Page 97 of Had to Be You

"I did. I’m sorry. I was going to bring it back; I just needed to talk to Laura."

"I’m going to need you to come down to the station."

"Ethan—" Laura tried to walk toward the sheriff, who did not look happy that she was trying to intervene.

"Laura, don’t." Knox stepped between them, then turned to Laura. "This isn’t over."

Laura watched as Knox followed Ethan back to the SUV. As the two men drove away, her heart sank. She’d said everything she needed to say, and she knew herself. She wasn’t going to let Knox step up and "do the right thing." He hadn’t signed up for this, and just because he was a good man, she wasn’t going to trap him.

So for once, Knox was wrong; this was over.

29

"So,what was the deal with you and Laura?" Ivy asked her uncle as she lowered herself beside him on the edge of the deck in Ford’s backyard.

Knox had wanted to bail on the post-wedding family BBQ, but since his mom, Seb, and nieces were all leaving the next day, he figured that would be a dick move. Just because he was totally fucked in the head didn’t mean he should miss out on family time.

"Nothing. No big deal," Knox lied through his teeth.

The deal, he’dthought, had been that Knox would hook up with her to try and get her pregnant, but apparently that hadn’t been the case. He knew that it was ridiculous to feel used considering he’d signed up for this, but he just couldn’t help himself.

He also couldn’t help the fact that he was in love with her.

"You stole a car fornothing?"

"Iborroweda car."

Thankfully, Jessa had been understanding about the situation and had refused to press charges. If it had been up to her husband, Ethan, Knox would have had the book thrown at him. But Jessa had shown up at the police station at the same time that they’d arrived because Laura had texted her. She told her husband that it was a misunderstanding and told Knox he could leave.

Ethan was not as forgiving about having his wife’s car stolen and stated in no uncertain terms that Knox could not leave and that he would be filing charges. Knox was sure that he’d be facing a misdemeanor at the very least. Which he was willing to take. He deserved it.

But Jessa didn’t back down. She told her husband that he couldn’t do that because her memory was just coming back to her and that she’d given Knox permission to borrow the car, so no crime had been committed. There’d been a few tense moments while the husband and wife had a faceoff, but when Ethan’s shoulders dropped, Knox knew he was in the clear. Ethan was not happy about it, but he begrudgingly let Knox leave.

Knox still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he’d broken the law. But when he saw Laura driving away after telling him that she was pregnant, all rational thought flew out the window.

After leaving the police station, he went back to Laura’s house, but she didn’t answer the door. He texted her, knocked, and rang the doorbell. He also tried the back door, but the new lock, the one he’d installed, was deadbolted.

He hadn’t slept at all the night before. He’d called Laura. Texted. And showed up at her house, but she hadn’t answered the door.

Knox knew that his behavior was bordering on psychotic, but that was what that woman did to him. He loved her. She loved him. And she was pregnant with his babies. Plural.

Ivy kicked her legs as she looked down at the grass. "You don’t want to talk about it. I get it."

"There’s nothing to talk about." Knox lied. There was a lot to talk about; he just had no idea where to start. And this weekend wasn’t about him. His family was in town to celebrate his brother’s wedding.

Ivy nodded. His niece had always been perceptive and wise for her years, and it was clear that she knew something was going on.

"Well, for what it’s worth, I like her. You guys just…fit."

His niece gave him a quick hug around his neck, then got up and walked over to where her sister and Chrissy’s oldest daughter were doing TikToks.

Ivy was right. They did just fit. And he wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to do about that.

Knox hadn’t slept a wink last night. He’d gone back to the apartment, and all he’d thought about were the things that Laura had said to him. She’d said that she loved him. That she wanted to marry him and raise their babies together.

She’d also said that she hadn’t thought there was any chance that she could get pregnant. She’d said that was the only reason she’d agreed to their summer fling. When she first told him, he felt sort of used. But then he thought about how different his life would be if she hadn’t done that, and he just felt grateful.

These past few months with Laura had been the best of his life.

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