Page 143 of The Rebel

But I didn’t think that mattered. Not with being on the pill and having that layer of protection.

With each day that passed, still no period in sight, the signs were adding up far too quickly.

They could be nothing.

Or they could be everything.

My lungs expanded, my arms moved to his shoulders, my fingers shook so hard that I had to squeeze them into fists. “What if …” I trailed off, too anxious to fill in the rest of the words. “Should we even go there until we know?”

He rested his forehead against mine. “Listen to me. I’ve told you that I’m in love with you. Since I said that to you, those feelings have only grown.” He put a few inches between us so he could lock eyes with mine. “I’m not going anywhere. Whatever happens, we’re in this together. So, whether you have my baby in nine months or so, or in two years, or in five, my answer isn’t going to change.”

“Your answer,” I started, but my throat was burning, my eyes dripping, my lips quivering, “is that you want this baby?”

He rubbed his thumb over my mouth. “Were you afraid that I didn’t?”

“At this moment, Cooper, I’m afraid of everything.”

Before I could say anything else or think or even react, he was wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against him.

Our chests collided, my breasts immediately screaming in pain, our faces in each other’s neck, our lips pressed against the opposite skin.

I never understood the power of a hug.

Until now.

And I was positive, with everything I had, I never wanted him to let me go.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I want you to give me those fears and let me hold them for you.”

As my eyelids clamped shut, wetness began to soak in around me—through his shirt, coating my eyelashes, covering my mouth.

“But is being a father what you really want? Now?”

“Are you kidding.” It wasn’t a question. It was the most serious statement he’d made. “Of course it’s what I want. Was it in my plan for it to happen now—if that’s even the case? No. In the future? Absolutely. But now or then, it makes no difference. I want a child, Rowan. I want that baby to be a part of me. And holding it and loving it, I want that more than anything.”

I finally exhaled.

But what came out felt like more than just air.

And relief.

And sadness.

What came out was energy that had been pent-up since Cooper had first kissed me in Lake Louise.

“I wish things were that perfect,” I said softly. “Because they feel so incredibly complicated.” The tears were coming down harder. “Our families, Cooper. Rhett. Brady?—”

His hand went to the center of my stomach. “If you’re pregnant, that’ll be my baby in your belly, and I don’t give a shit if they hate me or hate us. You and that baby would be the only things that matter.”

The water from my eyes was falling onto my lips, and I did nothing to stop it.

I couldn’t.

“I almost quit,” I blurted out.

His gaze intensified, like he was trying to search mine. “Quit what?”

“The woman who bought my boutiques reached out and told me she no longer wants them. They’re too much for her, and she wants to sell them back to me for what she paid.”

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