Page 47 of All Roads Lead to You

“We,” he amended irritatingly. “We have to tell them.”

“You. Me. We. Whatever.”

His gaze narrowed, and she was aware that whatever was going on behind those enigmatic dark eyes, it probably wasn’t something she’d like.

“What are you thinking about now?” she demanded.

“If the test comes back positive,” he said, “I want people to know.”

Beth scowled. “There’s no point, not until twelve weeks. Anything could happen before that.”

“I still want people to know.”

“Why?” she asked, exasperated.

“Because I’m thinking you should move in with me, that’s why.”

***

Beth’s eyes went wide, and he didn’t blame her. This would be a shock. But hell, it made perfect sense to him.

She wasn’t having a great time of it, and she could do with someone taking care of her, most especially given what she’d told him about her earlier pregnancy.

He was glad she’d told him, even though he could tell she didn’t want to.

Even though he heard the pain in her voice loud and clear.

Even though it set off a sympathetic echo inside him too, making him think about Sheri and his own grief.

It clarified a few things for him though.

He’d always thought her cheerfulness and positivity was fake, and he wondered now whether she wore it like a mask to cover up the pain of losing her baby. And surely, no matter how long it had been, there was still pain.

Time might blunt the edges, but it didn’t heal it. Nothing healed it. You only learned to live with it, that’s all.

He knew how it felt to pretend though, to keep on pushing through because that’s all you could do. Theonlything you could do.

His preferred method of pretending was to simply never speak of his own grief or Sheri. That way people forgot to ask him how he was doing and gradually stopped giving him concerned, pitying looks. Being silent tended to deter questions anyway.

But his way of dealing with it was a mask, just as Beth’s was.

And while he didn’t absolutely need her to move in with him, he knew himself. He knew that he wouldn’t be happy if she was living here on her own, even if she did have Indigo. He wanted her close so he could keep an eye on her himself.

She’s yours now…

The possessive feeling wound tightly around him, though he tried to ignore it. Because he didn’t want to start thinking like that. It was more him wanting her to be close so if she got into trouble, he’d be there. He’d worry about her otherwise, and he’d worry about the baby.

His baby.

He gritted his teeth as the feeling became even stronger. Sure, the baby was his, but nothing was certain. Hell, both of them knew how easy it was to lose something. Miscarriages happened all the time.

“Move in with you?” Beth yelped. “Are you insane? I mean, actually insane?”

“No.” He tried to sound as reasonable as possible and not like a carbon copy of his brother giving orders. “Think about it. You wouldn’t have to worry about driving Indigo up and down to town all the time, and you’d have someone to look after you when you’re sick. It would make it easier when it comes to organizing doctor’s visits and—”

“Finn,” Beth interrupted, “we don’t even know if this is going to be happening or not, so please, take it down a notch.”

The way she said it, as if she were speaking to an overexcited child, irritated him, making him want to dig in. Because regardless of what he was telling himself about uncertainties and wait-and-sees, he had a gut feeling that thiswasgoing to be happening. They were going to have a child together, and in nine months’ time, he would be holding that baby in his arms. There was certainly no other reason for him to be feeling so…Neanderthal about it.

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