“That’s a lie, and you know it.” I thought back to her booting up my PlayStation and frowned. “You didn’t read our messages, did you? The ones I left days before Theodore passed?”
“What messages? You sent me something?”
“Yes. I couldn’t keep up the façade anymore, Peyton. I wanted what we had back.”
Her chest rose and fell heavily. “You lie.”
“No. Turn on the console and look at the date.”
“If you planned on telling me, why back out?”
“Theodore died.” I cleared my throat before continuing. “It’s been a long night. How about I tell you more tomorrow? For now, just rest.”
I had a lot to say.She would need a good night’s sleep to hear everything. About the argument I had with Theodore that led to him wrecking. His ghost.
God. I was going to lose her, wasn’t I?
I rubbed T.J.’s back as he rested on my chest. Peyton kept staring, biting her lip. Her hand went to her stomach. That was like the fifth time she had done it that night. Peyton hadn’t allowed me in the room with her when she spoke to the doctor, and seeing how she kept cradling her stomach, I should have pushed my way inside.
“Did the doctor really say you were fine?”
Her brows furrowed. “Yes. Why?”
“You keep holding your stomach like you’re in pain.”
She removed her hand quickly. “I’m fine physically… Mentally, on the other hand…”
“You’re not crazy,” I said for the hundredth time.
“Do you believe me? Or are you saying what I want to hear?”
“I believe you.”
When T.J. threw his head back, I cradled him against me so he blinked up at me. “He’ll probably keep the blond hair. It’s just like Theo’s.”
When she said nothing, I looked up to find her scowling.
“Jesus Christ, woman. Are you mad that I’m holding T.J. now?”
“Do you even want children?”
I blinked at her for a moment. After I’d spent months pursuing her, driving her crazy, trying to take care of her during her pregnancy and afterward, her words stung. How could she question my feelings for the little guy? “Peyton, your son is mine too. That’s all there is to it.”
Shoulders sagging, she stared at the floor with a look of utter defeat. Clearly, I’d said the wrong thing.
She squeezed her hands together. “So you don’t want more?”
“Ten or two. Pick a number. All that matters to me is being there for however many you want.”
She exhaled and held my gaze as she laid her hand over her stomach. “Silas.”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Congratulations. We’re pregnant.”
What? I must have misheard her.
My jaw went slack. Peyton’s brows furrowed in the middle.She’s cute. Wait…