Page 25 of Cruel Love

He caught it and hugged it to his stomach. “How are you doing with your art midterm? We have that exhibit coming up in the library, and I thought you, me, and Jaxon could hole up in that second-floor alcove on the left for our display.”

“Oh, I love that. Yes. Definitely. As for how I’m doing… um, not that great. I still have to complete the football triptych. I have the three pictures blown up to go off of, but that’s it so far.”

“Why don’t you paint those at Phoenix’s house? It might help you both. He’s probably bored out of his mind, and you’ll have access to someone who understands the game and can give you more insight that’ll transfer to the canvas.”

“That’s brilliant.” I would do it. “Thank you.”

Max didn’t stay much longer, and I decided to suck it up and drive back to Phoenix’s house. I had his very reliable SUV, and the gas card was a nice perk.

My nerves were tied in knots for the entire drive, but other parts were cheering me on. When I got there, the outside of the house looked the same. No extra lights were on, and there were no other cars in the driveway. He’d said his mom was at work and that Shane wasn’t stopping by tonight. I hoped that was still the case.

Before I lost my nerve, I parked, shut off the engine, locked his SUV, marched myself up the three front steps, and rang the doorbell. It wasn’t long before I heard Phoenix shout, “Come in.”

Once inside, I turned the lock on the front door. It wasn’t good that it’d been left open, given how weak he felt. I passed the kitchen and found him where I’d left him. The TV was on, and a game was playing. I stood at the room’s threshold, suddenly nervous. After a deep breath, I launched into what I needed from him to go further. “What you said to me was wrong, and you were out of line. I didn’t deserve the accusations or being yelled at and told to get out.”

Phoenix turned off the TV, dropped the remote on the coffee table, then fixed those stormy silver eyes on me.

I held still from his intensity. The room seemed to shrink, and I swore he was doing that thing where he saw into me. I refused to drop his gaze.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It was a shock, and I reacted poorly.”

Seriously, this new version of Phoenix was so much nicer. I only wished he would merge the two, and I could like him equally when he got his memories back.

“Come over here, please.”

My legs shook as I did as he asked. He was a lot to take in. Gorgeous, even at a disadvantage. Athletic and powerful like a panther, and seemingly relaxed when we both knew he could strike at any moment, moving so quickly that his prey would never stand a chance.

He tugged me down onto the couch with him and rested one hand on my hip. I didn’t know what to do.

“When are you due?”

Tears misted my eyes. He’d never asked. “March twentieth.”

“You said we met at a party at the cove over the summer?”

I wasn’t supposed to tell him any of it, but too bad. I was done following the rules and essentially lying to him when he deserved to know about our daughter. “July. And that was the first and only time we’ve been together.”

His hand tightened on my hip. “I find that hard to believe.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, well, we don’t always agree, and we don’t always get along.”

“We do now.”

I laughed, which eased some of the tension in my shoulders. “Yeah, things are good between us now.”

“Can I…?”

I nodded then took his hand and placed it over the small mound on my stomach.

He blew out a breath. “It’s crazy.” Then he lifted my shirt enough to see.

I let him, and a tear spilled down my cheek at how gentle and caring he was.

“Do we know what we’re having?”

I jerked my head forward in a nod. “A girl.”

His eyes jumped to mine, and his pupils dilated. “We’re having a daughter?”

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