Page 82 of Labor of Love

I lean my face down, burying my face against his hair. I breathe him in, not even hiding the fact that I’m scenting him. He smells so good, vanilla mixed with something else that I can’t quite name. Somehow, his scent is different from what I remember and I don’t know if it’s because something has changed or because it’s been over a month since I’ve smelled him and the memory of him was starting to fade. Now that I’m here,I’m finding it hard to care about all the what ifs and worries of earlier. All I care about is keeping Allen.

“I’m really glad you’re here, Dario.”

“Me too, Allen.” I pull away and Allen guides me into his home. We sit down at the table where we had our first meeting together. “What’s on your mind? Everything okay?”

Allen looks anywhere but at me. He puts his hands on the table, fidgeting with the sleeve of his shirt. His breathing picks up and his eyes begin to water. My heart aches.

Reaching across the table, I take his hands in my own, giving him a gentle squeeze. “Hey,” I whisper, waiting until his eyes meet mine. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, Allen, it’ll be alright. I’m here.”

“You’re here,” he says, like he’s trying to get himself to believe the words.

“Yeah. I’m here. For as long as you’ll have me.”

“You mean that?” Allen asks, his voice breaking. I nod. “Meeting you was like nothing I imagined, Dario. I literally hired you for your services, but during that time, I caught feelings.”

My breath catches and the words play over and over in my head. “Really?”

“Yes. I was so sure there wasn’t a chance in hell you could feel the same way,” he says, shaking his head at himself. I squeeze his hands.

“What changed your mind?”

“Nothing. I’m still pretty sure this is going to end in you running out the front door, but circumstances have changed. I can’t just think about myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Allen pulls his hands away from me and I miss the contact immediately. He places a hand on his stomach, his eyes staring into me. “Dario. I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

Allen nods his head, looking sad. “I was so careful but somehow, my birth control failed. I’m pregnant and in case it wasn’t obvious, the baby is yours.”

There’s a moment of silence as the words sink in. Not only does Allen feel the same for me that I feel for him, but he’s also pregnant. With my baby.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

I move without thinking, pushing my chair back with too much force, causing Allen to flinch. I race around the table, falling to my knees before him. Heat is building behind my eyes and I do my best not to let myself start crying because if I start, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get the tears to stop.

I’m overwhelmed. I’m happy. I’m excited. I’mterrified.

My hands shake as I raise them to Allen. He gives me a tiny nod before I fall against him, burying my face against his stomach, my arms wrapping around his middle.

Allen makes a broken noise, his hands coming around my shoulder, curling himself in half to hug me. We hold each other for a long time, letting our scents mingle and mix, soothing the other. When I pull back, we both have watery eyes and hopeful smiles.

“I can’t believe this is real,” I breathe out. “Every night I was away from you, I wished I could be here instead. The pining never stopped, even when the hormones and pheromones faded.”

Allen nods his head. “Same for me. I was so worried about your reaction, Dario. You didn’t sign up for this.”

“Maybe not, but I am now. I want this, Allen. I want this baby and this life and most importantly, I wantyou.”

“Really?” Allen asks, his voice coming out strained as he sniffles.

“Yes, you silly omega. In case it wasn’t clear, I think I might be in love with you.”

“Oh,” Allen breathes out, tears breaking free and sliding down his cheeks. I can’t stop smiling and neither can he. “That’s really good. Because I think I feel the same about you.”

I can’t hold myself back a moment longer. I lean up and kiss my omega’s lips. Allen makes a noise of surprise before he’s melting in his seat and kissing me back. My hand goes to his middle, touching his stomach.

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Allen and I are going to have a baby. Our relationship has barely started and already it’s going from zero to sixty. As I pull back and see the smile on Allen’s face, I don’t think I’d have it any other way.

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