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“What was that?” I ask, pulling out of his arms to move toward the door.
My heart rate was already beating erratically from Hunter’s speech.
He wants us to be together.
I didn’t have a chance to tell him that’s what I want, too. Or tell him the news.
What if he changes his mind when he finds out I’m pregnant?
All those thoughts are swirling in my brain when I open the door to find Chloe and Emma in the hallway picking up pieces of trash littered on the floor.
“I’m so sorry, Emma,” Chloe says. “Betty’s been getting into everything at home. That’s why we brought her, but now she’s making a mess of your apartment.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Emma responds, helping her with the pieces of shredded tissue.
Griffin appears. “What’s happening?”
With everyone’s attention on the clean-up from Chloe and Barrett’s newest pup’s trash dive, I’m hoping that no one notices that Hunter and I are coming out of my room together.
Just when I think everything is going to be okay, I see it. The pregnancy test I took last night, then buried at the bottom of the trash can. Apparently, Betty left no tissue unturned.
Before I can make a move to grab it, Chloe reaches for the stick. At first, she doesn’t appear to realize what it is, but when she turns it over, her eyes widen. The result window displays the shocking news I received last night.
Chloe immediately looks to Emma, who is adding more torn up tissue to the bag that Griffin is holding. A smile a mile wide spreads on Chloe’s face.
“Is this—congratulations!” Chloe bursts out, then reaches to hug Emma.
Time slows and I’m rooted in place as I watch Emma receive Chloe’s embrace, then look down at the stick in her hand, her brow furrowing in confusion. Griffin leans in to look, too. I can see his brain register the word in the small window. His face lights with shock, but then he’s smiling and reaching for Emma, but she shakes her head.
“That’s not mine,” Emma says.
“What is it?” Hunter asks from beside me, drawing everyone’s attention in our direction.
Griffin’s eyes find mine and I see the moment he registers whose test it must be.
I don’t need to ask him his thoughts. The way his shoulders sag tells me everything I need to know. But more than Griffin’s feelings about it, my gaze shifts to Hunter, wondering what his reaction will be.
Hunter’s eyes drop to the stick and that tiny result window.
“Wait. Who’s pregnant?” he asks, surprise evident in his voice.
This is not how I imagined this going, but nothing about this situation was planned. My heart hammers in my chest, desperately trying to keep up with my body’s demand for oxygen as I take in short, choppy breaths.
“I am.”
I keep my eyes on Hunter, awaiting his reaction. He looks from the test in Emma’s hand to me. His eyes are wide, his mouth agape. But then he does the craziest thing. Hunter wraps his arms around me and pulls me to him. He holds me tight, then lowers his lips to mine. I let my body relax against his, releasing some of the tension my muscles have been holding since I found out last night.
It’s a sweet moment. Until I hear Griffin.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” Griffin barks.
I pull back, and Hunter’s hand drops possessively over my stomach. For a moment, his touch soothes the anxiety of the situation, and the fact that what I’ve been trying to avoid all along, Griffin finding out about us being together, is now an even messier reveal.
“Wait. Are you two…” Emma motions between Hunter and me, “…is Hunter…”
I nod slowly, this time my eyes are on Griffin to gauge his reaction. His brows draw down as he looks between me and Hunter. The disappointment in his hazel eyes is evident. It’s the exact reaction I’ve been trying to avoid.
“I was wondering where everyone went.” My supposed date, the Clark Kent lookalike, joins us in the hallway. “Hey, Sophie, I got you a drink. White wine okay?”
