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Gently gripping the back of her neck, I haul her up. When she finally looks at me, I yank her into me, our lips a breath away.
“Leave you, Claire? Why the hell would I leave you?”
“I…I’m—”
“Pregnant. With my baby. With our baby. We made a fucking baby. Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Before I know what’s happening, my arms come around her in a suffocating hold as I crush her down to the mattress, peppering her face in kisses while my tears coat her creamy skin. “I fucking love you, Claire, and I’ll love the hell out of this baby.”
Sliding down her body, I push her shirt up, examining her belly. It’s still as small as it’s always been, with maybe just a touch more softness to it, but she’s also been eating Taco Bell like it’s her job for the last four days. A combination of all the different emotions coursing through her, I’m sure.
I wrap my arms around her middle and smoosh my face into her warm belly. “My baby,” I murmur, touching my lips to her smooth skin. “I’ll be the best daddy in the world. I promise.” I’m gonna try my damnedest, at least.
Claire’s fingers rake through my hair as her body quivers under my touch. “You’re really not going to leave me?”
My head whips up. “I’m never leaving you, Claire. Baby or no baby, I’ll never let you walk away from me again. You have to know that. You’re my forever.” I slide my hand over her stomach, watching the muscles there jump and clench. “Both of you. My family.”
Claire buries her face behind her hands and weeps. “I thought…I thought you might…Oh my God,” she cries. “I’m so happy right now.”
I crawl up her body, pulling her hands away so I can see her beautiful face. Grinning, I tell her, “You know, tears normally mean the opposite of happy.”
She just shakes her head furiously before crushing her mouth down on mine.
“How far along are you?” I ask, trailing a finger down the side of her face, her neck, across the tiny freckles on her shoulder. God, I want to pull this tank top right off her, but it’s been less than forty-eight hours since her dad left us, and even though we haven’t had sex in almost a week, I don’t want to pressure her.
“I’ll be eight weeks on Friday. I have another ultrasound…” She peers sheepishly up at me. “If you’d like to come.”
“Hell yes I wanna come. I get to see my baby in person.”
“And hear his heartbeat.”
My ears perk up. “Heartbeat? He already has a heart?” She nods, biting back her smile while I double back around to that other word she said. “His? It’s a boy?”
“Well, no. I mean, I don’t know. It’s too early to tell, but my dad…he said he had a dream. He was talking to a little boy with dark brown hair—” she fingers a wave on top of my head, “—and bright blue eyes. He called him Gramps, and said he had his eyes.”
That muscle in my chest stutters while a strange warmth rushes over me. “He’s with him, Claire. He’ll keep him safe until he’s ready to come into the world.” I drop my forehead to her throat, pressing my lips to her collarbone. “I can’t believe we made a baby.”
Closing my eyes, I shake my head. “My mom is gonna absolutely lose her ever-loving mind. We’ll need to restrain her.” I make a mental note to maybe record her reaction. But right now, I don’t care about that. “When did you find out?”
“Last Thursday,” she replies on a timid whisper.
I pause my assault on the columns of her throat so I can look up at her. “Is that why you ran out on me?”
She nods. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting that news at all. I was terrified. Terrified of everything. Not being ready, you maybe not wanting this, me not being a good mom—”
“You’re going to be the best mom,” I growl out, pinning her to the mattress beneath my body. “The fucking best, Claire.”
“But is this really something you want, Avery? It’s…it’s so fast. So soon. We’ve only been together…I mean, three months ago, you were—”
“Miserable. Without you I was miserable, and I had no idea until you came along and showed me everything I was missing. I knew I wanted you the second I laid eyes on you, and every moment you denied me crushed a part of my soul, until you finally let me in. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you, at home, snuggled up with our crazy zoo on the couch.
Sweeping my thumbs over the freckles that dot her cheekbones like tiny stars, I take her face in my hands. “I promise you, Claire, as long as I’m with you, I am exactly where I want to be.”
She throws her arms around my neck, kissing me with a fierceness that only fuels the fire burning in my belly. God, I want her. I want every inch of her. I want to kiss on every freckle, suck on her milky skin, mark her as mine. My best friend, my lover, my partner.
I rip my mouth off hers, trying to catch my breath. “Move in with me. I’m only asking you a second time as a courtesy. If you say no again, I’ll fucking pack your shit myself.”
Her mouth opens and those long lashes of hers flutter. “Avery, I—”
“Say yes.” My teeth tug on her lower lip. “Give it up, Claire. Say yes.”
