Page 59 of His Christmas Gift

That was where things got even more complicated. Autumn and I outdid ourselves when it came to playing our roles. We even kept in character in the privacy of our hotel room or out in town on our own private dates. Where did the line end and begin? The chemistry was real, but the titles were fake.

“I think… we may actually like each other,” I replied.

“Well, that would explain her being pregnant,” Aiden pointed out. “Obviously, you guys acted like a couple away from anyone else.”

“I mean, have you guys talked about that? About being a real couple?” Jared asked me.

I shook my head, resting my elbows on my knees as I leaned over. We should’ve. I shouldn’t have waited, but I wanted to see if she still acted the same toward me once we were out of here. Now, things would be different regardless.

“We never got around to it. I think we were both too nervous,” I admitted.

Jared’s face softened as he nodded.

“Well, I don’t know if this brings you any comfort, but Aiden and I have sort of been in this situation before. You know, surprise pregnancies,” he told me, prompting a nod from Aiden. “Have you talked to Autumn?”

“No, she locked herself in her room in her parents’ house before we could get a chance to talk. She hasn’t called or texted either,” I replied, feeling worry hover over me like a cloud. What if I lost her? After everything that we had been through together, what if this was the end?

“Damn,” Aiden sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “You have to still figure out a way to talk to her. You guys are having a baby together.”

“You said that you like her. Right?” Jared asked me.

I looked over at Jared and found myself nodding immediately. I didn’t even have to think about his question. I knew what my feelings for her were. I had known them for some time now, but I had been too afraid to admit them to anyone but myself. Even that took some convincing.

“I’m falling in love with her,” I replied. I expected them to be shocked, but they didn’t. They actually shared a look with each other. “What?”

“That makes more sense than everything being fake,” Aiden said. “You look at her like how I look at Jenna. There’s something special between you two.”

“I guess you guys didn’t have to do as much acting as you thought you would,” Jared added with a light chuckle. “You surely had us fooled.”

“I didn’t expect it. I think she feels something for me too, but I don’t know for sure. I don’t know if she wants to raise this baby with me,” I told them as I ran my hand through my hair. I had so many questions, but I didn’t have any answers. I felt lost.

I didn’t expect to have a kid this early in my life. I thought it would at least be a few years from now, but that moment was here. It didn’t matter if I was prepared or not. I was going to step up and be a father because I wanted this baby, but did Autumn want me? Did she want to do this with me?

“I doubt she truly wants to be alone right now, Dean. She’s probably as scared as you are,” Jared told me.

I didn’t even try to act like I wasn’t scared. I was. Running a business was one thing, but raising a baby was a whole other challenge. What if I failed? What if I let my own child down? Business just wasn’t as big and important as a family was in the grand scheme of things. It took me long enough to figure that out.

“I just feel… frozen,” I admitted. I couldn’t get myself to move. I was surprised that I made it out here to talk to them.

“What you’re going to do is talk to her. You need to tell her how you feel. About everything,” Aiden told me as he leaned closer to me. “Do you want to be with her forever?”

“Of course. I can’t imagine my life without her now,” I replied. It wouldn’t be the same. That sense of adventure that she gave me wouldn’t exist, and I would feel stuck in place like I had been before she came along and disrupted my life in the best way possible.

“Then, you need to go tell her that before you lose her,” Aiden said. “You have to prove to her that you’re in. No matter what.”

“How?” I asked them. I hadn’t ever been good at big declarations of love. I didn’t even know what true love felt like until I discovered my feelings for Autumn. This was all new to me, and the last thing that I wanted to do was to mess things up. If there was anything left to even salvage.

“We can’t tell you that. We did things our own way. Now, you have to figure out your own way,” Jared said as he rose to his feet.

Aiden followed suit.

“Don’t think about it too hard. It has to be from your heart,” he added before giving me a wry smile. “As cheesy as that sounds.”

It did sound cheesy, but even I knew that it was the right way. I had to mean my words, my actions. Right now, she probably felt like she was all alone in this world, being crushed under the weight of her worries. I had to show her that she wasn’t alone. She had me.

“No, you’re right. I need to do this now before I lose her,” I replied as I stood up. My nervousness was prominent, but my determination to be there for her was stronger. Far stronger.

Jared reached out to put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a light shake.

“We’re here if you need us,” he told me. “But I have a feeling you’ve got this.”

The corner of my mouth curled up slightly as a determined look filled my face. I didn’t know what was going to happen between me and Autumn, but I would do everything in my power to prove to her that I would always be there for her and our baby.

I wasn’t going anywhere, but I hoped that she’d choose to be by my side.

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