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Surprised, I look up "Differently, how?"

He glances down at his hands, and when he speaks, the heartfelt tone in his voice almost breaks me "To start with, I’d tell you that I love you and that nothing matters to me but you But I’m afraid Terrified God, Tru, the second you told nant, my own childhood flashed before my eyes" He breathes in deeply "That’s why I ran: because of my own fears, not because I don’t want you or the baby"

He wants the baby?

"What are you terrified of?" I ask quietly

"That I’h to be a dad That I’ll screw it up That I’ll fuck everything up That I’ll turn our child into a fucked-up mess like I am Just like my dad did to me"

I’m just about to speak, to protest, to tell him he’s not a fuck-up, that he’s not Paul, he never could be, when he speaks again

"But while I sat there thinking about all the negatives, I realised soe of my seat

"That I have you," he says sith, Tru You ood dad to our baby The best And I want to spend the rest ofcare of you both," I hear his voice break before he continues in a quieter tone "I don’t want to be hirowing up, and that’s ill keep ht"

I see tears staining his cheeks, andmy seat belt, I throw rip me with a vice force, and he buries his face inyou"

"I do Of course I do I’m sorry I said I hated you I don’t I never could I was just hurting"

"Right now, I’d deserve it if you did hatehis head, he looks at ht in the heart

I trace his tears aithslowly, until he catches ain," he breathes against my mouth

"How did you knoas at the airport?"

Moving froainst the headrest "Jackson called to tell me you’d left in a cab, so I had hi you"

Ever resourceful That’s Jake

I touch ently twisting the ebony strands around the tips, and he closes his eyes, content

Watching him, I hope that our baby looks just like him I hope it has Jake’s lovely features and beautiful blue eyes and my skin tone But not my Puerto Rican–size buain What if he changes his mind once the baby arrives? I don’t think I could bear his leaving then

"Jake," I murmur He opens his eyes "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want? The baby, I aze drops toI have loved et fat," I et even sexier" Co the tip of his nose againstmade up of Trudy Wethers’s DNA?"

"Still Bennett" I grin "You haven’t made an honest woman of as now?"

"A shotgun wedding My folks would be so proud" I laugh

"What do you want to do about the wedding?" he asks "Move it forward?"

"That would give me a matter of weeks to plan it Why don’t we just wait until after the baby is born?"

I see hiet married July twenty-first You okay with that?"

"I’ to have a mini-Jake soon Of course I’m okay with that"

"Or a es "Fuck, a girl We ht have to lock her up, Tru"

I scrunch uplike you, I’e boys left, right, and centre I’ll probably end up in jail for beating one to death if I find hiirl" He shudders coh "Let’s hope if we have a boy, he’s doesn’t grow up to be one of those horny teenagers…or God forbid, as horny as you are Othere’ll have so his ass"

"Then I’ll end up in jail for beating the shit out of the dad--fuck, this is a no-win, sweetheart," he groans, dropping his head back against the rest "I’ softly, I say, "Don’t worry, baby, we’ll figure a way to keep you out of prison" I kiss the tip of his nose, then open the door, ready to get out of the car and into the house to bed

Once inside, I head to the bedroolass of water fro a million times happier than I did the last time I was here, I walk into our bedrooe of the bed, staring down at so in his hand He doesn’t look happy

"You were really leaving o to his hand, and I see

Crap

My face prickles, sha it off

"I’ht you didn’t want the baby I thought we didn’t have a future any over to lass from my hand and puts it down on the bedside cabinet

He takes hold of ain, Tru I’ve tried and failed so many times Just know that noontohis face in ently

He picks ht, Jake lies beside ht around ht now, Jake doesn’t want to be an inch away from me, just like I don’t frooes toover the fabric of my dress "I love you," he whispers

For the first tiether, I know that declaration isn’t ives s will be okay after all

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I wake in Jake’s arht’s dress