“I smelled the chicken frying from Brooklyn Heights.”
He snorted a laugh, tightening his arms around her.
“I haven’t heard from you,” she added. “But I’ve been enjoying the free lunches you’ve been leaving on my doorstep every few days.”
“Hmph,” he huffed again, pinching her chin and pulling away for a moment to remove the chicken from the oil and to turn the fire off under the skillet.
“Figured I’d give you some space,” he said, returning to his spot in front of her. “You dropped a bomb on me, Snoop. I’m kinda still recovering.”
Rylee folded her lips into her mouth to rub them together.
“But it’s a beautiful bomb. Butstilla bomb.”
She nodded her understanding.
Rylee inhaled the air, moaning at the scent of the chicken.
“Smells good.”
“It’s yours,” Xander offered next. He gestured behind him at the three plates full of fried chicken. “All of it. These guys don’t need to eat. They’ll be aight.”
Rylee hollered a laugh.
“Especially, you know…” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “If you’re eating for two. Hopefully. Even though, you know, if you’re not, that’s aight too.Justso you know.”
Rylee had to blink back tears.
She could see the tension in Xander’s jaw as he tried hard to swallow back his feelings.
In that moment, she felt pretty bad. He’d stayed away, given her space, but in that time she wondered, how was he coping? All she thought about was herself as she considered not having this baby. But Xander had expressed wanting the baby and was likely in mental turmoil, waiting for Rylee to tell him something. Anything.
“Iwillbe eating for two,” she revealed, a small smile pulling at her lips. “Probably for the next, what? Eight or so months?”
Xander exhaled a deep sigh but said nothing. Just kept his eyes on hers, his chest rising and falling a little more now.
Conversations from the floor beneath them hummed as the firefighters shouted jokes amongst themselves, all of them in their own worlds while Rylee and Xander stood in theirs.
“What if I decided to keep it?” she asked. “What would that mean to you, Xander?”
“Man, Rylee…” he said, his voice cracking before he cleared his throat, took a breath, and took her hands in his. “You’d make me the happiest man on this side of the galaxy, Snoop. For real.”
Rylee smiled as she felt that familiar sting of her nose that always happened right before she started crying.
“I’d make it the easiest pregnancy you’ve ever had in your life,” he added, stepping closer. “Love on you and protect you,the baby…” he continued, pressing a hand to her stomach. “And the kids, fiercely.”
He nodded, his eyes locking on hers. “I’d honor your guy.”
Rylee blinked back tears.
“I’d honor Lennox’s memory. Never look to replace him, but just be worthy of the world you built with him, and always work to make it better… out of respect to him.”
Xander cradled Rylee’s face in his big hands.
“I’d make a very beautiful life with you andforyou because you deserve that and so much more, Rylee.”
She hadn’t realized she was crying until Xander used his thumb to catch her tears.
Her bottom lip quivered as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
