Part 29 (2/2)

He gives my head a gentle shake. ”I'm serious, Ro. I'm in love with you. I love you. I've missed you so d.a.m.n much. I should've come and got you sooner, but my stupid pride got in the way and I wanted to be worthy of you.”

”You were always worthy of me. You just didn't see it,” I whisper, making him smile.

”You've made me the luckiest man in the world. I don't deserve you.” I open my mouth to protest, but he cuts me off by sealing his mouth over mine in a quick, firm kiss. ”It's true. But I'm not going to deny it any longer. It doesn't matter if I deserve you or not. I love you. I want you in my life. I f.u.c.king need you in my life, Ro. I just need to know ... will you have me?”

I gape at him, overwhelmed by his words, by the love s.h.i.+ning in his eyes. His thumbs stroke across my cheeks, making my knees weak, and I reach up, curling my fingers around his wrists so I can cling to him for dear life. ”I missed you. I was so mad that you left that note. That you left me. But I forgive you for it.” I swallow hard, knowing that I have something far more important to tell him than just offering my forgiveness.

His expression is one of sweet relief. ”Thank Christ,” he mutters.

Worry consumes me. What if he becomes upset at my news? What if he rejects me and our baby? I don't know if I could ever recover from such a thing. ”I love you, too,” I whisper, my throat aching. ”I love you so much and ... I have something I need to tell you.”

His brows lower in that way they do when he's worried or concerned. His grip loosens on my face and his touch becomes whisper soft as his eyes search mine. ”What is it?”

I press my lips together, my stomach roiling with nerves. At least it's not nausea. I need to get this over with. Just ... blurt it out. Like ripping off a Band-Aid instead of peeling it off slowly. This sort of thing is better if it's done swiftly. Taking a deep breath, I swallow hard and say, ”I'm pregnant. With your baby.”

And then I promptly burst into tears.

Chapter Twenty-seven.

Caden

The confirmation that Rose is carrying my baby is almost sweeter than hearing my girl tell me that she loves me. Almost.

I don't like that she's crying, though. This isn't a sad moment. This is one of joy, one to be celebrated. Somehow Rose found it in her heart to forgive me and we're going to have a baby together. We're going to be a family.

Holy. s.h.i.+t.

”Caden?” Her sweet, slightly worried voice knocks me from my thoughts. ”Did you hear me?”

”Yeah, baby. I heard you.” I catch one of her tears with my thumb, then lean in and catch another one with my lips. ”Don't cry,” I whisper against her cheek. ”You're going to have my baby. I'm the happiest man alive right now.”

Her crying kicks back into gear and I pull her into my arms, holding her close, pressing kisses against her forehead and telling her again and again how much I love her. My s.h.i.+rt is soaked with her tears but I don't care. She's in my arms. I got her back.

She's mine.

Once Cash told me about seeing Rose, everything slowly fell into place. I didn't rush into trying to find Rose. I made sure I knew what I wanted to tell her before I went to Cash and told him I was ready. I didn't want to blow it. If I came after her and told her I knew she was pregnant, she'd think I wanted to be with her only because of the baby, not because I'm madly in love with her.

And I am madly in love with her-the baby is just a bonus. Yeah, it's scary. I can't lie and I bet she's scared too, but together we can handle this. We're going to be a family and I refuse to walk out on my family like my father did. Like Rose's mother did to her family. We've got each other's backs. We'll be strong together. We belong together.

She knows it. And I know it too.

Cash spoke with Lily, who came up with the idea to have Rose over for a dinner party at which we'd be the only attendees. There wouldn't be any dinner, either, though now that I consider it, she's probably hungry. She needs to eat since she's doing it for two.

”Rose.” I whisper her name against her forehead and she shudders in my arms. ”Are you hungry? We need to get you something to eat.”

Laughing, she tilts her head back to stare up at me. ”I am a little hungry,” she admits, then frowns. ”I've had the worst morning sickness, Caden. You wouldn't believe how bad it's been.”

”Yeah?” I smooth my hand over her hair. That about kills me, knowing she's been suffering and I haven't been with her to take care of her. ”Are you okay? You're healthy? The, uh, baby is okay too?” I hesitate over my questions, which is dumb, but it's so weird, knowing she's going to have my baby.

I never once thought I would get married, have a baby, have a family, have a real, normal life. I didn't think it was in the cards for me. My parents were f.u.c.ked and I learned all I knew about relations.h.i.+ps and life from them. Meaning I learned jack s.h.i.+t.

I figured I would be alone. I would belong nowhere and to no one, and I believed that was the way I preferred it.

What a fool I was.

Instead I met this woman in my arms. She taught me how to be a friend and how to love. She's offering me a new life where I can stand on my own two feet, where I can work and have someone to come home to and a family to love. A child to bear my name and carry it on and give my mom a new purpose in life.

I'm truly the luckiest d.a.m.n man in the world.

”I'm good. The first two months were hard.” She offers me a strained smile. ”But it's getting better and the baby is healthy, so no worries there.”

”Do you know what it is yet?” What do I want? A boy or a girl? I have no clue. I just want the baby to be healthy and to look like its mama.

She smiles and shakes her head. ”It's too early. I did hear the baby's heartbeat, though.”

”Really?” I'm amazed. That must have made it seem so real, that she's carrying a fragile little life inside her body.

”Yeah, it was pretty awesome.” She lifts her gaze to mine. ”Let's get out of here, Caden. I want to go back to my place.”

Lily left me a key to give to the security guard if I got so lucky that Rose wanted to leave with me. ”How close is your apartment?”

”I walked over.”

Relief floods me. If we go back to her place, I'm a.s.suming-after I get her fed and taken care of-that I can take her to bed.

”Let's go, then,” I say, trying to restrain my anxiousness. But it's d.a.m.n hard. Especially when she flashes me that beautiful smile I haven't seen in far too long and hooks her hand around the back of my neck, bringing my mouth down to hers. The kiss is hot and wet and deep, and I haul her in close. I will never let her go again. That she forgave my stupid a.s.s ...

I don't know what I did to deserve her.

Hours later we're lying naked in Rose's bed, her leg slung over both of mine, and she's rubbing her foot up and down my calves, driving me insane with just her freaking foot. I squeeze her waist and roll her over, my c.o.c.k already hard-again-and pressing against her belly. She smiles up at me, her cheeks rosy from hours of lovemaking. We have a lot of time to make up for.

But first, I want to make sure she's okay. That she's feeling well and isn't too tired.

”You all right? Are you tired? It's safe to have s.e.x like this, right? What with the baby and all ...” My voice trails off and she laughs.

”Now you ask. After you've had me every which way.” She arches against me slightly, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her hard nipples, teasing my chest. ”Yes, it's safe to have s.e.x while I'm pregnant,” she says softly. ”I'm not high risk or anything.”

Relief floods me. ”Good.” I should have asked her that sooner, I know I should have, but I was so eager to get her naked and beneath me I could hardly think. The moment we walked into her bedroom I was stripping her naked. Helped that her dress was so easy. Just one tug and it was falling down around her waist and she wasn't wearing a bra. I was downright disappointed to see her wearing panties.

Jesus, I am a complete pervert. But only for Rose.

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