There was hurt in Michael’s eyes, and I knew I’d screwed up again.
“When are you going to open up to me and tell me when something’s wrong? We’re in this together, Mia, for the long run.”
For the long run?
I took a deep breath. We really were, yet I was still scared, and now, this time, I’d hurt Michael. He probably thought I didn’t trust him or that I was hiding something. So, I parted my lips, about to tell him everything, when my phone started ringing in my purse.
Mom’s ringtone.
My heart lurched, and I pulled my hand out of his—an excuse to prolong this conversation even more. I unzipped my purse to grab the call and stuck my hand into the pocketbook, fumbling around inside.
When I pulled the phone out, the pregnancy tests came with it, and I stopped breathing.Oh my God. Why the fuck have I left them in here? What is wrong with me?
I went to put them back into the bag as quickly as I could before Michael could see them, but it was too late.
He grabbed them from my hand, eyes growing wider by the moment. “What’s this?” He stared down at them, knowing exactly what they were, and then glanced back up at me, lips parting in disbelief. “You’re pregnant?” he whispered.
CHAPTER43
MIA
Iparted my lips and pressed them back together about fifty times, not knowing what to say or how to say it. My ice cream dripped down my cone and onto my fingers, making them all sticky, but I couldn’t seem to care. All I cared about was Michael and how he would take this news.
But I couldn’t read his expression, didn’t know if he was okay with it or not, which only made this shit worse. Usually, I could tell exactly what he was thinking—those gray eyes always gave him away. Not this time.
Tears filled my eyes, and my chin trembled, but I continued to stare at him. I silently nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes … I’m pregnant.”
I waited for him to say something. It felt like years before he even reacted, and I couldn’t tell if he wanted this or not. He had a blank expression on his face, one that I had rarely seen before. His deep gray eyes seemed calm right now, not stormy, like they were when he was emotional.
When he didn’t say anything, I grabbed the tests back from him and stuffed them into my purse. “Michael, I use an IUD for birth control. It has one of the highest protection percentages against pregnancy.”
He grasped my hand. “What do you want to do?” he asked calmly. Too calmly.
“What do you want to do?” I asked, needing to know if he even wanted children.
“It’s your body, Mia. You tell me.”
I glanced down at my purse that held my tests, then back up at him, and sank further into my seat. “I don’t know what I want to do, Michael. I’m scared. Things have just started to get better, and I don’t want to screw them up. I want to be with you. I want to continue college. I want to be successful at my internship and job,” I said. My heart raced. “But …”
“But?” he asked, eyes looking a bit more hopeful than they had been before.
Maybe he really did want this.
My chest tightened, my throat closing up. So many emotions were running through my mind, and I wondered how the hell I hadn’t seen this earlier. The cravings. The morning sickness. I should’ve known. We would’ve had more time to figure stuff out.
“But I’d love to have a family with you,” I whispered.
He grinned, and I had never seen more happiness in his eyes. “I want to have a family with you too,” he whispered, knuckles brushing against my cheek. He grabbed a napkin from the center of the table and wiped the ice cream off my hand.
“You didn’t seem too happy about it when you found out,” I said, narrowing my eyes to make sure that this was what he wanted for real and he wasn’t saying this because this was what I wanted.
He grabbed my hand and placed it over his heart, and I could feel it racing fast. “I wanted to make sure this was what you wanted. I don’t want you to feel like you have to keep it for me. I know you’re young and unsure, so I’ll be content whether you decide to keep it or not. But if we keep it, I …” He grinned even wider. “I can’t fucking wait, Mia.”
My heart warmed, and I pulled him closer, pressing my lips to his from across the table, unable to hold myself back anymore. I was young, but I wanted a family with Michael. This baby was something I would have to think a lot about, but if I wanted to do it, I could. I knew I could. I just needed to make sure that this was what I wanted.
For once in my life, I could think about me.
“You have to think about school and your internship,” Michael said to me. “It’s a three-year program, and I’ll parent as much as I can for you to complete it. We’ll have to see how far along you are already. If your dress will still fit. If we need to move the wedding back. We—”
