Page 31 of Hung Up on the Hacker

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Cash managed to wait twenty minutes before going after Hadley. He wasn’t actively worried about her, but he didn’t like the idea of them not being a united front, no matter how well her brother had taken the news of their involvement. He parked beside her car in the driveway and was about to head for the front door when Holt’s voice rang out from somewhere behind the house.

“You’re pregnant?!”

Oh, shit.

Changing directions, he raced for the fence, vaulting over the chain link, rather than trying to find the gate. B.B., sensing a game was afoot, came bolting across the yard for an interception as he barreled toward the back patio, where Hadley stood with her brother.

She spotted him first. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t told him that part.”

Skidding to a stop beside her, he pivoted to escape the jumping dog. “Not mine to tell.” If she elected to end this pregnancy, he didn’t see any reason that information should go beyond the two of them. “I should have clarified before you left.”

Did it mean something that she’d told Holt? Or was it simply a slip of the tongue because she’d thought he already knew? Not willing or ready to go down that rabbit hole, he ranged himself slightly in front of her, close enough to see the flat fury in his friend’s gaze, despite the low light.

“Is this why?” Holt demanded.

“Why what?” she asked.

Why he wanted to marry her. Why he was in a hurry. Why he couldn’t wait. Cash understood all of it and the concern that lay beneath the sudden animosity.

“No. I literally found out this morning, and as you’re well aware, we’ve been here for days.”

“Okay.” Holt blew out a slow breath and scrubbed both hands over his face. “Okay.” His gaze bounced from Cash to Hadley and back again, the gears in his big-brother brain clearly grinding and popping as he tried to process the information. “You two are having a baby. Holy shit.”

Before he could go further down that track, Cash interjected, “It’s early yet. She hasn’t decided one way or the other what we’re going to do about that.” He had no idea where Holt fell on this issue, but he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to shield Hadley if he didn’t approve of her choice.

“Actually, I have.”

As her slim hand slid into his, Cash turned, hardly daring to breathe as he searched her face. But he couldn’t read the answer beyond nerves.

She swallowed hard. “I want to do this.”

Was he reading this right? She wanted to do this? Have the baby? Jump into the whole parenthood thing? As if understanding his lack of clarity, she pulled their joined hands to her belly, laying them over the child they’d made.

All the emotions he’d had on lockdown since this morning threatened to riot, but Cash held them in check. Heart hammering, he tightened his hand on hers and stepped closer. “Are you sure?”

Her mouth curved, just a little. “With anybody else, I’d say no. With you? With you, it makes sense. If I’m going to do the world’s scariest thing, it ought to be with the person who helps me be fearless because I know he’s always there to catch me when I fall.”

“Hadley.” Undone, Cash buried his free hand in her hair and pressed his brow to hers. She was choosing them. Choosing him. He knew the level of trust that cost her, and it cut him off at the knees.

Dimly, he was aware of Cayla snagging her husband. “Let’s just give them some time. They’re having a moment.”

“But—”

“C’mon.”

Quiet footsteps moved away, heading back inside the house.

They stood breathing together for long moments before Hadley pulled back, uncertain eyes searching his face. “Is this… okay with you? You’ve been working so hard to be Switzerland, but I thought maybe this was the direction you were leaning. And, I mean, that wasn’t the only reason I chose this way, but it’s a contributing factor, and if I got it wrong—”

Cash pressed a finger to her lips to stem the worried babble. “You didn’t get it wrong. I’m just soaking in the news. We’re having a baby.” The words felt strange on his tongue. Strange, but kind of wonderful. “We’re having a baby!”

He let the emotion come now, a hot flood of joy that crashed past the walls he’d erected to hold everything in and protect his heart, opening him to everything. To her. Riding the wave of it, he took her mouth in a searing kiss. She rose to her toes, pressing against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and he never wanted to let her go. Now he didn’t have to. Because this woman—his woman—had chosen to keep the family they’d accidentally started.

Easing her back to her feet, he grinned down at her. “God, I love you.”

It wasn’t until her eyes went wide that he realized what had just popped out. Shit. That wasn’t how he’d meant to tell her.

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