Page 57 of Baby for My Billionaire Rival

“Jake!” Caroline says through an impossible laugh.

And that makes me smile. “I’m serious.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Is that what I am?”No, I think I’m just in love.

I can’t help but notice Caroline hasn’t pulled away from me. She hasn’t stepped back. Hasn’t shaken away my touch. I think she might need me. Just as much as I need her.

“A baby is a lot,” Caroline says. “I can’t do grad school and take care of a baby and –”

“I’ll take care of the baby,” I interject.

She scoffs.

“I’m serious.”

Caroline furrows her brow. “That’s not how it works. I have to carry it, I have to –”

“I know, that’s –” I duck my head down for a second, my cheeks warming. It is just occurring to me that this isn’t a hypothetical. A part of me is inside Caroline right now, taking root and growing. I love that feeling, love knowing I’m an indelible part of her for now. “I’ll leave the program.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She starts to pull away.

I don’t let her go, sliding my hands to her waist, and pressing her up against me. “I’m not being ridiculous! I just love you, alright?”

Caroline’s face softens. She shakes her head in disbelief.

“I love you, Caroline,” I repeat, bringing my hands to her cheeks. “And I’ll do anything to keep you happy. You want to go to school, you want to run your family’s company, I’ll make that happen. You can do all of that and be with me and have a baby with me –” My heart is about to fly out of my chest. I smile to try and lessen the pressure. “We could be a family. If that’s what you want.”

Tears drip down her cheeks. “Is that whatyouwant?”

After Dad died, I walked around aching. Trying to find some sort of meaning in life. You can’t count on other people to bring it to you, that’s true. But I’m not going to stand here and say that Caroline Gladstone hasn’t shifted everything for me. That her presence in my life hasn’t created a shaft of light I want to stay in forever. To have a baby with her, well, that would mean everything to me. “More than anything.”

She blinks. More tears. A smile. “And you… you love me?”

“Yes. A hundred percent. A thousand percent. I’m sorry I’ve been such a –”

Caroline cuts me off, embracing me tightly to her, tucking her head into my neck. God, I’ve missed her so much.

“I just don’t know,” she whispers.

I can’t make her do anything. It’s her body. I can tell her that I’d make a good father. That I’d make a good husband. To hell with her family and what they say. We can be a power couple and a loving family unit around the dinner table. I close my eyes, a wave of nostalgia for a life I haven’t experienced yet, seeing a bouncing baby in a high chair pulled up to my kitchen table while Caroline and I eat breakfast.

“It doesn’t feel fair to you,” Caroline goes on. “When everything still feels so unsettled.”

I sigh, holding her tighter. “I trust you to do what’s right for you, Caroline. And I love you.”

Maybe if I say it enough, she’ll finally believe me.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

That night, alone in my room, I say one single prayer, not to God, but to my dad, wherever he is, that if I am to step up and be a father, that I will be a good one.Please help me be a good one.

Chapter 19

Caroline

The nausea has been unbearable. People call it morning sickness like it’s no big deal, but it’s actually like being tethered to a toilet like it’s your lifeline. Not to mention, “morning” sickness shows up whenever it damn well chooses.

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