Page 102 of Savior

“Just, uh…” He let out a rough exhale before throwing open the cabinet under my sink. “Just humor me here for a second. Your symptoms are very similar to those of early pregnancy—”

“What?” I practically spluttered, tears completely forgotten. “Nate, no, I’m not pregnant. Trust me, I had really bad dizzy spells and panic attacks after my dad died—well, when he went away the first time.”

He continued rifling through the cabinet before holding up the box of pregnancy tests I bought not long after my father was shot. “You’re probably right, but let’s rule it out, yeah?”

I took the box from his hand. “Are you staying in here with me?”

“Yeah… but I’m a doctor, so it’s okay.”

“You’re a trauma surgeon,” I snapped as I sat down on the toilet. “When’s the last time you had to give someone a pregnancy test? And why are you smiling like that?”

Nate leaned against the wall, running the back of his thumb over his lips with a grin. “You gonna pee on the stick or not?”

I placed the cap back on the applicator when I finished and set it on the counter before washing my hands, fighting to ignore my puffy eyes and splotchy face. “There. You happy?”

He met my stare in the mirror with another broad smile. “Completely. Come here.”

“You seem pretty confident you know what the results are going to be,” I said as I padded over to where he stood.

“I just thought before you convinced yourself that there was something wrong with you, it wouldn’t hurt to consider that you might be pregnant.” His arms circled around my back, drawing me up against his chest.

The possibility rocked me to my core. We’d just managed to find solid ground as partners. Adding a baby to the mix now seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“Are you upset?” Nate’s brows pulled together.

“I just…” I paused to gather my thoughts, letting my chin rest against his chest. “It just seems as if nothing has gone according to plan with us, you know? I thought we’d get to our first anniversary before discussing children. It just feels rushed.”

“This is—” He sighed. “This is hard, which is something I swore I didn’t want. Been there, done that, you know? But ever since we met, you’ve captivated me, Katy. You saw me when no one else did—not my job or the money. Just me. And I fell, babe. I fell so fucking hard for the girl with the big heart. Yeah, it’s messy and complicated, but it’s us, and I’ll take that over easy any day.”

The stress and guilt I’d been carrying for weeks melted away at his words, leaving me feeling as if I could finally take a full breath. “I don’t want perfect… I just want you.”

I want passion. I want to feel it here.

His hand moved to cup my jaw, his thumb lightly tracing along my cheek. “Katy?”

“Hmmm?” I asked, sleepily staring into his bright, whiskey-colored eyes.

“It’s been three minutes.”

I nodded and took a deep breath before going back to the vanity. I was greeted by the sight of two pink lines in the oval window, and instead of the initial rush of panic, I embraced the mess and imagined a little person who was the perfect blend of the two of us.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Nate’s lips brushed against my neck, his hands already settling against my abdomen.

I tilted my face up, and his mouth captured mine in a slow kiss that left me struggling to put my thoughts into words. I pulled away just long enough to whisper, “We’re having a baby.”

Nate grinned and turned me in his arms until we were face to face before lowering himself to his knees. In a moment that I would remember forever, he lifted my t-shirt and pressed his mouth to my still-flat belly.

“Hey, babe?”

I blinked back the tears in my eyes and nodded, unable to speak.

Keeping one hand on my shirt, he lowered the other and ran his fingers over the skin he’d kissed in reverence. “I hope the baby has your eyes.”

I gripped his hair, feeling as if I’d just stepped off a plane after a long journey.

I was wrong before.

Home wasn’t the house, with its stack of mail and shoes left on the floor.

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