This man was my everything … just like I was his everything.
And when he finally broke the kiss, I was left gasping for air and clutching him, not wanting him to stop.
He smirked, leaned in, and gave me a chaste kiss, then murmured against my lips, “And that's to let any asshole who thinks they can even talk to you know that you’re mine.”
All I could do was shake my head and grin up at him. “You’re something else; I’ll give you that.” I rose on my toes and kissed him now. “Good thing that's one of the reasons I love you so much.”
He gave my lips a nip, groaned as if not taking me right here was painful, then pushed away from me. He gave me a wink, and I watched as he stalked back behind the bar, mean-mugging the guy who’d “dared” talk to me, before slipping right back into the bartender role.
I sighed, felt my lips tingle, and knew I’d fall in love with Bishop more times than I could ever keep track of.
Epilogue One
Korrie
One year later
They said when it rained, it poured, and sure enough, that seemed to be what was going on in my life. Granted, not all of it was bad, not in the least. There’d been ups and downs—my father’s illness, the city life in general just wearing a human to the bone, but then I had Bishop, my job at Lyrics, and I was even thinking of going back to college, at least part-time.
But this… this new revelation had my hands shaking and my heart jumping in my throat.
I closed my eyes and just breathed as I waited for the pregnancy test to show the results. It had only been twelve months since Bishop and I made things official, and although we took precautions where they were needed, there were of course times when things were too heated, the moment too scorching, that we just… got lost in each other. And if this test came back positive, then it looked like one of those times had stuck, so to speak.
Would he be happy? Upset? He loved me, and I loved him, and I wanted him as my husband, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Bishop. But sometimes when curve balls were thrown into people's lives, they just couldn’t handle it very well. And I didn't know if Bishop fell into that category.
I opened my eyes and stared down at my engagement ring, a smile forming on my lips instantly. Although we’d only been together a year, Bishop proposed six months into our relationship. Some may have thought that was fast, but I would have said yes if he asked a month into us being together.
Because I knew I’d loved him right away and wanted to spend my life with him.
I breathed out and finally picked up the test, staring at the stick, already knowing the truth before I saw the two pink lines. And because I didn’t do anything half-assed, I did a double test, a digital one. And yup, sure enough, a big fat PREGNANT was splayed across the screen.
“Well, I guess that about sums it up.”
I heard the front door open and close, breathed out again, and knew I was just going to take this head-on. There was no point in letting my worry or the fear of the unknown make me weak in this situation.
So I left the bathroom, walked down the short hallway toward the small foyer that opened up into the living room, and saw Bishop toeing off his boots. He held a big brown paper bag, takeout inside it, but my stomach was suddenly cramping something serious, the idea of food not sitting right with me.
I stood there a moment, just watching the man I loved, wanting to run into his arms, knowing there was no place I’d rather be.
I’d begun staying at his place a couple nights a week, nervous about leaving my dad, but he insisted I spend time with Bishop. After going back and forth with him, I decided I’d at least get someone to stay with him overnight the times I was with Bishop. Because he didn’t need medical aid that a home health worker would give, I’d been able to afford the expense. Not that my father liked having a “babysitter,” as he said, but he hadn’t given me a hard time, because he wanted me to live my life. Or so he claimed.
Bishop called out for me just as he lifted his head, our eyes locking, his smile forming instantly. “Hey, baby.” He held his arms out.
I found myself going into them immediately, letting Bishop wrap himself around me, my head on my chest, the two pregnancy tests still in my hand.
“What do you have there?” he asked as he pulled away, his eyes going to what I held.