Page 60 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“Kitty, I could go to prison.”

“What thefuck?” My heart punched up into my throat. “I’m twenty-six. What do you mean, you could go to prison?”

“Not that.” Rook snorted softly. “What I did with you while I was in the employ of your father could be considered a breach of contract, and if he decided to go down the route and sue me, then I have no defense. I did what I did.”

Oh, no.

I hadn’t fully considered that and now, suddenly, I was facing the prospect of Rook being taken from me because my father was an asshole. If he thought it would keep us apart, he would do it. I knew he would.

“And I could go away for a long time. I don’t have the funds to fight against someone like themayor.” Rook groaned. “So it might… it might be best if you stay away from me.”

“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A small part of me understood Rook’s perspective, but a larger part of me, the part that was insatiably in love with this man, only saw the possibility of losing him.

“Believe me, I say this from a place of love, Kitty, because I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m also not saying I don’t want to be with you, but if your father takes that route, then I don’t want you to be shackled to a man who?—”

“I’m pregnant.”

Those two words burst out of me like gas, and it didn’t even sound like my voice to my own ears. I glanced around briefly, trying to locate the source before I realized I was the source.

Rook was deadly silent, staring at me with his face frozen mid-speech.

Did I really say that?

On the way over here, I’d rehearsed how to reveal this to Rook. It was the main thing I wanted to talk about because I had no idea how he felt about me and in my mind, this was the make or break reveal.

I hadn’t even considered his contract.

“And… I think I love you. No, I know I love you. I realized it a little while ago, and maybe it was always there, and okay, I don’t know what to do about my father or your contract or anything like that, but I love you and I’m pregnant and I want… I don’t know what I want, but I just have to say it.”

“What?” Rook finally unfroze. “You’re…” His eyes dropped to the table as if he could see my abdomen through the wood. “You’repregnant?”

“It’s yours, by the way,” I added hurriedly. The longer Rook sat there, the hotter my body became. A prickling sweat washed over my skin, making my T-shirt stick to my back, and suddenly, it was as if I were in a hundred-degree heat rather than the middle of winter.

“You’re pregnant,” Rook repeated slowly.

“The hospital called at the dress fitting and I… I was going to tell you then, but then we y’know, and then my mom…” I trailed off, quickly deflating.

This was it. Rook was surely working out how to let me down gently. How to tell me there was no way he wanted a woman and a kid. Hell, maybe he’d even cart himself off to prison to avoid me.

My thoughts spiraled as my heart raced and emotion began to build behind my eyes.

“Kitty,” Rook choked out, and then he smiled the widest smile I’d ever seen across his handsome face. “Oh, my God!”

Rook darted out of his chair so fast that it fell backward with a clatter, and he swept me right off mine and into his arms.

“This is amazing!” Rook kissed me deeply, panting slightly against my lips, and then he kissed every inch of my face he could reach. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God, this is amazing. This is… I’m going to be a dad!”

A few other people in the café cheered softly at Rook’s words, and he utterly smothered me in kisses.

“You’re not mad?” I gasped as excitement burst through my body like the spark of a firework. Wave after wave of hot shivers ran down my arms.

“Mad?” Rook gasped. “No! This is…” He cupped my face and stared right into my eyes. “Kitty. I love you too. I think I always did, and I just buried it because how could someone like you love someone like me? I love you, so fucking much. And this?”

Rook set me down and in the same breath, he dropped to his knees and grasped my waist.

“Our baby.”

I laughed, and tears welled up hot and fat in my eyes. “Yes,” I gasped, my heart hammering fiercely as if it was trying to escape me and leap right into Rook’s arms. “Our baby.”

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