Page 112 of Sin Bin Daddies
His eyes drop to my waist. “Can I… touch it? Your baby bump?”
“It’s barely there,” I say, but lift the robe anyway.
He lays his palm on my belly, spreading his fingers gently, his touch reverent. “I can’t believe we made a baby,” he murmurs.
Tears spring to my eyes, but I blink them back and nod.
“I had an IUD,” I say, voice hoarse. “I didn’t expect this. I didn’t think I could even… but here we are.”
His eyes flick up, locking on mine. “Do you want to keep it?”
I breathe in. “Leaving Boston and coming to Miami was supposed to be temporary. My ex cheated. I was just trying toescape, not start a family. This was supposed to be a fun summer fling. All of it. None of this was supposed to happen like this…”
“Madeline, do you want to keep it? It’s your body and you know I will support whatever decision you make…”
“Yes,” I whisper. “I always wanted a baby. I always wanted to start a family. Maybe not right now. Not like this. But I’ve always wanted one. Sooner or later.”
He watches me for a long second. Then leans in and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“Did you ever want kids?” I ask him, turning my face toward his.
He shakes his head slowly. “Not until now.”
And that’s what breaks me. That simple answer. That steady tone.
I wipe under my eyes again and stare at him, searching for cracks in the calm. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I should be. But I’m not. I guess because I want to be here for this. I was very much a part of the process,” he adds, dragging his thumb across my belly with a crooked smile, “and I really enjoyed that part.”
A laugh breaks out of me. The kind I didn’t think I had left tonight. “It could belong to any of you,” I remind him.
His lips brush my cheek again. “I know. But I have a feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?”
He rests his forehead against mine. “That it’s mine. But even if it isn’t?—”
I kiss him then. Soft, but deep. Anchored in something real this time. Not desperation. Not distraction. Just us.
I wasn’t sure how this would go. My hands were shaking when I told him. But now I’ve told one. And he’s still here.
Two more to go.
“Can you… be there?” I ask quietly. “When I tell the others?”
“Yeah. I can. Have you told Henry yet?”
I groan and drop my head back into the pillow. “God. My brother’s going to lose it.”
Asher chuckles under his breath and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Henry’s always been supportive of you. He’ll be okay.”
“I’m scared.”
“You don’t have to be. I’ll be there for that too.”
Asher’s hand stays on my stomach.
And I let it.
