Page 50 of Amor Prohibido

“The goddamn crumbs, that’s what. You’re dropping them on me intentionally, aren’t you?”

I tapped the cracker above his head and laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Little shit!” He buried under the covers and reached out to touch my belly.

“Argh! Get out! That tickles! That’s it! You’re getting crumbed.” Despite my hatred of crumbs in the bed, it was totally worth it to make Jace curse and laugh.

We fooled around for a short while before I had to cross my legs to avoid my morning bladder bursting. Having almost taken more than I could handle, I whipped back the blankets and prepared to depart the bed. Destination: the bathroom.

Jace’s hands stilled on my hips, and I immediately sensed a shift in the air.

When he spoke, his tone was soft yet serious. “Has the bleeding stopped?”

“I’m pretty sure it has. But I’ll know for sure once I’ve been to the bathroom.” I made to exit the bed when he stopped me again.

“You’ll tell me, right? If you have even a hint of a scare. I need to know, J. Iwantto know.”

I nodded and crossed the room, only to pause at the doorway and glance back over my shoulder. A sharp sense ofdéjà vuhit me.

Jace frowned in apparent comprehension, then spoke the words I didn’t realise I needed to hear. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, sweetheart.”

Relief washed through me. His reassurance assured me I wasn’t alone. It was at that moment that I knew for sure I couldn’t do this without him, and he meant more to me than I let myself believe.

Minutes later, I also had the relief of knowing the bleeding had, indeed, completely stopped. Despite the slight queasiness, I had a spring in my step as I made my way back to my bedroom, ready to tell Jace the good news.

As soon as I rounded the door frame, my heart plummeted into the pit of my stomach. I gaped in utter disbelief.

The ultrasound strip lay on my pillow. The blankets were flicked back, and the bed was empty.

Actually fuckingempty!

Hepromisedme.

He fuckingpromised!

Shock gave way to fury as I turned on my heel to storm to the front door and give him a piece of my mind. I didn’t get more than two steps when Jace emerged from the kitchen, carrying two steaming drinks. He halted as soon as he caught sight of me, and his face turned ashen.

“Jesus, J.What’s happened?”

Between his expression and his heaving chest, he looked physically pained. So much so that he didn’t know what to do with his hands and his jerky movements spilled a combination of coffee and hot chocolate onto the floorboards at his feet.

I pressed both palms against my chest in an effort to ease the residual ache still burning around my lungs.

“I… I thought… that you’d,” I stammered, trying to keep both emotion and nausea in check, but thoroughly failing at both.

Jace cursed and disappeared briefly, leaving a trail of hot splashes in his wake, then materialised a second time. Fierce determination lit in his eyes, and he pulled me into his arms, holding me so tight just like his Mama did. It was crushing, debilitating, powerful, and so damn comforting.

“I gave you my word I’d be here when you came back,” he murmured into my hair while running his hands up and down my back.

I relaxed into his chest, soothed by the continuous movements and his steady heartbeat beneath my ear.

“I know, but as soon as I saw the empty bed, I couldn’t help but assume…” I trailed off and shook my head at my own stupidity.

This wasn’t like me at all. I normally wouldn’t have felt much more than a flicker of disappointment if that had happened with any other man. But Jace wasn’t just some random guy: he’d owned my heart for many years.

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