A finger under her chin gently nudged her gaze upward until she had no choice but to look into his handsome brown eyes in the dim red glow. “I already said I’m in, and I meant it. We made this baby together. I will love our little fig with all my heart.”
And me, Xavier? Will you be able to love me, or will I just represent shame and regrets?
The thought surprised her, but then, she’d given up on the fantasy of falling in love with her baby’s father when he tried to destroy her career. The idea that a relationship with him could be back on the table was…not something she’d ever expected to wrap her brain around.
But then…this wasn’t a brain thing. It was a heart thing.
She had to remember that when it came to Chief Warrant Officer Xavier Rivera, she needed to let her brain take the reins and leave her heart out of it.
Fig was going to have a dad. That’s what mattered. “I’m just glad we’re talking, and you know I’m pregnant. That we’re both going to love our little fig means more than I can say. Yesterday, I didn’t know if that would ever be possible.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance.”
She placed her hand over his again, which had returned to her belly. “Thank you for knocking me up.”
He let out a sharp laugh. “I think it’s appropriate to say it was literally my pleasure.”
She smiled. “And mine.”
Xavier held Audrey, spooning against him for warmth, as she dropped into sleep. He guessed it was the exhaustion of hiking and cold and pregnancy that allowed her to slip into sleep at all, given the situation. For his part, he’d been trained to sleep when needed on an op, and only waited for her to drop off before he gave in.
He knew little about pregnancy, but his sister-in-law had said it was draining, especially in the first trimester as the body adjusted to the work of growing another human. Add to that the terrifying day and near hypothermia she’d faced multiple times, and he’d had a small internal panic that the combination could trigger a miscarriage. But she was fine now, sleeping softly in his arms, warm and perfect.
It didn’t seem possible to feel this deep and intense need to get her out of here. He’d never guessed his feelings could be so…boundless. It was like trying to grasp the expanding universe. Just when he thought he’d reached the end of his ability to feel, his mind—or heart—expanded.
Was this love?
It certainly was nothing like what he’d thought he felt for Lynn. But then, she’d made it clear when she dumped him at his darkest hour that it had only been attraction and affection on her part, nothing so powerful as love.
If this was love, was it love for the child that would one day be his? Or the woman who carried it?
Both, probably.
And he didn’t think his feelings for Audrey were only because she was pregnant. No. He’d been feeling feral about her safety from the moment she’d been attacked on the ledge.
It was his fault she was in danger.
His fault they were being hunted and she’d been forced to burn energy until she had to inhale crackers and cheese.
He wouldn’t fail her again. Not in these woods and not when they were back in the real world with a child to raise.
But first, he had to protect her and get her to safety.
Or die trying.