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There was no holding back the tears now. They came like a waterfall, and I pressed myself to him, breathing in his smell and tightening my body around his.
“When did you find out?” he asked. “How long have you known?”
“This morning,” I said. “It’s why I didn’t answer your call. I had just found out and didn’t know what to do.”
“I’m glad you didn’t tell me over the phone,” he said, grinning. “I would not have driven back home safely.”
I smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest, hugging him tight again.
“I’m so happy,” I said.
“So am I. This is the best day of my life.”
The goose bumps returned as I curled into him. Then the darker thoughts began to creep in. The logistics of having a child, what we would do, how we would handle it all started to seep into my mind. Part of me wanted to hide those thoughts, to not bother him with them and bring down his mood. But this was something I needed from him. The comfort and knowledge that we could do this together. I needed the reassurance from him.
“What are we going to do with our schedules?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I work at a restaurant. I have long days, mostly in the evenings. You work at a fire station and might get called in at any moment. How are we going to be able to take care of a child like that?”
“We’ll be okay,” he said, the smile never leaving his face. “As a fire chief, I’ll be able to make sure my schedule is much more regular. I’ll have most nights off. Besides, you’ll be able to make your own schedule anyway.”
“No, I won’t,” I said. “Papa writes the schedules. I know he’ll try to help me as best he can, but he’ll have to make sure things get covered. I’ll still end up running the bar at night a lot, and if someone calls out, I’m the first one to go in.”
“No, baby,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “Your father won’t be making the schedule at your own restaurant.”
There was a pause as I worked out what he’d just said. Lifting my head, I looked up into his eyes critically and saw that he was grinning now even wider than he had before. I sat up a bit, and he pulled the blankets up so the sheet still went over my shoulders even as I sat up to look at him.
“What are you talking about? I work for Papa. It’s called Sergio’s.”
“Yes, right now you do,” he said. “But soon enough, you’ll be working at your own place.”
Oh no. I’d cracked his brain. Finding out he was going to have a kid had driven him right over the edge, and now I had a boyfriend who had gone cuckoo.
“Kieran, I can’t possibly have my own place. There’s no way I could afford that, especially in this town. The only available building is the one by your place that used to be the steak house. It shut down in less than a year because no one went there after the first couple weeks.”
“I might have a little secret too,” he said, sitting up a bit. “Are you ready to hear it?”
I took a moment to let myself prepare for whatever he was about to say. If it involved space aliens or some other wacky thing, I was going to have to reevaluate everything. I would still love him, but if he had gone crazy in the last six weeks and then I’d broken his brain fully, I would have to figure everything out pretty fast.
“Okay,” I said. “What’s your secret.”
He beamed.
“While I was gone, I went to the bank and inquired about a small-business loan. It turns out that I could afford a pretty hefty one based on my savings and income now that I’m set to be chief. Enough that I could absolutely lease that building near me and turn it into a restaurant. One that focuses on a little bit of heat, maybe? At least, that’s how I pitched it. A spice-forward restaurant for people who like a little punch with their food. I was thinking of calling it something catchy, like Heatseekers.”
It was like a bomb went off in my brain. Instantly, I could see it. The logo, the décor. The menu. I could see the dozens and dozens of people who would come into the bar of Sergio’s every day just to sample whatever spicy thing I had on the menu, filtering into my new place.
Our new place.
“Oh my God,” I said.
“Do you hate it? I’m not completely tied to the name…”
“I love it,” I cried. “I love it!”
“Oh! Great!” he said, and I sank back into him again. Joy flooded my body, and I felt like I had never been happier for a single moment in my entire life.
