Page 73 of Hidden By His Side

The sudden noise from across the hall pulled her to the door. He left the guest bedroom with a drawer full of her clothes. Her hand froze, no longer moving the toothbrush as she watched him dump them out on the still disheveled sheets of his bed. Foam filled her mouth. She hated it, but she couldn’t turn away from the sight of him moving back toward her.

“No more separate rooms, baby girl,” he said and walked past with the now empty drawer.

She moved back to the sink, rinsing out her mouth with her head spinning. When she straightened, she caught her own smile in the mirror. Her arms scooped up her shampoo and shower things along with her toothbrush, and she followedbehind Ramiro back to their room as he carried yet another drawer to dump.

Summer couldn’t leave all her clothes like that.

After organizing her things in the bathroom—her toothbrush now beside Ramiro’s like she’d always dreamed—she worked on the clothes. The dresser drawer she opened was already empty and waiting to be filled.

Ramiro paused behind her with a handful of hangers of her clothes. “Happy?” he asked.

She could only nod.

He kissed the top of her head, disappearing into the closet. Her dresses were going to hang in his closet, next to all his fancy suits.

Giddiness swamped her, making her fingers tingle.

His now empty hand wrapped around one of hers, making the tingles worse. “Come on. A banana first, then you can organize as much as that tidy heart of yours wants.” He tugged her toward the door, and Summer followed him to the kitchen.

“Is there anything I shouldn’t move?” she asked, already picturing how their things could look together.

“As long as I see your stuff next to mine, I’ll be happy.” Ramiro released her to pull off one of the bananas. He peeled it before handing it to her. “I figure you’re too impatient to get back to organizing to wait for me to slice it.”

He’d started slicing them after he’d seen her do it. Something about eating out of the banana peel didn’t usually appeal toher, but he wasn’t wrong about her impatience. She took a bite, chewing quickly.

Ramiro’s eyes softened as he watched her, but he cleared his throat. “One more thing.”

She paused mid-chew.

“This doesn’t mean you have to have sex with me. I’d never force you, Summer. If all we do is snuggle every night, I’m more than happy.”

The bite she swallowed felt lumpy sliding down her throat. Snuggling with no desire for more would be easy for him. He didn’t really want her that way. The reminder hurt, even though snuggling with him was wonderful as well.

Ramiro stepped closer. “I want you to feel safe with me. We’ll only do what you want to do. Remember that.”

Summer nodded, staring at his broad, hairy chest, the one that made her want to stroke it, maybe even nuzzle it until she found his nipple with her mouth. She flushed, wondering whether he’d like that.

His hand reached out, tilting her chin up so she’d meet his eyes. “We share a room now, Summer. That’s the way we both want it, and it’s a done deal. If you try to sleep in the guest room again, I’m going to have all those beds removed from this house. Understand?”

He really did want her to sleep with him. Warmth filled her, chasing some of the hurt away. “I understand,” she breathed out, her lips parting, the urge to grab him and kiss him almost overwhelming.

No. He’d just said he didn’t want to do that. She shouldn’t force herself onto him.

Those wrinkles formed on his forehead as he released her and looked toward the hall. “I should have one bed removed, anyway. Look into what’s best for a nursery.”

Summer’s chest tightened, all thoughts of kissing him forgotten. “We won’t need a nursery.” Her words came out fast, stumbling over each other as she tried to push the images away—images of what kind of nursery she would design for her daughter if she could. Not the typical pink, but yellow and white. No. The baby wouldn’t need a space here. Summer wasn’t going to keep it.

Ramiro was staring at her, studying her face. “We’ll see,” was all he said, moving past her and down the hall.

She stared at the half-eaten banana in her hand, her stomach swirling, unable to not think about the baby growing inside her.

Ramiro had asked Diego to come over that afternoon and should have expected his friend to bring the bundle of chaos along with him. Emma was smiling just like last time, as if she knew something no one else had guessed yet.

“You had a package at the gate,” Diego said. When he went to set his toddler down, Ramiro stepped forward to take her instead. He’d learned his lesson about letting her loose last time.

“Welcome, Diego,” Summer said from behind him. She reached out to tickle Emma’s neck, and the little girl giggled. “I didn’t realize you two were coming over.”

Ramiro wondered how she made such a small interaction look natural. His breathing was already hitching from just holding the kid, who felt too delicate in his big hands.

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