I take a deep breath. “I know you’d never judge me.”
“Tell me that you’re a generous and loving man.”
I squeeze my eyes shut harder.
“Tell me, Gage,” Isabelle says, coaxing the words forward.
I lick my lips. “I’m a generous and loving man.”
“That’s good, Grim,” she says, still running her fingers through my hair. “Now tell me you deserve good things.”
“I-I deserve good things.”
“Now promise me you’ll always have my back.”
I pull back, meeting her eyes with unwavering confidence. “I’ll always have your back. I swear, Izzy. I’ll never let you down again.”
Tears start to well in my brave girl’s eyes, and this time, I let my hand rest on her cheek, swiping the rebel tear away.
“That’s good, cos I really need you now.”
“What is it?”
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter thirty-three
Pregnant.The word rattles around in my brain as if I’ve never heard it before. I sit back on my heel, my hand falling from Isabelle’s cheek to drift down her arm and hold her hand in mine.
“Pregnant?” I say slowly, making sure I’ve understood.
Isabelle chews her bottom lip, giving me a barely there nod.
“How do you know? When did you find out?” I ask, rubbing my thumb back and forth over her fingers.
“I’ve been feeling tired this week, but I thought it was just from the crash and not sleeping well.”
Both of those were my doing.Determination consumes me like fire. She’ll never be made to feel like that again if it’s the last thing I do.
“I was at my parents’ house earlier for breakfast, and my sister was complaining about cramps. I’m usually quite in sync with my sisters, and that’s when I realised I hadn’t had a period for a while. I couldn’t think of why I would have missed it, and then I remembered I had food poisoning a few weeks back. I picked up a few tests on my way home this morning. I’ve done three over the last eight hours.”
“Then you messaged Beth to see if I was home.” Understanding dawns on me.
“I messaged Caleb, then he put us in a group chat. They had both noticed something changing between us over the last fewmonths. I didn’t have it in me to keep denying things to them, and I didn’t want anyone knowing this before you did. So, yeah.” She smiles. “I had to pull out the big guns and enlist their help to corner you.”
I groan and drop my head to her lap. “I’m such a shit.”
“No. None of that,” Isabelle says without room for argument as she brushes her fingers through my hair.
I start to lift my head to look at her, but my eyes pause over her stomach. A baby, half Isabelle, half me, is growing inside her at this very moment. My eyes turn glassy as I take a breath, then meet her waiting blue gaze.I’m going to be a dad?Am I ready for this? Responsibility over another person. It’s exactly the kind of thing I’ve avoided for so long, unable to trust myself to protect someone, to make the kind of choices that keep them safe. Looking into Isabelle’s eyes, I don’t feel so alone, though. I almost feel like I can do it.No. I will do it.I’ll look after them both.
“What do you need me to do? Do we find a doctor first? Are you sick? Do you need some tea, maybe?”
Isabelle chuckles, then lays a hand against my cheek.
“I feel fine. I did some research earlier, after the second positive test. I need a referral from the GP, and then I need to try and get in with an OBGYN around the eight-week mark.” She grimaces. “The ball was about seven weeks ago, so I may already be behind.”
I pick both her hands up in mine. “Wewill not be behind. We’ll get you into a GP tomorrow, and I’ll find the best OBGYN, and they’ll fit us in as soon as possible for whatever it is they need to do.”
