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“What the hell does that mean?” Milo barks, but Meno takes his hand, which calms him ever so slightly.
I send her a smile of thanks, hoping she’s not mad at me, too. Her wink tells me we’re okay, and she’ll continue to work on my stubborn brother.
“I mean I don’t know how much Soren will want to be involved or can be with his busy schedule, but he deserved to know first.”
“Wait, you’re leaving?” Milo turns his anger to Soren now.
“No, I didn’t mean—” I try to butt in, but the man beside me doesn’t look to happy at my response.
“No, I’m not. I—”
“Fuck you, man! How can you leave now? You’re gonna be so fuckin’ sorry when I get my hands on you, motherfucker.”
“I’m not leaving!”
“Can we keep this calm and civil, please, gentlemen,” Dad speaks up, cutting off Milo’s rants, so Soren can actually be heard.
He clears his throat, but he still can’t look at Milo. My heart hurts at the damage I’ve caused them both.
“After the night Robin and I had, I’ve spent months just constantly thinking about her and how I can be good enough, alright? I should have come to you, and I had planned on it. Got a stupid fucking speech you’re going to hate, and I cleared all my commitments… And I just fucking got here!” Soren’s loud words ring through the room, stunning Milo and the rest of us silent.
Then he calmly leans back on the couch and puts his hand back on top of mine.
“What do you mean you cleared your commitments?”
“I talked to Braxton, the owner of Grand Rapids, and asked if I could get stationed here. I professionally bowed out of a Netflix docu-series, but I still have a few book deals. It’s not going to hurt my career at all, so stop looking guilty.”
“But—” My words come out with a sob, and he wipes a stray tear from my cheek. “You didn’t know about the baby.”
He just shakes his head at me as if it’s so obvious. Soren wants me, not just the chance to be the father of my child, but he wants to really give us a shot. My hormones rage, and I can’t stop crying as he holds me tight.
“You don’t owe us anything, Son,” I hear my mom say. “Just take care of our girl.”
No one says anything, and I hear everyone start to move.
“Wait,” I say. Getting my shit together, I wipe my face the best I can, noticing the splotches on Soren’s T-shirt. “Sorry,” I tell him, but he only shrugs unbothered. “If you guys want, we’d like you to stay for our gender reveal.”
Meno squeaks with excitement but slaps a hand over her mouth in an attempt not to draw attention.
I laugh lightly, and when Soren tries to hand it to me, I push it back to him. “You open it.”
His eyes mist, but he plays it off with a cough into his hand. Then puts his big, tattooed arm around me and opens the envelope in front of my face.
“It’s a boy,” he croaks and turns to me, tucking into my neck, and I place my hand on his face to block it from the men in the room. I will never understand men not wanting to show emotion, but I’ll respect it. He takes a minute, and the room erupts. Even Milo jumps around with pride, hugging our parents and his lady love.
My heart fills with the idea of having a boy. My mind fills with baseballs, vans, and stick figure family stickers. The realization of getting both my son and his father still grips me with so much emotion.
But here in Soren’s arms, with my family’s clear blessing, I feel more confident than I have since the morning I took that first pregnancy test. Suddenly, my world doesn’t seem upside down, but right side up for a change.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Soren
This feels like a glitch in the matrix. I’ve gone out to sea and been completely unreachable for longer periods of time, but this time, I come home and so much has changed. I feel as if I’m in an episode of the Twilight Zone. After pulling into port, a man walks in on his own baby shower. I sure as hell didn’t see that coming.
It’s been a blissful week of tension.
Blissful because I’m going to be a dad. The father to a tiny human who’ll need me to teach him everything about life. Well, at least, to cover the dad basics, which I’m confident I can do. Also because of the sexy woman who’s carrying him, her stomach round and her skin glowing. She’s my own personal erotic sight.
