“Thank you, sweetheart. How do I make this up to you? I’ll apologize every day for the rest of my life if that’s what you want. If you even want to see me, that is.”
The pretty girl jerks her head.
“Never do that again,” she states in a harsh rasp, her expression angry. “I don’t ever want to catch you spying on me or lurking outside my window. I should be able to open my shades without worrying about some stalker tracking my every move.”
I nod. “Of course. Never again.”
She turns to look at me with daggers in her eyes.
“And never have sex with me in my sleep again. I swear, it’s just so fucking weird! I mean, it felt good and all, but I thought it was because of my meds, it was so realistic. Now to find out that … well, you know.”
I nod once more, ashamed.
“It did feel good, but I swear on my life, I’ll never do that again. You have no idea how much I regret it.”
For a moment, Olly studies me.
“I mean every word,” she warns.
“Of course,” I reply immediately. “As do I.”
Then she lets out a huge sigh.
“Then I guess we can start over, Jason,” she says in a trembling voice. “I have to admit that I have some reservations, but I do love you, and being with you has been amazing. I’ve been happier than I ever have in my life, and I want my baby to know his or her father.”
I nod as my heart blooms with blessed relief.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” I rasp. “I appreciate this second chance. You have no idea how grateful I am.” Then, I tentatively come around and slip a hand over her growing belly. “Have you had ultrasounds?”
She pulls away and nods before pulling a piece of carbon paper from her purse. “This is our child, Jason,” she says in a whisper. “I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet because I wanted to wait and find out together. You are his or her father, and this child belongs to both of us.”
I cradle the grainy image in my hand, and to my surprise my cheeks are wet.
“Thank you, baby girl,” I whisper. “I love you and this is the best gift a woman can give a man. You have no idea how much this means to me because when I was in prison, I thought my time was up. I didn’t think fatherhood would ever happen for me, but you’ve made it come true. I love you, sweetheart, and I’m grateful for your generosity and grace.”
With that, I reach for the curvy girl, my movements still unsure. But the beautiful brunette wraps her arms around my neck and leans up on her tiptoes to touch her mouth to mine.
“I love you too, Jason Benning,” she whispers while staring into my eyes. “More than you can know.”
With that, the tension between us dissipates somewhat because I can feel that this is a new beginning. It’s as if the clouds are cracking open, and a ray of sunshine has enveloped us in its grace and light, and tears spring to my eyes once more.
After all, I’m a man of second chances. After my stint in prison, I was handed a golden opportunity to rebuild my life. Now, after another stupid criminal stunt, the woman I love has given me a second chance to start again. What did I do to deserve this? I don’t know, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make it work because this woman is my forever. Maybe I’m not proud of my past actions, but with Olivia at my side, I know I can become a better partner, a better person, and the best boyfriend to this woman whom I adore.
EPILOGUE
Olly
I waddle into the kitchen with a hand on my hip.
“Goodness, something smells amazing!” I exclaim.
My boyfriend smiles when he sees me, and I immediately melt because Jason’s got a towel thrown over his shoulder and his shirt off. Those bronzed muscles bulge and I have a delicious urge to run my tongue over the ridges of his abs.
“Hi honey,” he greets before pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’m making your favorite: chicken soup.”
“Ooh,” I coo. “The baby and I will love that.”
Then I rest my hand on my stomach and giggle because I’ve become massive over the last few months. I’m so huge that I can’t see my toes and resemble a hippopotamus waddling through the forest. Or is it the savannah? I have no idea because mommy brain has taken over and it seems the only things I can focus on these days are (1) food, (2) more food, and (3) sexy times with my handsome man. Jason reads my mind and presses another kiss to my curls.