Page 58 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

“I’m sorry,” says Demi, the words coming out on a low exhale. “I’ve been in my own head about a lot lately. I was going to tell you, but it felt like the kind of conversation that we needed to have at the perfect moment, and nothing has felt perfect lately.”

“That’s because perfection never shows up when you’re looking for it,” I tell her. “Don’t give me that look. I’m not running off at the mouth when I say that. Demi, honey, you can’t force something to be perfect. The perfect moments are the ones that fall into place by total chance.”

A small smile crosses her face. Demi’s eyes are still tear-filled, but she doesn’t look upset anymore. “Like the auction at that charity?”

“Exactly,” I tell her. Thinking back to that night, it’s amazing how much really was chance. I could have stayed at work late. I could have skipped the auction entirely, or Tyler might have felt like showing off to the point where he had gone home with Demi instead.

But he didn’t. Everything lined up perfectly so that we could be in this moment right here, together. And I can’t think of any better way to make that clear than to pull her close and kiss her again, and again, and again. It doesn’t matter who’s here, it doesn’t matter who sees.

All I can think about is the fact that we’re going to have a baby together.

We part for breath, but Demi just surges forward again, wrapping her arms around my shoulder and gripping me tight. “I was going to tell you,” she repeats.

“It doesn’t matter,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her in turn. None of that matters. The should haves, the could haves, the fuck alls,” I tell her, and Demi lets out a laugh against my neck.

“You promise?”

“I promise,” I tell her, standing up and bringing her with me. I don’t let go of her in the process, keeping her pulled up against my front, keeping my arms tight about her middle. “None of that matters. Fuck, Demi, we’re going to be parents!”

Just saying the word sends a jolt of excitement through me, my whole body hot with glee. I am going to have another kid. And this time, I know that things are going to work out.

A warm smile appears on her face, her eyes sparkling with a new kind of joy, as though this is the first time that she really lets herself be happy about the news. Knowing Demi, and her tendency to get pulled into her own head, it probably is.

But that’s fine. From here on out, things are going to be perfect, for both of us. I’ll solve the problem that she has with the farm, and then I’ll make sure that she has everything she needs to be happy.

No matter the cost.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Demi

Alright,thisisit.

The Rolls Royce is pulling into the driveway, and that means it’s showtime.

I let out a huff of air, reach up to adjust my ponytail, and then step down the front steps to meet them. I didn’t have work today and neither did Nathan—we had to work hard to pull this off.

As such, I’ve traded out the scrubs for my well-worn skinny jeans and a bright yellow and black button-up shirt. The top three buttons are undone, showing off the white cami that I’m wearing under it. “Nate, Tabby! You guys made it!”

“We made it,” says Nathan, getting out and coming around to undo Tabby from her kid’s seat. The moment that she has both feet on the ground, she’s rocketing up the driveway and slamming into my legs, arms wrapping around my hips in a hug.

“Missed you,” says Tabitha.

“I missed you too, little bug,” I tell her, ruffling up her hair.

She turns her big eyes on me. “Little bug?”

“Yeah,” I tell her. “Because you’re small and cute, just like a bug.”

“You think bugs are cute?” Tabby asks.

“Adorable,” I tell her.

Nathan finally makes his way over to join us. “You remember ladybugs, don’t you, Tabby? They’re cute?”

“And butterflies,” I say. “Lightning bugs.”

Tabitha thinks on it for a moment, and then gives a solemn nod, as though finally coming to terms with the fact that I’m right, and certain that bugs are cute. “Okay. I can be a bug.”

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