He took my hand and squeezed it, then brought it to his lips and kissed it. "God, you make me so happy."
I stared at him, trying to process the words. "Happy?"
"Terrified," he amended. "But also happy. I'm forty-eight years old, Ember. I thought the chance to be a father had passed me by. And now you're telling me I'm going to have a baby with the woman I love, and yes, the timing is terrible and the circumstances are complicated, but I wouldn't change it."
Tears spilled down my cheeks and I didn't know how to respond.
He loves me?
I felt overwhelmed and almost panicked by his response, and I knew I had overstayed my welcome in public.
When I didn't respond, he kissed my hand again and grabbed a few takeout napkins from his glove box and pushed them into my hands.
"Let me take you home." He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward my apartment.
We drove in silence for several blocks before he spoke again. "Can I walk you up? Make sure you're settled?"
"We'd better not. If there are reporters outside, it'll just create more problems." I wiped at my face with the back of my hand. "I'll be fine once I'm inside."
He pulled up in front of my building and put the car in park.
The street was thankfully empty of reporters, though I knew that was temporary.
They'd be back tomorrow or the next day, and I'd have to deal with the landlord's grumpy stares from his ground floor apartment window.
"Ember, look at me."
I turned to face him, finally having stopped sobbing, but the resolve in his expression didn't faze me.
I still felt the same panic about the press finding out and what the tabloids would say next.
"I love you," he said. "I love you, and I want you and this baby. Nothing's going to stop me from having both of you in my life. Not my father, not the committee, not the reporters or the gossips or anyone else who thinks they have a say in how we live."
"Nate—"
"I mean it. Whatever happens, we face it together. You're not alone anymore." He leaned across the console and kissed me gently. "Get some rest. We'll figure everything out tomorrow."
I nodded, not trusting my voice, and climbed out of the car.
He waited until I'd unlocked the building entrance before driving away, his taillights disappearing around the corner.
I rode the elevator to my floor and let myself into my apartment, dropping my purse on the sofa and sinking down beside it.
The conversation replayed in my head, over and over, but it was like my heart refused to be comforted by it.
Nate seemed certain of me, and while that should've been comforting, I found myself only conflicted more.
I hadn't stopped to think about every complication out there, just the drama with the press and the tabloids, and there were other things that were just as crucial.
Like would I really be happy with a man twice my age?
Or would his father's words turn out to be prophecy and all of this would end badly anyway?
20
NATE
When Ember dropped that bombshell on my lap, I thought I might pass out from shock.
