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I kiss her forehead. “It’sokay.”
Willow jumps out of her chair when her eyes start to water. She doesn’t want anyone to see her cry. “If everyone will please excuse me for a second.” Her voice breaks. “Or a few minutes. Possibly a few hours … ordays.”
She turns and dashes into the house. Stella jumps up to follow, but I stopher.
“Let me have this one,okay?”
She stares at me with a hard look and hesitation beforenodding.
As soon as I leave the crowd, I can hear the voices erupt into chaos. Question after question is being fired off, one after the other, to my family. I feel sorry for leaving them to the Blue Beech gossip wolves, but I have to make sure Willow isokay.
I find her sitting on the bed in my childhood room with tears in her eyes. I shut the door and bend down in front of her. I take her chin in my shaky hand and lock eyes withher.
“I’m so fucking sorry, do you hear me?” I whisper. “I made amistake.”
She tries to pull away from my touch, but I don’t lether.
“Please,” I hiss. “Please don’t fucking run from me because ofthis.”
Willow is a pro at helping other people with their problems but terrible at facing her own. It’s easy for her to turn her back on situations she doesn’t want to dealwith.
She sniffles. “This is humiliating. Did you see their faces? All the jawsdropping?”
“They were surprised, which we expected. I mean, we haven’t exactly been forthcoming about your pregnancy orthis.” I signal between the two of us. To be honest, I’m relieved it’s out there. I wish it had happened in a better situation, like us sitting my parents down and spilling the news, but at least the secret is off my chestnow.
“This?” she questions, scrunching up her face and reenacting my movement. “What do you mean,this?”
I get up and sit down next to her on the bed. “We’re doing something here. I’m as confused as you are about it, but we are. You’re the only woman I’ve looked at since I lost Lucy. I can’t …” I pause. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Whenever I leave your apartment or drop you off, the excitement from when I get to see you next keeps me high. Hell, I can’t wait until the next time I even get to talk to you. You’re something I look forward to every day. The thought of seeing you, talking to you, and spending time with you gives me so much fucking happiness.” My revelation only makes her cry harder. “What can I do to make this better? Anything. I’ll doanything.”
Except let you walkaway.
Please don’t fucking walkaway.
“Turn back time to months ago,” is all shewhispers.
Fuck.I want to beg her not to gothere.
“Tell me you don’t mean that. You might’ve thought that at first, which I don’t fucking blame you, but tell me, after all this time we’ve spent together, after seeing the beautiful babies we made on that monitor, that you don’t meanthat.”
She sighs. “I … I don’t.” She covers her face with her hands. “I thought I would. Sometimes, I wish I still felt that way. I thought it was the end of my happiness when I found out I was pregnant after our night together, but now … now, I can’t think of a time when I’ve been happier. A time when I thought I was doing something so right.” She rubs her stomach. “These past few months have changed my life,too.”
“These past few months have dragged me out of the darkest hole I thought I’d never escape.” Not all the way. I’m still there, and I’ll never be the same man, but Willow has brought out parts of me I thought would never come out again. And I can feel myself healing as the sun rises eachday.
I drop down to my knees to take in the sight of her and show her the honesty in my eyes. “You brought me to the light. We might not have expected this, but it’s somehow made us stronger, brighter,happier.”
I cringe at the knock on the door that interrupts us. Stella pokes her head in, apology on her face, and takes in the scene in front ofher.
Me on my knees in the begging position, and Willowcrying.
Willow wipes away a tear and nods her head, silently permitting Stella to come in and shut the door behindher.
The door opens again seconds later, this time without a knock, and Hudson appears with brows knitted in concern. “I know this is bad timing, brother, but Maven is in the bounce house, crying, and insists on only talking to you orWillow.”
“Fuck,” I snap, averting my attention to Willow. “Will you be okay for aminute?”
She nods. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.” I get up, but she grabs my arm to stop me. “Actually, I’d like to come with you, if that’sokay?”
“I’m not sure you’ll be ready for eyes on you,” Stellasays.
