“Our mothers will be happy,” I say.
“Did you tell my mom? When you were with her this afternoon?”
I slowly shake my head. “No. I didn’t even officially know I was until an hour ago. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell her first. I’d want you to know, since this is our baby.”
His smile is slow, the glow in his eyes intensifying. “You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah.” My smile matches his. “I am.”
“Fucking unbelievable. I’m going to be a dad.” He raises his voice. “I’m going to be a father!”
I laugh at his excitement. “Are you happy?”
He basically dumps me off of his lap and stands up, then bends down to grab me, holding me in his arms as he starts for the hallway that leads to the bedroom.
We’ve given up on all pretenses of having separate rooms. He stays in mine almost all of the time now. Only going into his when he needs something out of the closet or dresser.
“What are you doing?” I loop my arms around his neck, clinging tightly. Though I’m not worried he’s going to drop me. He has a firm hold.
“Taking you to bed and stripping you naked,” he murmurs, bending down to drop a kiss on my smiling lips. “We should have sex. To commemorate this moment.”
I laugh, trying to ignore the niggling worry in the back of my brain. That we’ve already forgotten something major.
Like the fact that Seamus is still out there. Still lurking around. Still hoping to get at me. Or even at my husband.
Or our child.
And Perry still believes he has to take care of him his way, and damn the consequences.
Now that I’m pregnant, I have even more to lose. If that means I need to remain a hermit in our apartment until Seamus is found, then so be it. I’ll do what it takes to keep our baby safe.
But what about Perry? He’ll still have to go to work. Seamus was headed for Halcyon before they lost him. What did he have planned?
What did he want to do?
Chapter Twenty-One
Perry
Ikeep mybaby news to myself, wanting to savor it for a few days with just my wife before we let the whole world know. It’s kind of exciting, having a secret that only Charlotte and I share.
And I’m not keeping it a secret because I’m ashamed of the fact that we’re having a baby, or that I want to keep it from my family for whatever reason. That’s not the case. People are going to be happy. My mother is going to be beside herself at the news of another grandchild. My siblings—specifically my brothers—are going to think I’ve lost my damn mind that I’m this excited about being a dad at such a young age.
I think of my own father, and how I wish he was still alive so he could see me now. Not like my old man ever considered me a major fuck-up, but my parents put their all into Winston and blew me off as the second son with no responsibilities. I fell into that role perfectly. The good time guy with no worries, even as a kid.
It’s a shame my father never got to see me grow up into the man I am now. Working at the business he started, side by side with my older brother, who respects me. I worked damn hard to gain that respect too. I earned it.
I’ve earned a lot of things. Instead of just going through life with no plan, I was thrust into a marriage that I first believed I didn’t want.
Turns out I didn’t mind that either.
Didn’t mind. Two words that don’t even come close to describe my feelings for Charlotte. That woman belongs to me. With me. She makes me feel territorial. Possessive. I look at her and immediately want to touch her. We’re in a room together with other people and I want to put my hands on her, making my claim. Letting everyone know that she belongs to me.
I’m in love with her. I have to be, and I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t let me that night, when she announced her pregnancy. She said some tough things—things that made me angry, but I’ve turned her words over and over in my mind ever since she said them, and I’ve come to realize she’s right.
I hate McPrickface with everything I’ve got, but I can’t let my anger destroy what I’ve got with Charlotte. When he’s found—and he will be—I’ll let the authorities take care of him.
No matter how badly I want to finish him off.