Page 267 of Come Back to Me

Jesus, did this wedding make her nervous or something?

Did it make her think…

Damn, is she thinking she wouldn’t want any of this with me?

My mind wouldn’t have gone there, but the last time I saw that look, she was hijacking my truck!

“How long until Tee leaves?” I mutter hoarsely.

“She’s supposed to stick around until the last of the guests have gone. Why?”

“No reason.”

Accepting that I won’t be able to talk to her yet, I jump on the bus and land in the middle of that awkward part of the day where it’s too soon for food but there are hors d’oeuvres and desserts. I grab a cookie and linger around the driveway, waiting for her to show up.

When she finally does, I swoop in front of her and snag the cello case from her hands. “Penny for ‘em?”

I tried to keep my tone light, but it sinks.

“My thoughts?” She huffs out a laugh. “Not sure they’re worth that much.”

“Not like you to sell yourself short,” I tease.

She appears to be on the brink of saying something. Then she bites it back. And her eyes catch mine. And I’m falling. Into them. Into her.

The love I feel for her settles inside me like this massive weight I don’t know how I lived without.

But that fucking expression makes an appearance, and I can’t stop myself from cupping her cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m scared.”

She’s fucking scared?

Of what?!

“You’re scared?” I repeat, head whipping to the left and the right. Hell, it goes up and down too. “Why? What have you seen?” I don’t notice anything amiss. Everything appears normal. As normal as anything can be on the ranch.

“No, Cody.” She tugs on my hand. “I-I’m scared. Of this.”

“This?” My eyes bug. “Us, you mean?”

“No, but I?—”

My brow puckers. “I scare you?”

“No. I’m scared of things I’ve never been scared of before. I have so many feelings inside me that I want to express but I can’t. They’re taking up all my air. I can’t—it’s so much. Too much. I’m?—”

“You know I feel the same way,” I attempt to reassure her, but my shoulders sag with relief.

That I might have scared her makes me feel sick.

She presses a hand to her stomach, which has my eyes bugging for the second time in as many minutes.

Is she pregnant? And nervous to tell me? Oh, fuck. Is that all this is? God, I?—

“This is so big, Cody. It’s taking over me and I...”

“It’s bound to, sweetheart?—”

---