“Mase, I . . . see, um, I . . .” She stopped and let out a frustrated sigh as she struggled to put words together. I watched her close her eyes tightly and inhale deeply. This wasn’t easy for her, and that terrified me. What could she possibly need to tell me that was this hard?
“Reese? Baby, whatever you have to say, I can take. I’m here. Just tell me.”
She nodded and opened her eyes to look at me again. “OK. I want you to know that this wasn’t planned, and this is not a trap. I’d never do that. I do not expect a thing. I just . . . I just need you to believe me when I say that. I don’t want you to ever think this was on purpose.”
She was rambling, and I was getting more nervous by the second.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out, and her eyes went wide, as if she couldn’t believe she’d said it out loud.
That was what she was so scared to tell me? She was going to have my baby? I stared at her in awe and let my gaze fall to her flat stomach. We had created a life, and it was inside her. She was carrying it. Our baby.
“I swear, I don’t expect a thing. If you aren’t ready for this, Benedetto said I can stay here with him. So don’t think you have to—”
“Wait, what?” I snapped my gaze back up to meet hers. “Stay with him? Why would you stay with him? We have a home. Our home. Our baby’s home. You’ll stay with me. Both of you.”
Her shoulders slumped with a sigh, and I wanted it to be one of relief. Why she thought she had to prepare for me to kick her out I had no idea. Didn’t she understand that when I said she was my future, I fucking meant she was my future?
“There’s no pressure. It happened, and it’s my fault. I forgot to take a pill that day that . . . Marco came. I took two the next day when I realized it, but apparently, that didn’t work. I don’t want you to think you have to do anything you’re not ready for.”
This woman was having my baby, and I worshipped the ground she walked on. How in God’s name did she think I’d feel pressured to do anything when it came to her? I loved doing things for her. “Reese, baby, I love you. I don’t say those words easily. When I tell you that I love you and you’re my world, I mean it. They aren’t words that I just throw around. You’ve given me your heart, and I thought you’d given me your trust, too. Apparently, I don’t have all of you yet, and that’s my fault. I failed somehow. I haven’t made sure you know just how important you are to me. You’re having my baby, Reese. The woman I love is carrying my baby inside of her. Do you know how fucking thrilled I am right now? You are mine.” I walked over and put my hand on her stomach. “This is mine. And I’m not ever letting go of either of you.”
Reese laid her head on my chest and let out a small sob. I cradled her against me. She was so scared of people turning on her, but she expected it. From everyone. Except Benedetto. She’d trusted him. She had told him. How did he get the trust that I didn’t have? What did he do right that I had done wrong?
When I picked up the ring I had found last week and was having resized, I would prove to her that she had me. Hell, she’d had me the morning she sang off key and shook her ass in my face. I hadn’t realized it then, but she’d had me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away. It was just a surprise to me, and I wasn’t sure how you would react. I didn’t want to force anything on you.”
I cupped her face in my hands. “In this life, you will always be my number one priority. Your happiness is my goal. Never doubt me again. Promise me that,” I said, needing to know that next time, she’d come to me. Not her father.
She nodded. “OK. I promise.”
I kissed her lips gently. I wanted to get her naked and inspect every inch of her body to see if it had changed. Were her hips wider and I hadn’t noticed? Did her stomach show any signs? Were her breasts tender?
“I need you to do something for me,” I told her, reluctantly letting go of her mouth.
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
“Get naked. Let me explore and see if I can find any changes,” I said with a grin I couldn’t wipe off my face.
She blushed. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Very.”
I could see the arousal in her eyes as she watched me. She liked the idea of me touching her everywhere. Paying extra attention to areas she loved me to kiss.
“I’ll give those sensitive nipples special attention,” I promised as I slid my hands to the waistline of her skirt.
“Oh?” she asked, leaning into me.
“Mm-hmm. Any other tender place that needs my expertise?” I asked, cupping her ass in my hands.
“Ahhh . . . yes.” She arched into me.
“Then let’s get you undressed and find out just where I need to kiss. This could take hours.”
Reese lifted her hands into the air and gazed up at me. All that trust in her eyes made me want to beat my chest and roar. This was my woman. I’d never let her down.
Reese
When we left Chicago, Nonna was already knitting a baby blanket. My father had been right. She was ecstatic. Raul had also been thrilled. He kept referring to himself as Uncle Raul for the rest of our stay. But after three days, I knew we needed to get home and tell Mase’s parents.
Mase had become overprotective. I kept assuring him that I could walk around and I didn’t have to rest yet—I wasn’t even showing. I really hoped I wouldn’t get morning sickness, because I wasn’t sure he could handle it.
He was also anxious to get me back to the doctor so he could go, too. He had a million questions I didn’t have the answers to. The one thing he never mentioned was marriage. I was torn about that. I hadn’t wanted him to propose because he thought he had to, but then his not even mentioning it worried me, too. I convinced myself that it was my pregnancy hormones and I had nothing to worry about. Even if he never asked me to marry him, he wanted me. He wanted both of us. I didn’t have to wear his ring or have his last name to be his.
Getting home and telling his parents was our first priority. Maryann brought over a chocolate cream pie, and I made a pot of coffee. I could see the unease in his stepfather’s eyes and the excitement in his mother’s. I wanted him to just blurt it out and get it over with. I wanted them to be happy, but I worried they’d feel I was trapping Mase. That was my biggest concern.
“Thanks for coming and bringing the pie. It’s been a long day of traveling, and Reese needed to rest,” Mase said. I shot him a frustrated frown. He made me sound like a wimp. The reason they were here was that he insisted I get comfortable and relax.