Page 31 of Van

“Good. Now get the fuck outta here so I can make phone calls,” he says, nodding toward the door. I chuckle as I stand and leave church. That’s where I find Chy with Nicole near the bar. She smiles, and it lights up the goddamn room. She’s happy, or at least she looks happy. The smile on her face is bright as she turns and looks at me. Nicole says something, and she laughs again, making my heart leap. I want her happy. I want her to stay happy. I walk over and throw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into my side.

“What’s got you smilin’ like that?”

“Just having a good day.”

“Oh yeah? I’m glad.”

“You feel better today?” she asks me. I nod my head.

“Yeah, baby. I do. Sorry about the other night,” I tell her. I didn’t mean for her to see me like that.

“It’s okay. I get it.”

“No, you don’t. I shouldn’t have done that,” I tell her. She nods once and snuggles into my arms, her belly pressed against me. That’s when I feel the baby move. I step back and place my hand on her stomach, feeling the little guy kick and squirm around inside her.

“That doesn’t hurt?” I ask her. She shakes her head.

“No. It just feels weird.”

“That’s …” I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing. It’s not something I would have sat back and thought about before, but now … it’s amazing. I keep my hand on her stomach, feeling the little guy move around inside her, and I can’t stop the smile from crossing my face.

“It’s crazy, right?” she asks me. I drag my gaze from her stomach to her face and nod.

“I’ve never thought about it. I mean, yeah, I was there with my sister’s when they were pregnant, but I never really sat back and thought about it,” I tell her. I watch the smile cross her face as she looks up at me.

“Me and Nicole are going shopping.”

“What more do you need?” I ask her.

“Don’t you dare. You’re not paying for anything else. I have to work after that, so she’s going to drop me off,” she tells me. I nod my head, although I don’t like the idea of her being out alone. I want to be there. I want to protect her, but I know she needs her space too.

“Okay. You need anything? Money?”

“I said no, Van. You’ve already done so much for us. I can’t even thank you for all that,” she tells me.

“I just want him to have everything he needs,” I tell her.

“Van, you haven’t let me pay for anything. He has plenty of things. I just need a few smaller sleepers, and that’s it.”

“Okay. You’re the boss,” I tell her, causing her to laugh.

“Oh, am I?”

“Yeah, baby, you are.” I pull her into me and lean down to kiss her, pressing my lips to hers. I kiss her gently at first, but she wants more. I can feel it. So I give her whatever the hell she wants from me.

“If you two are done, we need to go.” Nicole interrupts us. I pull back and brush Chy’s hair away from her face as she grins up at me.

“You’re so sweet when you want to be.”

“You like that?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s the side of you I’m slowly falling for, Van.” Her words hit me hard. She’s falling for me? I don’t know how to respond to that.

“Go before I change my mind. I’ll pick you up from work,” I tell her before pressing one last kiss to her lips. She turns to Nicole and grabs her hand, leading her toward the door. I watch her go before disappearing out the door with her best friend.

I don’t really like the idea of them being out alone. I don’t know what Derrick would do if he saw her out on her own after the last time we had a run-in with him.

“You good?”

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