain all night to make sure she gets the message, I will.
I’ll catch pneumonia before I let her think for a second she’s meant for another man.
“You make me throw up every day, so maybe it’s fair I kill you instead,” she says.
All bullshitting aside, I have to touch her now. I pull her closer, running my thumb along her cheek. She doesn’t move away, but she doesn’t embrace me.
“Are you doing okay? Is the pregnancy...bad?” I grind out. I have to know.
“It’s fine. It’s normal. It just sucks.”
“It’s done sucking, Reese,” I tell her. “From now on, I’ll be here to hold your hair back.”
“I have headbands.”
“I have one more gift that’s not from the airport gift shop. I think you’ll like this.” I reach into my pocket and fumble around, producing the neatly folded check.
She takes it with a nervous glance and unfolds it. Her gasp turns me inside out.
“Holy hell. What even...?”
“For your dream—”
“My dream? That many zeroes? And you don’t want to know what I dream about since the hormones kicked in—”
I stare at her seriously. “The hellfire in your face says I do.”
She giggles.
“Look, I accept that some things are written in stone,” I say. “Ward being a dick to me, the way I smile waking up next to you, and since you’ll never be a cotton candy kind of girl...maybe you could be a bossy limo girl instead. That’s my dream, too, and I want to buy it.”
“Your dream?”
I take her hand, shoving my fingers through hers.
“My resignation wasn’t accepted. And since Roland Osprey decided not to put my head on a pike for all of Chicago...if my family still needs my help, I don’t want to walk away.”
“Okay?” She looks confused.
“Remember the no fraternization policy at the office? I’ve thought about this. Hypothetically, if my driver went started her own limo service—her lifelong dream—I’d be free to see her whenever and wherever I wanted. Maybe even the back seat of a limo. There’s also no reason why Brandt companies can’t still hire her drivers as a client.”
Reese’s face goes bright red. “And if I still don’t want to fraternize with you?”
“Then you’ll keep the seed money anyway, and I’ll never give up. I’ll be waiting for the moment to swoop in and convince you to love me again. You know how Homer spent thirty years fighting monsters before he got back to his Roman princess?”
