Page 13 of Baby on Board

Jacob pulls up a chair and sits next to the bed they have me in. I’m a faint risk, so they make me lay down, go figure.

“Want to talk about it? We’re going to be here awhile. Might kill some of the time.”

I pinch my nose harder than I mean to and wince from the pain. I’ve got to get a grip. “Not much to talk about. I set up space in the apartment for the baby the other night, and she freaked when I showed it to her.”

“Ah...creative differences?”

“No. Jade liked the space. It was more me she found to her distaste. I don’t know. Maybe we rushed into things too quickly for her. Maybe I should have backed off instead of asking her to marry me.”

I shut my eyes and tighten them hoping to release some of the pressure building in my head. “I fucked up, man. And I don’t know if I’ll ever win her back.”

“Rafe.”

The voice that answers is soft and warm and not Jacob’s. I open my eyes and turn my head too fast, and the room spins. Jade is at my side, holding my arm and glaring at me with tears in her eyes. “Tell me, Baby, where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere,” I answer because it’s true. “How did you get here?”

“A taxi. I went by the bar, and the bouncer told me you’d been hurt. Are you okay, Rafe? What happened?”

Jacob is standing behind her and smiles over her shoulder. “He’s fine, Jade. Just a broken nose and bruised pride. He should be out of here as soon as the doctor clears him to go home. I’ll go find the doc and see if we can speed things along.”

“Is that true?” Jade places her hand on my forehead, and her gaze darts between my eyes. She’s been crying, I can tell by the puffy circles under her eyes. “You only have a broken nose?”

“That’s it.” I push up to my elbows so she can see I’m telling the truth. “Lost my concentration for a second, and the scrawniest guy in the group got me good.”

“Does it hurt?”

She’s so soft when she talks, almost timid. I reach for her and pull her to sit on the side of my bed. “Only when I breathe.”

“Oh. Rafe I…” Her body shivers, and I can tell she’s holding back. “This happened because of me, didn’t it?”

Jade looks like she could fall at any second. Her legs are wobbly, and her body weak. I sit up and pull her to sit on the edge of my bed. “I got hit because some college students got out of hand tonight. That’s the only reason I’m here.”

“But if you’d been thinking straight—”

“I still would have been hit, and I’d still have a broken nose.” I pull her into me and wrap my arms around her. She’s soft and warm and smells so damn good. “Did you come all this way just to give yourself a guilt trip?”

“No,” She sniffles into my chest. It’s wrong, but my cock clenches, seeing her sad over me. Watching her fall all over me for fear I’d been hurt. After days without her, fearing the worst, it’s a damn turn on.

I lift her body off of mine and push stray hair from her face with my hands on her cheeks. “Princess, you have nothing to be scared of here. I’ll always protect you no matter what.”

“Even when I push you away?” She’s so sheepish, I can’t help but smile.

I want to lean in and taste the tears on her lips, but the door to my room is wide open, and doctors and nurses have been in and out all night. Instead, I brush the pad of my thumb over her lips.

“Even when you push me away. I’m in love with you, Jade. Nothing can come between that.”

She nuzzles her face into my hands, and a small smile breaks over her lips. “Rafe, it’s not easy for me to say I love someone. You make it look so easy, but…” She trails off, and I’m about to tell her to take her time. We have all of it we need. Eighteen years of raising this baby together and another lifetime after he’s gone off to college. But before I can get the words out, she’s laying her head in my hand with her eyes transfixed on mine. “Rafe, I love you. With all my heart and soul. I never want to lose you. You are everything to me.”

She means it. I can tell by looking at the woman after a month of reading her moods and watching her face change with each passing emotion. Her admission comes from the very bottom of her heart, and I have no words that are strong enough to convey how much that trust means to me. So I say nothing.

I tip her face to mine, and I press my mouth to her lips until the salt from her tears washes away, and she’s opening for me.

She’s letting me in, fully, wholeheartedly, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for the perfect woman who is carrying my child.

Epilogue

Jade

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