“I love you. I’m in love with you. Chloe misses you so much and asks about you every single day.” His voice roughens on the words. “You’re not just my girlfriend to her. You’re family to us.”
Tears are already burning in my eyes, blurring his beautiful face.
“Victoria showed up last Sunday,” he continues. “Told me she’s leaving her husband, that she wants to try again with me.”
My stomach drops. This is it. This is what I was afraid of, the reason I walked away, the worst-case scenario I’ve been torturing myself with for two weeks?—
“And I told her no,” Theo says firmly, his gaze never leaving mine. “Not even for a second did I consider it.”
I look at the ground as the tears begin to fall and he steps forward, lifting my chin. “I need you to look at me,” he says, “tohearthis. To really hear it once and for all. I didn’t consider it for even a moment because there’s not a particle anywhere inside me that wants that.”
I nod, staring into his eyes through tears.
“Because you’re the one I want, Emma. You’re the only one I want. Willeverwant. Victoria being Chloe’s mom doesn’t change that. Nothing changes that.”
A sob escapes me before I can stop it, and he steps closer, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off his body, close enough to see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes. Tears stream down my face as he says everything I’ve wanted to hear, everything I was too scared to let myself hope for. Sophie was right. I was projecting, self-sabotaging, letting old wounds convince me that happiness was something that would inevitably be taken away.
“You’re it for me, Emma,” Theo says, his forehead pressing against mine. “You’re it.”
But I have to tell him. Before this goes any further, before he says anything else, before I let myself fall completely into the relief and joy of having him here, he needs to know.
“Wait,” I manage, my voice shaking. “Theo, wait. There’s something I need to tell you.”
His expression shifts immediately to concern, his hands still warm on my face. “What is it?”
I take a breath and take a step back. My hand goes to my stomach, pressing flat against the place where everything changed, where our future is already growing.
“Theo, I’m pregnant.”
Theo
For a second I just stare at her, my brain trying to catch up with what she just said. “What?”
“I’m pregnant,” Emma repeats, and her voice sounds stronger this time, more certain. “I found out Thursday on my way to the board meeting and I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you ever since, but I was so scared because what if you don’t want this? What if it’s too soon? What if?—“
Pregnant. Emma’s pregnant with my baby.
Joy explodes in my chest so sudden and overwhelming that I can’t speak for a moment. All those mornings watching her sleep, imagining a future I was afraid to want too badly. Moments where I let myself dream about exactly this, about her belly round with my child, about building a family together.
I cross the last bit of space between us and pull her into my arms, holding her tight against my chest, burying my face in her hair. My Emma.
“You’re having my baby,” I say, and my voice comes out rough with emotion.
“Yes,” she says against my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt. “I’m sorry, I know the timing is terrible, I know we’re not even technically together right now, I know?—“
I pull back to look at her, cupping her face in my hands so she has to meet my eyes. She looks terrified, bracing herself for rejection, and the fact that she thought for even a second that I wouldn’t want this makes my chest ache.
“Emma. This is the best news I’ve ever gotten.”
She blinks at me, confusion flickering across her tear-streaked face. “What?”
“You’re having my baby,” I say again, and I can feel the smile spreading across my face, so wide it almost hurts. “We’re having a baby. How is that anything but amazing?”
“But I thought...” Her voice cracks and she has to try again, her green eyes searching mine like she’s looking for the catch. “You’re not upset? Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me now, or like this makes things more serious than you wanted them to be, or like you’re trapped?—“
I cut her off with a kiss. Deep and sure, pouring everything Ifeel into it, every ounce of love and certainty and desperate relief that she’s here, that she’s mine, that we’re going to have a baby together. When I pull back she looks dazed, her lips parted, her eyes still glistening.
“I’m not upset,” I tell her firmly. “I’m happy, Emma. So fucking happy. This is exactly what I want. You’re exactly what I want. A baby with you is...” I shake my head, searching for words big enough to hold what I’m feeling and coming up short. “It’s everything.”
