Page 153 of Stolen Kiss

“Yeah?” And the pleased look in his eyes made it worth it. I didn’t want to show him my vulnerability. I didn’t want him to see just how badly I needed him, but with the way he was looking at me now, I realized it was okay to be vulnerable to him.

I nodded.

“I missed you, too.”

We didn’t say anything after, because there wasn’t anything that needed to be said. I continued to play with his hair. Jensen looked tired. I never noticed that about him before.

It was so easy to see him strong. To think he was a superhuman who could handle anything and everything thrown his way.

To think he could carry all this weight on his shoulders without breaking a sweat, mostly because that was how he presented himself.

He had to.

He was a father. But it was also because of the way he was raised. He probably knew from a young age that most of the responsibility would be placed on his shoulders, that he would have to protect his cousin.

I heard things were better between him and his cousin now, but I doubted Alan could possibly become better at business overnight. Not unless he really worked at it. Until then, Jensen was still carrying the bulk of the company.

And he was doing it while taking care of our daughter—and me.

He took care of me.

“Jensen?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re a good father, you know.”

He opened his eyes and looked up at me. Then he smiled. I wondered if anyone had ever told him that. He turned his head until his face was pressed to my stomach, and he placed a kiss there.

“Emilia?” he asked, his voice muffled.

“Yeah?”

He turned back so that he could look up at me once more. “Move in with me.”

I only hesitated for a fraction of a second before I said, “Okay.”

He shot me a bright smile before sitting up on the couch. He rolled my pants up and took off my prosthesis before he lifted me up in his arms.

“We have a bed, you know. Let’s put it to good use.”

I laughed as he walked up the stairs. Midway up, I tapped his chest. He paused and looked at me.

“You don’t have to carry me everywhere. I can walk.”

“I’ll carry you for the rest of my life if you let me.”

He moved up the stairs, and we did as he said. We put the bed to good use.

* * *

Two days later,I was in my apartment by myself, sifting through all my stuff. The plan was to pack up everything that was important or that I might need now, and then Jensen, Jace, and Evelyn would come and help with the rest of my things.

I still hadn’t told my family that Elodie was mine, but I planned on doing that when my brother and dad came to visit New York in one week, this time for Elliot’s ninth birthday. It was hard to believe my nephew was already turning nine. It felt like just yesterday when I taught him how to write everyone’s names.

I wasn’t as nervous about telling my family as I thought I would be. I just didn’t want to tell it over the phone. It was best to do it face to face.

I still couldn’t believe I was moving in with Jensen after such a short period of time. But our story was nine years in the making.

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