Page 22 of True Hearts

“You don’t have to do anything.”

“I don’t have to do anything?! You’re saying I could be pregnant. Those two phrases don’t go together.” I think I may have shouted that part at him. Not in a mean way but in aAre you kidding me?one.

“You don’t want children?” He looks disappointed.

“More than anything!” I shout, forgetting we’re not home but in someone's conference room.

“Then why are you upset?” I’m starting to worry about Graham a bit here. I don’t know how he seems so nonchalant about this situation.

“Just because someone wants children doesn’t mean they should have them.” I try to steer him along the lines of why I’m panicking. He may have come from a good family and had a stable upbringing, but that’s not how it was for me.

“Luna, you are more than capable of being a mother.” Graham’s brows pull together, and I bet he’s starting to think I’m crazy. I might be crazy. How do I keep getting myself into these situations?

“Oh, just like my mother was great?” I hate how high-pitched my words come out. My panic intensifies with every passing second. Graham’s eyes soften around the edges, his hands coming to cup my face.

“I don’t know about your mother, but I know you.” He tries again to reassure me.

“You don’t know that she didn’t want me. No one did.”

“Luna.” Graham presses his forehead to mine. “I want you more than anything in this whole fucking world.”

“Right now, today.”

“I can make you all kinds of promises until I’m blue in the face, but I’m going to prove it to you. I have already been trying to show you.” This is very true.

“This is too much.” I sniffle, wanting to believe him so badly, but hell am I terrible at picking the right people in my life. I know better to get my hopes up. Too many times I’ve been let down. I’ve learned that people will say anything in the moment, but when reality comes knocking, minds quickly change.

The only time I have ever gotten it right was with Nat and Frankie, and I’m pretty sure they latched on to me and sucked me right in. Frankie can be rather relentless, both of them really—probably why they are great at their jobs.

“Let’s go home for the night.” Graham’s eyes search my face, and I swear he appears almost panicked, but he’s trying to mask it. He is always so calm and collected.

“Okay,” I agree, not wanting to be in the office anymore.

Graham lets out a breath, pulling me into his side. He wraps me in a protective, possessive hold. I allow myself to melt into him, needing the stability and comfort he provides.

There’s been a shift in me since meeting Graham. One that I’ve yet to fully embrace. Not because I don't want to but because I’m scared to let myself be so vulnerable. I have to give it to Graham; he is persistent and continues to chip away at the hard exterior I’ve put in place to protect myself.

He doesn’t let me out of his hold the whole way back to his home. I observed a noticeable change in his demeanor as we passed through the gates and they closed behind us. He’s acting as though I’m going to run.

“You’re really okay with me getting pregnant?” I ask when he opens my car door for me to step out.

“Yes.” Graham doesn’t miss a beat in his response. “And you want it too,” he adds before leading me back into the house. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip because I refuse to lie. Not only to Graham but to myself. I’ve done that for long enough.

I do want a family of my own with a man that loves me. I want my happily ever after, and it scares the ever-loving hell out of me that he’s standing right in front of me, offering all of it on a silver platter.

My usual motto is, if it’s too good to be true, then more than likely it is. But I don’t get that sense from Graham. He’s proven that what you see is what you get when it comes to him. He’s not afraid to openly show me how he feels.

“We still need to figure out what is going to be done about Michael Montclair.”

I want the man out of my life. I need to get my crap together because Graham is right: I could be pregnant, and I don’t even have a job!

“You let me worry about that.”

“You make it sound so easy.” He has no idea what all we are going to have to face because of me. I don’t want to think about what his family might believe of me.

“Because it is.” Graham kisses the top of my head. “Now on to more important issues. What would you like to eat?”

“That’s the important issue right now?” I shake my head.

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