“Don’t be, I’m just leaving.” I rise from the chair and head for the door. I tug it open a fraction before closing it again, turning to look back over my shoulder. “Oh, and one more thing, if you come after my club or try to interfere with my relationship with your daughter, I won’t hesitate to bring you down. For your daughter’s sake, don’t make me. She hates your right now, but you’re still her father and for some reason she still loves you, we both saw that today when you were bleeding out. Kaia deserves better than both of us, I know that and I’m sure you do too. But I’m gonna be there for her, I’m gonna show up and be present every single time and support her because I love her. I love her more than anything. I’m gonna be in her life whether you like it or not, I couldn’t give a fuck either way. Unlike you, I’m not gonna put her down or hold her back, and if you love her—which I know you do, though you have a funny way of showing it—you’ll let her live her life the way she wants.”
I turn back to the door.
“Hunt,” he calls after me. “Take care of my daughter. I’ll be watching.”
“Right back at ya.” With that, I tug open the door and stride out of the room.
50
“Butterfly, we’re here.”
I stretch, blinking open my eyes as we pull into Killian’s driveway. My head rests on his shoulder, my cheek glued to his leather jacket while his hand rubs lazy circles over my thigh.
I right myself, my joints sore from being tied to a chair most of the morning, my neck stiff and my eyelids heavy with fatigue. I don’t even remember falling asleep, but as soon as I climbed into Killian’s truck, I felt an overwhelming sense of ease, relaxing instantly to his close proximity, melting into his touch.
Afterkilling the engine, he leads me inside his house and I curl up on the sofa while he heads into the kitchen to make us both a coffee.
Returning a few minutes later, he hands me a cup, then drops onto the sofa beside me. He takes a sip of his own before setting it down on the coffee table.
“So…” He scrubs a hand over his beard. “A baby…”
“How did you find out?”
Naylor’s mention of the baby didn’t come as a surprise to Killian earlier, almost like he already knew.
“Sof told me. She didn’t want to. Said it wasn’t her place but when we found out Naylor had taken you, she thought I ought to know. The guys also know.”
Seriously?“I could rip her big fat mouth off her annoyingly flawless face, but I’m too exhausted to be angry,” I sigh. “Question is, how do you feel about it?”
“I mean, I’m good if you wanna rip her face off, I’ll gladly have a front row seat to that,” he jokes.
I laugh, swatting his chest with the back of my hand, making him chuckle. “You know what I mean.”
His smile slowly fades as his expression turns serious. “Gotta admit it shocked the hell out of me. Never thought having kids was on the cards, wasn’t even sure having kids was for me.”
My heart deflates and I force back the sting of tears burning in my eyes, my nails digging into my palms as I will myself not to cry.
I know what’s coming. He doesn’t want to do this with me. He doesn’t want children. And as upset as I’ll be, I can’t hold it against him or blame him. It’s not like we ever discussed what our future would look like and whether children wouldbe a part of that future. We never got that far.
“But now it’s all I can think about,” he adds.
My head snaps up, my eyes finding his, the soft expression on his face settling all my doubts.
“As soon as Sof told me, I had flashes of what our life could look like together, as afamily. It felt right. Like everything was falling into place.” He places a hand on my belly and I cover them with mine. “I didn’t think it was possible to love something you’ve never even seen.”
“Killian…” I whisper, a tear spilling free.
He takes my hands in both of his and places them on his lap. “Hurting you is the biggest regret of my life. You owe me absolutely nothing and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I’ll beg for it if I have to. But I want this, butterfly. I want to have this baby with you and raise it together as a family. I wanna take care of you both, if you’ll let me.”
A sob slips free and my face drops into my palms. I don’t know what to say. I’m so overwhelmed by what he’s said, the words just won’t come.
“Kaia?Baby?” He leans in towards me. “Do you not want me anymore? Have I lost you?” I don’t miss the waver in his voice.
“No… I…” I sniff, lifting my head to meet his gaze.
His brow creases as he searches my tear-filled eyes.
“I don’t want to be apart anymore. I want you, Killian. I want this with y—” I don’t get to finish my sentence because it’s swallowed up when he claims my mouth with his.
