He turned his head, kissing my palm. "I'll admit, I wondered if she said that just to spare me. Despite what she did, she is a good person, and I wondered if maybe she was only saying that so that I would go back to you. I needed to know for sure whether I was or wasn’t Chelsea’s father. For that reason, I arranged a DNA test."
I nodded because that made perfect sense.
"What I told you is the truth. I'm not Chelsea's father. There's nothing going on between Sandra and me. Nothing has since the day we broke up, before I even met you. But I had brought her to New York, and like I said, she was alone. So, my family sort of adopted her. That's why Chelsea calls my parents Grandma and Grandpa. And for years, she came for holidays, but earlier this summer, she moved to Boston, so I hadn't expected her to be there for Thanksgiving. I'm sorry that you had to experience the shock of her showing up. I had only found out she was coming that morning, and I hadn't been able to get upstairs to warn you before she arrived."
I felt so foolish for reacting the way I had. "I'm sorry, Sam."
He pulled me close, and I turned into his warm body. "I understand that you were afraid to love and trust me again, Kate. I still want to make a life with you, but in order for it to work, you're going to have to learn to trust me. Or at least talk to me if you're feeling vulnerable."
I nodded, tilting my head to look up at him. "I'll try. I just..." I bought my head back down, resting it against his shoulder.
"You just what?"
"After you left, I was brokenhearted."
He kissed the top of my head and whispered that he was sorry.
"But that wasn't the only thing that happened to me. My grandfather stole my trust fund, but at the time, I didn't realize he wasn't allowed to have it. He essentially disowned me, tossed me out with nothing. Not only that, but he’d also bad-mouthed me to all his cronies, so I wasn't able to find a good job."
I shook my head because I don't think that was totally true.
"Actually, I think I just gave up. I lost you. I lost my money, and I just lost my will to fight. So I got a job as a waitress in the club that you and your brother bought up the street from me. A woman in a seedy club has to learn to be tough to fight off all the hands and the catcalls. Up until last year, that was my life."
He squeezed me tighter. "I'm so sorry, Kate. Where were Ethan and all your friends?"
"Ethan was there. But I was so angry with the world that I didn't want to rely on him."
I tilted my head to look up at him again. "I decided that anyone could hurt me, and I didn't want to let that happen again. So, I kept everyone out. To a certain extent, Ethan as well."
"And now? Will you at least let me in?"
I smiled, reaching up to trace his lips with my finger. "The truth is that you were always in. I fought it because it scared me. It still scares me, if you want to know the truth."
He bent down and kissed my nose. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you are never scared of me again."
“Does that include making love?”
He grinned. “Absolutely.” He pulled me into his lap and then stood, carrying me back to his room.
“Sam?” I asked as he lay me on the bed.
“Kate?” He tugged his shirt off and then stretched out over me.
“You never asked how I got pregnant.”
He arched a brow. “I think I know. I plan to do it now.”
I laughed. “I meant you didn’t ask about birth control. I was on it.” It was important to me that he knew that.
“We were having sex. Pregnancy is always a risk when having sex.”
“Are you happy about the baby?”
His smile was brilliant. “Very.” He bent down and kissed my belly and then returned to me, kissing me. “I finally have everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“Me too. Now kiss me more.”
He laughed and did just that. Our mouths fused together. Our hands explored. We rolled and clung. We laughed, even. I’d forgotten that sex could be like playing, a joyous coming together.