Page 49 of What A Croc
The tenseness in the air was broken by a brisk knock on the door. Somehow we had both missed the sound of tires on the gravel drive, of the delivery person. Planting another kiss on the top of his head, I gently moved him away from me. “I’ll get it.”
Retrieving the bag from the porch, I quickly returned to the sofa. Robert was hunched over, his blanket covering his shoulders, his top teeth caught on his bottom lip. Sitting the bag on the table, we both stared at it like it was going to bite us.
My heart pounded in my chest, waiting for him to saysomethingto my declaration, terrified when he kept sayingnothing. The entire time I had been wooing Robert, there was always a voice in the back of my mind telling me he was holding himself back. That he wasn’t fully invested in having a relationship with me. Oh, he enjoyed our dates, enjoyed spending time together, enjoyed the sex, but there was a feeling that he was keeping a part of him hidden away from me.
Finally, he turned to look at me, his light brown eyes shimmering. They were red from being sick, tired, but still beautiful. Licking his bottom lip, he whispered, “You…love me?”
The way his voice was filled with so much doubt nearly broke my heart. Like he couldn’t fathom that I actually loved him.
“I do.” There was no going back now that I’d jumped in headfirst, and I wouldn’t have pulled the words back if I could, anyway.
He fiddled with the ends of his fuzzy blanket. “Is this because of the fated mates thing?”
“I don’t think so, no,” I told him. “Sure, that plays into my attraction for you, I’m sure. The way your scent makes me wild for you, but if you were a shitty person, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’d be like nope, I’m out. Not happening. I definitely wouldn’t let you around my son. This is all to do with you, and nothing else.”
He chewed on his lip some more, and I fought the very real urge to reach over and make him stop, but I let him be. He hadn’t said he loved me back, and I knew he was grappling with a ton of emotions right now. Even though I wanted nothing more than to scoop him up and deposit him back on my lap, and make him say the words to me, I just let him be.
Grabbing the plastic bag with the rectangular box in it, he pulled it to his chest, standing. “I guess I’d better go pee on this stick and prove you wrong.”
Bending down, he landed a quick, hard kiss to my cheek. “I love you too, Jackson.”
Just as quickly as he said the words, he disappeared into the full bath between the two bedrooms off the living room and shut the door.
Warmth spread through my chest at his quick declaration. Robert loved me. He really loved me. Okay, I sounded way too sappy, but happiness engulfed my entire being to the point I felt like I was shooting sunshine from my pores.
Ten minutes later I was pacing outside the bathroom door, rattling the knob when I found the door locked. It shouldn’t take this long for the test to work. I’d made sure to get the three minute one. Which meant Robert should have the results by now.
The second time I rattled the knob, he had yelled, “Hold your horses!” rather grumpily. Still I was impatient and anxious. And I hated to admit, there was a tiny part of me that was starting to doubt myself and what I had smelled.
Please, my croc snorted.We can smell prey a mile away. Our mate is definitely preggers.
Ignoring him, I nodded. Paced in front of the closed door. Ran my hands through my hair, then down my jeans, jumping when the door finally opened.
Robert stood there, looking shell-shocked and paler than when he had gone in. He waved not one, but two tests, in the air between us.
“Sorry. I decided to take the other test and I really didn’t have to pee again. And I’m dehydrated from all the puking,” he shook his head, “it was a whole thing.”
“Well?” My voice was anxious, waiting for him to confirm what I already knew.
He shook his head again, holding on to the door frame. “They’re both positive. I don’t know how. I still think they’re wrong, false positives or something, so don’t get too excited–Jackson!”
Sweeping him off his feet, I spun us in a dizzying circle, laughing like a loon. “I told you! We’re having a baby!”
Robert smacked my back, moaning. “Stop spinning me. I’m going to puke again.”
Settling him in my lap on the couch, I couldn’t help the grin that was making my cheeks hurt.
“Don’t look at me like that!” he ordered, still clutching the test sticks in his fist tightly. “I’m calling the doctor in the morning. We need confirmation. I need confirmation. These things are notorious for being wrong.”
“Mmmm,” was all I said, as I nuzzled his neck. “Fine. We’ll go to the doctor. Now, how about that shower I promised you?”
“Please,” he sighed, finally letting go of the sticks that I saw said very clearly that he was pregnant, in black capital letters. “But Jackson, no telling anyone until we know for sure. I just don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.”
I agreed, carrying him into the bathroom in his room and starting the shower. I could feel his emotions through our bond. Could see them on his face.
Robert didn’t want to get his hopes up.
Chapter Twenty-Two
