Page 126 of First Comes Forever

Oh no.

The front door just unlocked and there is very little time to hide the evidence.

What the hell? He was just on the way to the airport.

Adam bursts through the bedroom door barely a moment after I have time to stash my loot under his pillow. I sit up in bed and try to wipe the chocolate evidence from my face.

“Hey, baby, you will not believe this. I just talked to my dad and he—” Adam stops and studies me. “Why do you look so flushed? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Totally fine,” I squeak. I give him a sheepish smile as I fold my hands together. “What are you doing? Or… I mean, why are you here?”

He scours the room, a puzzled expression on his face. “You’re acting guilty…or caught.”

“No.” My inflection doesn’t help as I singsong the word, ending on a high note.

Adam looks down at the ground. “What’s going on?” he asks softly.

Oh, my poor guy. Adam’s not a jealous man, nor is he controlling. But he still carries the trauma of having his heart broken by a pregnant woman. I think I’m only a few weeks behind where Liv was when his marriage fell apart. It’s natural for him to be a little paranoid.

I love this man. It’s my job to protect his heart, too. So I pull out the king-sized KitKat bar from underneath his pillow to show him he has nothing to worry about.

“Caught,” I say with a cheeky smile, holding up the candy bar.

Adam laughs hard. Maybe because it’s funny or perhaps out of relief.

“Didn’t you say you were only eating healthy and organic for the rest of the pregnancy?” he asks with a smirk.

“Yeah, I said that,” I say with a scoff. “That’s why I waited until you left to break into my stash.”

“Stash?” Adam raises his brows.

Setting the candy bar down on Adam’s pillow, I run my hands over the swell of my tummy. I’m only three bites into my KitKat, but my daughter is in there, doing the electric slide. She loves sugar. Probably because I deprive the poor girl.

“Hey, your baby is up and would love your attention.”

Adam smiles and rubs his hands together, warming them up. Anticipating his next move, I pull my shirt up, revealing my swollen belly. I used to be embarrassed by the stretch marks forming below my belly button. I’m carrying low, and my skin is becoming worse for wear. But every night, Adam kisses my marks before rubbing lotion on them. He thanks me every day for putting my body through hell to take such good care of his baby.

It’s funny. He used to wish the baby would end up with my freckles. But now, I hope my baby ends up with his deep dimples. I thought using donor eggs would make me feel a little alienated from my child, but I haven’t missed a beat.She’s mine.We’re connected in every single way that matters most.

My sweet little miracle hope baby.

With great effort, I scoot to the center of the bed, allowing Adam to slide in next to me. He kicks off his shoes and peels back the thick comforter before crawling into bed. Then he places his warm hand flat on my stomach. The baby kicks for him immediately.

“Whoa, easy there, baby,” Adam says to my stomach. “You’re going to bust right out of your mama.” He rubs my belly sweetly, trying to trace the baby’s outline. “What do you think this is? Elbow or knee?” he asks as he presses against the firm hump just below my belly button.

“That’s most definitely her butt.”

He laughs. “Really? She’s still so little.” He kisses my cheek, lingering as he breathes me in. “She has a lot of growing to do before we can meet her.”

“You’re going to miss your flight, babe.”

He groans as he wraps his arm around me. “I’m not going.”

“What?I thought you were going to rip LMC a new one. What the hell?”

Dropping his jaw, he feigns offense. “Do you want me to go?”

I cringe. “Kinda…”

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