“What is there to talk about?” The defeat in her voice radiates through her. “Those are my parents. There really isn’t anything else to say.” She sniffles. “It’s night and day compared to your family.” I don’t say anything, I just hold her tighter. “I’m sorry that?—”
I stop her. “Don’t say another fucking word.” I have to remind myself I need to be gentle with her, but I will not be fucking gentle when I have to protect her or fight for her.
Her shoulders slump and I turn her around because I need her to look at me when I say these words. “Collins,” I put my finger under her chin, lifting her head up so I can see her beautiful eyes, eyes that let me see into her pure soul. “Listen to me”—I move my hand from under her chin to cup her cheek—“I let them in because I didn’t know what to do. But you say the word, and they will never step one more foot in this house.”
She smiles sadly, and I can tell she’s trying to cover up what she is really feeling. “I don’t want you to have trouble.” Her words feel like they are ripped from her.
“Stop it right now.” My voice is tight. “I don’t want you to give them another thought. Not one more fucking thought. I’m going to go into the kitchen and make you something to eat, and then you are going to get to bed.”
She swallows down. “Okay.”
I bend to kiss her lips before pulling open the fridge. “What do you feel like having? Is there anything you’re craving?”
“Um.” She comes to stand beside me, looking into the well-stocked fridge. “I’m going with scrambled eggs on toast.”
“That’s really not dinner.”
“It is if you add bacon and maybe sausage.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Besides, it’s quick and easy.”
“Okay, but tomorrow we’ll eat a well-balanced meal.” I grab the egg carton and the pack of bacon. She doesn’t say anything to that, she just grabs the bacon from me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to help.” She grabs a pan.
“No, you aren’t. You’ve been working all day long.”
“Have you not been working?” She tilts her head to the side.
“Yes, but I’m not growing a human.” I take the pack of bacon from her. “You have only one thing to do: decide if you are going to rest on the couch or in the bed.”
“Um.” She looks at me. “Can I sit on the stool?”
“I’d like for you to stretch out your legs.” I put the stuff down on the counter and turn two stools to face each other. “There, you can sit on the stool and put up your feet.”
“You know what I didn’t notice before?” She sits on the stool, and I bend to put her legs up. “How bossy you are.”
“Baby,” I smirk at her, “hate to say it, but it’s just starting.” I kiss her lips before going to the stove.
“Were you this bossy with your fiancée?” I look up at her. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“I personally don’t want to talk about her, but if you have questions, I’ll answer.”
“Does it hurt you to talk about her?”
“No. It did at first, but then, I don’t know, it was just something I had to go through.”
“When did it change to mean nothing?”
“I realized it a few months before you and I hooked up. And when you told me you were having my baby, I knew for sure I was over her. She didn’t even cross my mind.” She smiles and looks down at her hands. “I knew that no matter what I had with her, it was going to be nothing like I have with you.” I put my outstretched hands on the counter. “Even if we weren’t going to give us a chance, I knew I would protect you until the end.”
“You didn’t even know me.”
“I didn’t.” I turn to grab a pan and then a pair of scissors to cut the pack of bacon open. “But the way you handled everything”—I look at her as I place eight pieces of bacon in the pan—“you came at me, and you were so mature. Anyone else would have blown the fucking house down and made a scene when they saw the other person who walked out on them.” The ache fills in my chest. “I’ll never forgive myself, you know . . . for doing what I did.”
“Theo—”
“A couple of things,” I interrupt her. “Don’t ever downplay what I did to you.”
“I’m not downplaying it. It’s just not really worth it. What is worth it is what you did when you found out. That’s what matters.”
