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It sure as hell was

An aard silence fell between theut clench He’d done this to the reaction to Shell’s news And noas time to fix it

“You still cold?”

She nodded, shuffling further into the room “It’s like the chill went all the way to h Even with all these layers Is that the sonogram?”

Copper set the picture down on the bed beside him “Yeah Come sit with me”

It only lasted for a fraction of a second, but Copper saw the hesitation in her gaze, and it fucking slayed hiht her to the point where she faltered before getting close to him nearly killed him

“Please”

With a nod, she walked toward hi her sit on the foot of the bed next to him, as she’d tried to do, he scooped her up and deposited her right onto his lap, straddling hihs, Copper blew out a breath He felt like a pressure cooker that had finally been set to release All of a sudden, the tension and stress of the day began to fade Though he still had a shit-ton to make up for, the closeness they shared now let hiain Shell wouldn’t be tossing his clothes out on the lawn and changing the locks

He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck “I’ainst her skin

Shell’s arms closed around his upper back “I know And I’m sorry too I shouldn’t have blurted it out to you that way I blindsided you”

“Fuck, baby, please don’t apologize toThis is all on me I fucked up I almost fucked us” He lifted his head “There was no excuse for the nasty shit I laid on you”

There was no denying his claiet aith shit She challenged him to be the man she deserved And he loved her all the s than he was always comfortable with

“Why?” she asked “You aren’t one to lose it like that I know this isn’t exactly what you wanted—”

“Stop,” he said, placing a finger over her mouth That was the first misassurowing our baby…Shit, Shell, there’s nothing I want more”

A frown appeared on her pretty makeup-free face “But…”

“But it scares the piss outta me”

There He’d said it, and no one came to confiscate his man card

“Because of what happened today? Things like that?” Shell tilted her head and looked deep into his eyes