Not willing to be the one who puts that pained look on his face, I give in. “Fine, then you sleep here.” His eyes go big. “After I finish eating, you sleep here until your alarm rings.”
“But that will wake you up, and you need your rest.”
“Jesus.” I look up at the ceiling. “Are you for real? You’ve done more for me than anyone in my whole life.” Admitting that to him takes everything. “I will fall back asleep as soon as you leave, trust me.”
He holds out his hand. “So I agree to sleep here, and you agree to come with me to my parents’.” The grin on his face makes him so fucking sexy, I tingle all over.
My hand comes up to shake his. “Fine, deal.” He advances and kisses me. “Now it’s official,” he declares, and I laugh as I finish the meal he made for me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THEO
Me:
Just got home. Did you pack your things?
I send the text to Collins as I sit at the counter in my kitchen, the plate of grilled chicken with veggies in front of me. For the past week, I’ve been going to her house every night, but instead of crawling into bed with her and taking up the space in her double bed, I’ve opted to sleep on her couch. And I try to give her space, since it’s not like she asked me to live with her. I wait until she’s coming home from work to go over, leave for my job while she’s still sleeping, and head to my house after work.
I wait a couple of seconds for her to answer, but she must be busy. I pull up my father’s contact and call him. It rings three times before his face finally fills the screen. “Hey there, my boy,” he says, just like he always greets me.
“Hey, Dad.” I return his smile as I cut a piece of chicken and pop it into my mouth. “You busy?”
“For you”—his smile gets even bigger—“never.” My father has been my rock my whole life. He stepped back a lot and let me make my mistakes, but was there to help me through them. “What’s up?”
“I’m calling because I’m coming down there.”
He forms a fist with his hand and holds it up. “My boy is coming home.”
I roll my eyes. “Dad, you act like you haven’t seen me in years, when I was there not too long ago.”
“You have a kid, and you’ll see what I mean,” he jokes, and it hits me right in the middle of my chest.
“I’m actually going to be coming with someone.”
His smile fades, and I can see the questions fill his features. “What do you mean you are coming with someone?”
“I mean, I’m coming home with someone, and I want you to meet her.”
“Oh, wow,” he runs his hands through his black hair, “a woman.”
“A woman,” I confirm.
“I thought that you said . . .”
I shrug my shoulders. “I said a lot of things”—I put my fork down—“but sometimes things happen when you least expect them.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” he replies softly. “You are one of those things I never expected.”
“Lucky for me,” I laugh. “Anyway, just letting you know I’ll be home, and I want you to meet Collins.”
“Oh, she has a name.” He barks out with laughter, and it’s a sound that makes me feel safe, which is weird. I guess I never felt it before.
“She has a name.” I laugh with him.
The last couple of weeks, I’ve been processing things, while at the same time I’ve wanted nothing more than to shout our news from the rooftops. Still, I don’t want to tell him over the phone that Collins is pregnant. It’s something I need to do face-to-face.
“I will tell your mother and your sisters, unless you don’t want them to know.”
