Page 49 of Wrapped Around My Heart
I nuzzle into his chest to hide the goofy smile that’s undoubtedly on my face. “Well, you have meandGreyson now.”
I squeeze my hands between us, then place my palms on his chest and gently push him away.
“I was serious, though. I desperately need sleep. While I might have had a random burst of energy to get from your room to here, this baby is draining me.”
“Right, yes. Go.” He bends forward to sneak in one more kiss to my lips before pressing his lips to my forehead. “Text me in the morning?”
“First thing,” I promise, smiling like a teenager as I pull out my keycard and slip into my room.
CHAPTER 18
Dean
“Maybe we should dothis next week. They don’t even know you’re coming, and I can tell them I got sucked into a project for work,” Ari says in a shaky voice as I turn onto her parents’ street.
Reaching across the center console, I grab her hand in mine and softly rub my thumb back and forth. “Sorry, babe, but you said you’d punch me if I turned this car around.”
Last week, the day after we had the thirteen-week appointment and another ultrasound, we didn’t even make it to her parents’ neighborhood when Ari realized she wasn’t ready to tell them. Without question, I turned around and brought her to my place. It wasn’t until we were snuggled up eating takeout that the real reason she panicked dawned on me. She realized it too, the next morning, and made me swear not to let her back out again.
Hence the promises of bodily harm.
“Well, I wouldn’tactuallyhit you!” She rushes out, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes, just in case she’s watching me.
Only after I pull into the driveway and put the car in park do I finally respond.
“Okay, first of all, you one hundred percent would follow through on punching me if I were to take us back to your placeright now. If I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you are a woman of your word.” I shift in my seat, bringing her hand to my lips to kiss before continuing. “Secondly, you don’t actually want to put this off any longer. We didn’t tell them last week because you said you weren’t ready, but we both know that was a lie.”
She drops my gaze and scowls out the front windshield.
“No, it wasn’t,” she argues weakly. I squeeze her hand gently.
“It might not have been a complete lie.” I hesitate, recognizing that we probably should have had this conversationbeforewe left her house instead of when we were sitting in her parents’ driveway. Too late to back out now. “You weren’t ready because you were nervous…”
Arianna sighs and drops my hand, immediately reaching to yank the hair tie holding her hair up and letting her curls fall wildly. She fidgets with the ends, flipping the visor down to give her a better view as she attempts to fix something that’s already effortlessly perfect.
“I’m just…” She pauses, and I don’t try to pipe in while she figures out how to put what she’s feeling into words. I might be able to guess it, and I might even be spot-on. However, hearing what you’re feeling from someone else before you’re ready to admit it never does much good to anyone.
So I simply sit beside her.
After a minute in silence, she closes her eyes and drops her head back against the headrest.
“What if they’re disappointed in me?”
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline, but before I can tell her just how obscure the idea of that happening is, she continues.
“Or what if they’re not happy for us? What if Landon is mad at me? Or you? I mean, come on, you guyswork togetherand you’re hisbestfriend. Actually, you might be his only true friend. What if he thinks I was trying to steal you from him? This is thefirst time in my life I’ve ever kept anything from him and all I keep picturing is my brother?—”
“Your brother,” I interrupt, sensing the spiral she’s about to fall into and knowing I need to stop her now. “Is a grown-ass adult. We’re not in middle school. I’m not some toy you took to play with behind his back.” Unable to resist, I smirk and carefully nudge her. “Although the wayyouplay with me is definitely fun.”
She snorts, half-heartedly flinging her hand out to knock me on my shoulder. I take the opportunity to capture her hand in mine once more and this time, I tangle our fingers together.
“Your parents are going to be happy as long as you are. I can guarantee that your happiness is all they’ll care about. Landon…might have some feelings. I’ve seen that guy in so many different situations, I probably should be able to predict how he’s going to react. Yet even I don’t have a clue.” I sigh, lifting my free hand up to cup her cheek in my palm. “He’s human. While I hope he’ll go straight to being excited to be an uncle, nothing ever works out the way we plan. We can’t control what he does. The only thing I can control is making sure you know that I’ve got your back. I love Landon. There’s not much I wouldn’t do for him. But you and our baby aremyfamily, and you will always be my priority.”
The hitch in her breath is audible. When she faces me with glassy eyes, I panic that I accidentally said the wrong thing.
Until she practically launches herself awkwardly over the center console and pulls me in for a kiss. It’s a weird angle, but it doesn’t lessen the effect she has on me. I’m the one who has to break away first.
“All right, more of that later. Right now, the last thing I need to do is face your parents with a hard-on.”
