Page 35 of Reed

“We met in high school.” I stroke his head with the tips of my nails, something I find soothing. It’s almost as if we both need to feel one another to believe we’re in one another’s arms. “He was a scholarship student, and I was the rich kid.” I laugh at remembering how he used to joke with me. “He wanted to study law, same as me.” As I smile down at Reed, he lifts his head.

“What happened?”

“Bryce.” I smile. “Bryce happened, and when we found out I was pregnant, it changed everything.”

Reed watches me closely, but I’m not sure why. “As teenagers with an unplanned pregnancy, the best plan was for him to join the military, so that’s what he did. He made the sacrifice for our family, and not once did he complain about it.” A proud smile spreads over my face at the recollection of how Jaxon stepped up to provide a stable family unit for us.

REED

“The best plan was for him to join the military, so that’s what he did. He made the sacrifice for our family, and not once did he complain about it.” A whimsical smile spreads over her face, and my heart beats faster.

How the hell do I compete with that?

The man sounds incredible. He gave up his future for Gia and their baby. When I so quickly planned to give up my child to keep my future.

Nausea rushes through me, and my hand stills on her stomach. She will hate me. I’m nothing compared to this man, and she deserves so much more. Hell, I hate myself.

“My father hated Jaxon, everything he stood for.”

My chest tightens at the mention of her father, and when I hear her swallow and shift uncomfortably, something inside me snaps into protective mode to shield her from the feelings she’s having. This is difficult for her, and she needs me to be strong for her and our baby. I go back to stroking over her bump, hoping it soothes her as much as it does me.

“He felt he was beneath me.” She clears her throat. “I’d already moved out to live with Jaxon and his family, and no less than a few weeks later, I was announcing my pregnancy.”

She said she was in high school when she met him, so she couldn’t have been much older. “How old were you?”

“I was seventeen and still in high school.”

“And your father allowed it?” I raise an eyebrow, because something tells me George Fanzio would have done his utmost to prevent his only child from leaving home for a life of potential poverty.

She shakes her head. “He tried to stop me. Cut off access to my money. I have the shares to the business my mother left me, and after Jaxon’s death, he tried to cause trouble again. The only thing he’s bothered about is his precious reputation and money. He’s determined to get the shares one way or another.”

I suck in a sharp breath at the mention of the shares, and this time, my movement doesn’t go unnoticed.

Her eyes dart up to mine, a steely determination in them that makes my stomach tighten. “I won’t back down, Reed. That center is Jaxon’s legacy, and that’s what it will remain. This community helped me when I needed it the most.” She means when her father abandoned her. “When my father withdrew my private education and college funds, it was the community fundraising that enabled me to continue, then go on to further my education. Without that center, I would’ve never become a lawyer. We never would have owned our own house and had the stability for Bryce that we have today.”

“That’s why you helped that girl at the center?”

She nods. “It is. She’s one of the many underprivileged who deserve the same education and welfare as anyone else. The center supports those less fortunate, and I intend to be there for them like they were for me. I work pro bono two days a week, and the rest of my shifts enable us to be financially stable.”

Jesus, she’s incredible. Mase once said I didn’t have a compassionate bone in my body, and fuck, was he right. Maybe I should change that? Do better for her and our kids. I place a tender kiss on her exposed skin. I’m in awe of this woman for so many reasons, and her kindness is just one of them.

“I’m in awe of you, Gia.” I swirl a lock of her hair around my finger. “I need you to know I’ve stepped away from working with your father.” Guilt lances through my chest at my own words.

“You have?” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and poison slithers through my veins at what I’m keeping from her.

But I push all my feelings of wrongdoing aside and give her the support she deserves. “You’re my family now, and I want to stand by you and Bryce.” My palm rests over our baby. “The baby too.” And I mean every word of it.

I clear my throat and change the conversation, hoping she can’t see the betrayal I feel seeping from my eyes. “What happened to your mother?”

She bristles, and I caress her skin, loving the way our baby presses against the palm of my hand. I wonder if the baby can feel me there? I wonder if it’s a little foot or hand pushing against my fingers, causing my blood to rush through my veins with a fierce need to protect our baby. Everything about her stomach is amazing, and the fact that our little one is growing just beneath my palm has possession infiltrating my bloodstream.

They’re mine.

Her solemn tone cuts through my thoughts. “She passed away when I was a child. My father hasn’t been the same since.”

“He’s bitter.” I crook an eyebrow and chuckle. Bitter would be an understatement to describe the man with so much anger inside him it’s a wonder he hasn’t given himself a heart attack.

“He’s twisted,” she says as her eyes meet mine, and my eyebrows knit together, but before I have a chance to elaborate, she pushes the sheets from off her legs and heads toward the bathroom. “I have to pee really bad; your child is jumping on my bladder.”

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