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“There’s no way we can put that genie back in the bottle.”
“Succinct as always.”
“I’m your man.”
The easy humor between them fled as his words sunk in. It had been a joke, but after their make-out session in the front seat of his car, it hit a little too close to the truth.
He was increasingly thinking about being her man.
Which was ridiculous and stupid and likely a sign he should pack her up and send her over to the Triple R to stay with her aunts, just like they’d offered.
“Did you find anything?”
“Not much. I’ve reread the background on the place and I looked up some of the tax filing information, as well.”
“What did you find?”
“They seem legit. They’d gained some real favor a few years back but that’s faded. Even though they’re not really in vogue any longer, the worst I could find was a few snarky comments about them on social media.”
“And that’s hardly a sign of anything.”
“No, it’s not. If a post isn’t snarky, is it really a post at all?”
Nova eyed him. “Is that sort of the same as a ‘tree falling in the woods’ philosophy?”
“You bet.”
Nova leaned her head back against the sofa. “I remember those days. Playing on social media and reading whatever the latest drama was that someone got into. It’s been a while and I guess I have to say I really haven’t missed it.”
Her comments brought back home to him what she’d lived with for the past five months since leaving New York.
“You’ve given up a lot.”
Her eyes popped open and, in that moment, he saw some of Ace’s features in the set of her mouth and the shape of her eyes. “Not as much as some.”
“I’m not talking about some. I’m talking about you.”
“I guess I did.” She stared down at the belly that both defined her and seemed to add a goddess-like, ethereal quality all at the same time. “But he or she is worth it.”
“Or course they are. It still doesn’t change the fact that you gave up a lot.”
She laughed and he didn’t miss the sharp edges. “Do you know what I was thinking in the car? Before, when we were kissing?”
“That I was a god among men?”
He got another laugh at that, noticeably softer this time. “About the baby, I mean.” When he just waited for her, she continued on. “When the baby started kicking, interrupting us, I thought, geez, kid, could you just give me a few minutes to myself?”
“And I bet the baby kicked even harder.”
“Pretty much. I mean, this is my baby. All I have in the world, and I thought something like that.”
“You’re going through a lot of changes. That doesn’t make you a bad parent-to-be. It makes you human.”
He knew it was coming—he’d sensed it from the moment she’d stood in the doorway—but it was still something of a surprise when her smile drooped and Nova fell into copious, weeping tears.
He moved to sit next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her head against his chest. “Go on. Let it out.”
Her emotions whipped high and strong and her small fingers clutched at the front of his shirt as she cried. Although he didn’t know every reason for her tears, he knew quite a few and so he just settled in to wait out the storm.
