Page 122 of Love Among Vines

Rett grabbed her arm. “Are you sure? The odds of a successful pregnancy have to be incredibly low.”

“Are you kidding me? Look at you. Your sperm probably have drill bits for heads and the power to manifest an egg straight out of my ovaries.”

“I just meant I know emergency contraception can be hard on your body. You know if something happened, I would always take care of you. And the baby.”

His hand drifted to her abdomen.

“Are you insane? You want to try to figure out co-parenting when we live five hours away from each other? I’m sorry,” shesaid before he could say anything. “But if we leave this up to chance, I will fixate on it. I’ve never let anyone do that. Ever.”

“Not even the asshole?”

She shook her head.

His eyes were soft again, and he reached for her. She pulled back. Why was he willing to tie himself to her for the next two decades?

She had always been a bit of a free spirit, as evidenced by her current financial situation. But contraception was never something she had taken lightly. So why had she just thrown caution to the wind? At no point had the idea even occurred to her. She could only focus on the warmth of his breath on her cheek, the sensation of him inside her.

Her heart stuttered in her chest. She was so stupid. Falling in love with some random guy in the Finger Lakes. What was she thinking?

Her gaze fell back on him. But the problem was, he wasn’t just some guy. He was kind, careful, whip-smart. So handsome that it almost hurt to look at him. And they had less than a week left together. Unless he wanted her to stay too. Her mom’s voice echoed in her mind. Tomorrow was never guaranteed. She needed to woman up and talk to him about it. After the great birth control crisis was resolved.

He cleared his throat and started buttoning his shirt. “I’m sorry for putting you at risk,” he said softly. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

JADE

Two hours later,Jade and Rett were flat on their backs on the rug in the basement, discarded plates with remnants of shepherd’s pie on the side table behind them. A fire crackled, warming their toes.

Jade was tucked into the crook of Rett’s arm. Target had been closed, but emergency birth control had been secured from a vending machine at a local college, and so far hadn’t resulted in any painful symptoms.

“I’m sorry if I freaked you out after the incident.” Rett’s deep voice rumbled in his chest.

She lifted her head. “It’s fine. It was kind of you to consider the effect the Plan B might have on my body.”

“It’s stupid,” he said. “But even as guarded as I’ve been with my heart, I’ve always wanted to be a dad.”

She propped her head in her hand and looked at him. “And you thought a great place to start your brood might be with your fake girlfriend who’s only here for another week?”

His entire body tensed up. There was a hesitancy in his eyes. After a pause that felt like a millennium, he spoke. “What if I don’t want just one more week?”

Holy shit.

She sat up. “What do you mean? You want me to come back for the holidays?”

“No. Well, yes, but—” He stopped and seemed to search for the right words. “Don’t tell me you can’t feel this.” He grabbed her hand and put it on his chest. His heart was galloping.

Was he really saying what she thought he was saying?

“I don’t want to drive you away, but I need you to know the truth.” His hand closed over hers, and she shivered. “This isn’t fake anymore. At least not for me,” he said. “I want you to stay, Jade. I know we’ve only known each other for a week, and it’s insane to ask you to move away from the only home you’ve ever known. But I’m not ready to say goodbye. The thought of you going back to the city and meeting someone else…”

He looked down at her hand for a moment and rubbed her fingers. “I think I would lose my fucking mind. We could really have something incredible if we give ourselves enough time to explore it. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just needed you to know.”

The mental images she had been desperately driving out of her memory returned. Weekly dinners with Tom and Cindy. Christmas morning at Margie’s. Penny living her best life on a boat. Rett coming up behind her to slide his arms around her swollen belly while an unseen foot tapped her from the inside.

She looked at him, and she saw forever. Home. A sensation that had been completely foreign to her since the day that officer had knocked on her door.

“I want to stay.” The words were out before she could take them back. It was exhilarating, vindicating, terrifying. Like she had just confessed to a murder.

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