Page 148 of Unexpected Forever
And I’m powerless against the surge of love I feel for him with my entire being.
“Your future’s waiting, Charley,” Emma says. “Go get him.”
THIRTY-ONE
nate
My breath hitcheswhen I see Charley.
She’s never looked more beautiful, and I missed her so fucking much.
Her belly is huge, and pride swells in my chest.
Those gorgeous blue eyes I get lost in are wide as she walks toward me, surrounded by lights.
Before she can take the step up into the gazebo, I’m there holding out my hand to help her up.
When her fingers clasp around mine, the spark I feel every time shoots up my arm.
I want to pull her into my chest and never let her go. But I don’t want to scare her off.
One step at a time, Gentry.
Her perfume floats in the breeze, and I take a moment just to look at her.
The lights cast a warm glow across her face, and her white sweater makes her dark hair look almost black.
She’s stunning, and I hope in the next few minutes, she’ll be all mine.
Nervous doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.
“Hey, Charley. Are you feeling okay?”
Her hands automatically go to her belly, rubbing it. “Yeah. Tired, but that’s to be expected.”
“No issues?”
“No. I’m good for a woman about to give birth any day now.”
I swallow hard as she looks at the mason jars sitting on the railing around us. “What is all this?”
I rub the back of my neck. “Well, the idea was to have fireflies in the jars but then I found out it’s too cold for them right now and they wouldn’t light up anyway. So, I did what I thought was the next best thing.”
She rolls in her lips and her eyes shine, taking in the scene around her. Then she straightens her spine and meets my stare.
“What are you doing here?”
“I love you, Charley,” I blurt out.
Way to go slow, man.
I look down and huff out a laugh. “I meant to be a little smoother than that.”
When I glance up, utter shock is painted across her face.
My mouth goes dry, and before I lose my nerve, I need to get the words out.
“Charlotte, I fell in love with you that very first night. And not because we had mind-blowing sex, but because you brought out a side to me I haven’t felt in more years than I can count. You treated me like Nate Gentry the man, not Nate Gentry the commodity.
