“You’re pregnant?” I whisper it back to her, like if I say it softly enough, it won’t be real.
Her eyes are shining with tears as she nods at me.
“I don’t know what to say.” It’s the honest truth. So many questions, so many emotions are flying through me I’m left speechless.
“Trey and I broke up and I realized a few days later that my bodywasn’t feeling normal. I put a couple of clues together and I ended up taking a test. It was positive, obviously.
“I was already planning on coming to London before the pregnancy, but it solidified my decision. My parents were hesitant at first, but now they understand. I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, physically and mentally. It’s been perfect for the baby and me.”
My head is spinning at her words. She’s glowing, and yeah—London might be part of it—but she’s pregnant. With Trey’s kid. I have to ask about him, even though bringing him into the conversation is the last thing I want to do. “What about Trey?”
“He doesn’t know.” My eyebrows go to my hairline at her admission and she quickly clarifies. “I’ve tried to reach out to him many times, but he won’t respond. I can’t send him a text and tell him. So, I’ll keep trying and if he doesn’t answer, I’ll find him somehow when I get home.”
He’s such an idiot. He could have the perfect girl and a child on the way and he’s being selfish and immature. A part of me hopes he won’t want this.
Wait. Do I want this? A baby with her? That’s my dream right there. The fact that it’s another man’s baby should bother me—but it doesn’t.
My next question will set my future path and I’m afraid to ask it. “Do you want to be with him?” Mack stills at the words. Slowly, her hands come up to my face, forcing our eyes to meet. Seeing those blue pools full of unshed tears does something to me. I never want to be the one who makes this woman cry.
“Jordan, I don’t want to be with Trey. Even if he wants to be a part of this baby’s life, he and I are never getting back together. I don’t love him anymore. I haven’t in a long time; it took time and distance to realize our relationship was over long before we broke it off.” My chest lets go of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, and I can feel my own eyes burning with the need to cry. I have wanted to hear her say that in one way or another for a long time.
For the first time in eight years, I have hope for us.
“Why don’t you look pregnant?” I ask, steering the conversation away from Trey and praying I don’t offend her.
She laughs a little before putting her hand over her tiny abdomen. Seeing her do that affirms what I already know: this woman is mine, and I won’t let anything—or anyone—stand in the way again. “I have a retroverted uterus. Which basically means the uterus points backward and I don’t show like most pregnant women. I’m due on April 7th.”
My eyes widen.
The tears clinging to her lashes finally fall, her shoulders shaking with sobs. I’m over to her instantly, pulling her into my arms and holding her while she lets it out. I think I’m still in shock, mostly, but I can’t stand to see her upset. I’ve never been able to.
“I’m so sorry, Jordan. I shouldn’t have kissed you without telling you first. I’m such a terrible…”
I put my finger on her lips, stopping her before she could continue.
“Mackenzie—never apologize for kissing me. Ever. That was the greatest moment of my life, and you being pregnant changes nothing.”
She sniffles, shock written across her face.
“What?”
I smile, putting my hands on her cheeks, forcing our eyes to connect—like she did to me just moments ago.
“Eyes on me, okay?” She nods, and I keep going.
“I have loved you since we were fourteen. There is nothing that will change that. Not the years you were with Trey. Not the ocean that separates our homes right now. Not a baby. I’m so gone for you.”
Her tears are now flowing over her cheeks and onto my hands. I let go, grabbing a napkin to gently wipe them off from her beautiful face.
“How? How can you say that?”
“Because my dad taught me a long time ago—when you find the one, you fight, you wait, you do whatever it takes.”
She puts her palm on my cheek, head shaking with a watery smile on her face. “You’re too good, Jordan Mills.”
“Only for you.”
CHAPTER
