Page 144 of All Our Secrets

Silas palmed my rounded stomach as the restaurant door flew open, almost hitting me. My back bumped his chest as I moved aside to let the little boy by.

“Oh, sorry!” he shouted as his eyes widened on my stomach. “My mom is pregnant too.” He pointed toward the woman waddling behind him.

“I’m sorry,” his mother began.

I waved my hand while Silas wrapped his arm around my middle protectively. “It’s all good.” As soon as they left, Silas grabbed my hand and curved the other around my back. “All this attention is nice, but I can manage walking inside on my own.”

He looked down, quirking a brow. “Can you? You about got side-swiped by a seven-year-old.”

I snorted. “Side-swiped?”

“We’re going to have to tape T.J. to his seat when he’s that age.”

“He’s crawling, and you act like it’s the end of the world.”

“He’s a jabbering, crawling safety hazard like his mom. Dude can’t even walk yet but pulls himself up to his feet and nearly breaks his damn head on the coffee table a few times a day. I’m going to buy a couple rolls of bubble wrap on the way home.”

My heart went all warm and fuzzy as I listened to Silas’s worries. He had been watching T.J. like a hawk since he’d started crawling. We had finally moved into his grandmother’s old home. Silas spent months working late every evening so we could get settled before our daughter arrived. Evelyn was due soon, and we couldn’t wait to meet her.

But Silas had been relentless about a first date since a conversation we’d had after making love.

“You know something?” he’d said.

“What?”

“I never took you out on that first date. I’ve traced every inch of your skin, loved you for so long, and yet we haven’t been on a single date.”

He was persistent after that, and a week later, we were on our first date. Rosie was babysitting T.J. for us, and despite how strained things between Silas and Gerald still were, they were coming around. They were learning to accept each other. Despite how much Gerald hated it, Silas would hang the moon for us if he could. He loved us, and Gerald knew that.

Silas King was my sanctuary.

Instead of sitting across from me, he slid in beside me and rested a gentle hand on my knee. Sometimes, he didn’t realize how much his actions affected me. The little things. Small, simple things he did every day made me happier than I knew was possible. As of late, he stayed closer. Vigilant of every potential threat to me and our unborn baby girl. His possessive, protective nature was my undoing. Even when it drove me crazy, I secretly reveled in it.

We were quiet as we ate. His presence was the only thing I needed in this life. Silence never scared me when it came to Silas. Not having him close did.

On the way out of the restaurant, there was tension in his shoulders. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but he placed a possessive palm on my back. “Where to now?” he asked.

“Um, it’s Fenkin. So the movie theater or bowling.”

His jaw ticked. “How do you feel? Up for a movie?”

“Silas.” I breathed out with a smile. “We don’t have to do anything different from what we usually do.”

“I never get the chance to take you anywhere. Of course I fucking want to take you out. You deserve that. And so much more.”

“You’ve been busy. You got us moved into the house before Evie was born.” I rubbed my belly.

His eyes dropped to what I was doing. “Peyton… baby.”

“Yeah?”

“I need you to marry me. I can’t wait until Evie is born or until Gerald and Rosie are satisfied. I don’t give a damn about everyone else, but I do need you. To be mine.”

“I am yours.”

“I need you to be my wife.”

“How many times have I told you? I’m so damn ready to be your—”

---