Poppy was my priority, now and always, and I’d do anything necessary to keep her safe.
17
POPPY
Even though Colter had been busy with club business on and off over the weekend, I drifted in a haze of bliss the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday. Except for when I woke up with morning sickness again. But he took care of me through it all and made me feel better afterward with ginger tea and saltine crackers.
On Sunday night, we were cuddled on the couch in his living room, finally watching the action movie I’d suggested over pasta a couple of nights before. I was curled against his side, my head on his shoulder, with one of his big hands resting low on my belly. The other played absently with the ends of my hair.
After the movie ended, Colter pressed a kiss to my temple. “How’re you feeling?”
“Fantastic.” I tilted my head back to smile up at him. “I don’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed. Thanks for taking such good care of me.”
“My pleasure, baby.”
He brushed his lips against mine, and I caught an odd gleam in his light-brown orbs when he pulled away. “What about you?”
“Me?” he asked, his brows drawing together.
I smoothed the wrinkle that popped up between his eyes. “You look worried.”
His chest expanded on a deep sigh. “Been putting it off ’cause I don’t want to ruin your night, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
With anyone else, those dreaded words would’ve sparked fear inside me. But Colter had never made me feel like I was too much. So I didn’t rush to assume he was going to end things between us, especially not with how he’d reacted to the news of my pregnancy.
“What’s wrong?”
He shifted our positions so that I straddled his lap, facing him. “You’re not going to work tomorrow, baby.”
My head jerked back. “What do you mean? It’s Monday. I’m supposed to be there at eight. I can’t just call in sick because I’m pregnant. I don’t have enough time off for that, and I’ll need to save those days up for when I have the baby. Be glad you work for yourself and the club. Even though there are rules to protect new parents, setting up my maternity leave is going to be a pain.”
He shook his head. “I get that it’s not going to be easy, but you can’t go into the office.”
He’d stunned me enough that it was hard to find words, which was saying a lot with how talkative I normally was. “Colter, I have to work. I have rent. Bills. I can’t just?—”
“You don’t have rent anymore.”
I blinked. “Yes, I do. My lease is month-to-month, but it’s still?—”
“Poppy.” He slid his hand down my spine and shifted me back a little on his lap. “Look around you.”
I glanced around the living room. My teal throw blanket was draped over the other side of the couch. My favorite mug with a tiny cartoon cat was sitting on the coffee table next to his black one. My coconut-scented candle burned low on the mantel. Astack of my paperback romances sat on the side table beside his bike magazines. My fuzzy slippers were on the floor in front of us.
And it wasn’t just this room. My stuff had invaded every corner of his house. My clothes were in his closet. Half the drawers in his dresser were mine now.
“Am I…? Do I…um…live with you now? How did that even happen?”
“Little by little,” he explained with a deep chuckle. “You’ve been living here for weeks, baby. You just didn’t realize it yet.”
I was happy that he’d been moving me in before we found out I was pregnant, because I didn’t need to wonder if he’d only done it because of the baby. There was no doubt in my mind that he wanted me here. Except it wasn’t as simple as just bringing some of my stuff here. “But my apartment?—”
“Is a waste of money. You don’t sleep there. Or eat there. You don’t even go there anymore unless I take you to grab more clothes.” He kissed me until I was breathless. “And I’m not letting the woman I love pay rent on a place she doesn’t use when she already has a home. Here. With me.”
I was still dazed by his kiss, so it took me a moment to realize what he’d just said. “You love me?”
His eyes softened. “Yeah, baby. I love you.”
His answer made my chest ache in the best way. “Say it again.”
