Baiting Him (How to Catch an Alpha #2)(59)

“Are you pregnant?” I turn around toward her, and she covers her face with her hands and sobs. Not sure what to do in this situation, I set down the box and finish getting undressed. I climb into the tub behind her and wrap my arms around her chest, then place my lips against her ear. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”

“My period is late.” Her hands wrap around my arm across her chest. “I took a test just to make sure, and I thought for sure it would be negative, since I’m on birth control.”

“It wasn’t?”

“No.” She lowers her head to her chest. “The first test I took told me I was pregnant, so I took another one, and it said the same thing.”

With my heart suddenly overfull, I rest the side of my head against hers and pull in a deep breath. “We’re having a baby.”

“That’s what the tests say, but I don’t know how that’s possible. I haven’t missed a pill. Birth control is supposed to be ninety-nine point nine-nine percent effective.”

“If you’re pregnant, it’s obviously meant to be,” I tell her, sliding my hand down her wet skin to rest against her stomach. I’ve never considered being baited and caught by a woman who was completely right for me, so it shouldn’t surprise me that something that should happen has happened. “This thing between us was meant to be, and tomorrow, you’ll call your doctor to see if the test you took was correct. If it is, I’ll be happy, and I know you will too.”

“We’re not even married,” she sobs, and I want to laugh. We might not be married, but two people couldn’t be more committed than us.

“We’ll get married.”

“Why? Because I’m pregnant?” she asks with her voice sounding shaky.

“No, because I love you and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you,” I tell her, thinking about the engagement ring I bought that’s been sitting in my drawer for weeks as I’ve tried to come up with the perfect way to ask her to marry me.

“We just moved in together. Heck, we just started dating. This is—”

“This is us. Since the beginning, we have done things a little differently.”

“You mean fast,” she says, and I smile, then kiss her shoulder.

“Everything might be fast, but you can’t deny that this is right. From the moment we met, I’ve wanted more from you—more time, more kisses, more of you falling asleep next to me, more of your laughter, and a lot more of your love. I can’t get enough of you. So yes, what’s happened has happened fast, but what’s happened has been right, from the very beginning.”

“A baby,” she whispers, and I know she’s scared. I get it, because it is scary. Hell, I’m freaking out a little, but I know everything will be okay.

“The moment you hold our son or daughter the first time, I promise you it’s going to feel like the exact right moment.”

“Leah and Tyler aren’t even pregnant,” she inserts, and I realize what most of her tears are about. Yes, I’m sure she’s afraid, but she loves her best friend and has seen how stressed Leah has been each month when she’s gotten a negative test result.

“Sweetheart, if the shoe were on the opposite foot, would you be happy for Leah if she told you she was pregnant?”

“Of course I would be.” She gasps, sounding offended that I’d think otherwise, and I fight back laughter.

“She’ll be happy for you too. So before you start creating problems where there aren’t any, let’s just deal with you carrying our child safely for the next nine months, us getting married, and all the other things that will happen before our baby gets here.”

“I’m not creating problems.”

I don’t even bother responding to her statement, since I know it will only encourage her to fight her corner.

“I’m not creating problems.” She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest, and this time, I do actually laugh. “This isn’t funny.”

“I know.” I kiss her shoulder. “Since you’re in a mood to fight, I think you should also know you won’t be working as much as you do now.”

“Pardon?” She turns her head to glare at me.

“You’re carrying our child. You need to rest, and working fifteen-hour days is not good for you, and for sure it’s not good for the baby.”

“You just . . . I just can’t believe you.”

“You hired Anna, and I know she’s good at her job and that she can handle things in your absence. You need to let her do that.”

“I’ve been taking a day off every week.”

“Yeah, but you could take two, cut back your hours, and let her cover things.”

“Rachelle and Aubrey are gone,” she says, sounding sad.

“Yeah, and since they left, you’ve been dragging your feet on replacing them.”

“Why are you being annoying right now?”

“You only think I’m annoying right now because you know I’m right. You can’t only think about you anymore.” I touch my hand to her stomach under the water, and her breath catches. “You’re pregnant. I know you just found out and that it’s going to take you a little time to come to terms with that, but I want you and our baby healthy. So if I have to tie you to the bed for the next nine months to make sure you’re taken care of, that’s what I will do.”