Chapter 141
“We’re having a baby,” I whispered, touching his sleeve.
He laughed and cried at the same time, a sound that broke something in me in the best way. He took my hand and kissed my wrist, my palm, my knuckles, words spilling between breaths.
“Thank you.
you. Thank you. We’re having a baby. You’re carrying our child.”
I started crying too, the kind that eases you instead of empties you. We stayed like that until the air inside the car felt new.
“Ask for anything,” he said when he could speak. “Whatever you want. It’s yours.”
I sniffed a laugh. “I’ll think about it.‘
“Consider it done.” He started the car and pulled away from the curb.
We didn’t go home. He took the turn that led to the quiet house he had used before we left for the island, the one with the olive trees and the stillness. I raised an eyebrow.
“We left,” he said simply. “So we’ll keep being away for a couple of days. Then we go
back.”
“You’re learning to play the game,” I teased.
“I’m learning to put you first,” he said. “And I want to celebrate before the noise starts.
”
We kept it to ourselves. No calls. No texts. He made me toast and cut fruit and stood at the foot of the bed at night to “talk to the baby,” which was mostly him whispering nonsense and promises while I laughed and told him there wasn’t much to talk to yet. He did it anyway.
An urgent message pulled him back to work two days later, but he didn’t move like a man in a hurry. Jacket on. Jacket off. He checked his watch. Stared at the floor. Checked his watch again.
“Go,” I told him, smiling. “I’ll be fine.”
He nodded but didn’t budge.
“Liam,” I said, amused now. “Seriously. Go.”
His phone beeped. He read the message, finally slipped into his jacket, and kissed me: “I’ll be
12:58
Chapter 141
back shortly,” he said, then left
Not three minutes later, the door opened again, and Sophia walked in.
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“You know, I’m beginning to think I’m Liam’s official go–to babysitter,” she said, setting her bag down with dramatic flair. “Man calls me every time he wants someone to keep you company. I swear, one of these days I’m sending him an invoice.”
I laughed. “He called you?”
“Of course he did. That’s why I’m here,” she sighed, dropping into a chair. “I can’t believe you let him pull you home from vacation just for a meeting. That could’ve waited, Emily.”
I hid a smile. “Apparently not.”
She handed me a bottle. “Your favorite. Had to bribe the guy.”
“You’re the best,” I said, grinning as I twisted the cap and took a big sip, then immediately grimaced. “Ew. This is awful.”
Sophia leaned back with a smug little grin. “You better finish that drink, because there’s nothing wrong with it. You’re not pregnant… so there’s no reason for your taste buds to be acting up.”
I tried to laugh it off, forcing a casual shrug. “Maybe this one just wasn’t made right.”
But something in my tone, or the way my eyes flickered, must have slipped.
Her gaze sharpened, narrowing as her mind clicked into place. She leaned in, her voice a near- whisper, like she almost couldn’t believe she was asking. “Emily… are you pregnant?”
Joy rose so fast it made me lightheaded all over again. I’d been holding it like a fragile dish. I nodded.
Sophia screamed. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth and screamed again, softer, because she remembered there were walls.
“Say it,” she demanded, eyes wet. “Say it to me.”
“I’m pregnant.”
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