Page 62 of Penn

“Hanging out in the corner for my break,” she says. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Give a girl a warning next time. Haven’t you heard it’s not exactly a smart idea to scare a pregnant woman?”

“You’re pregnant?” she asks. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Frowning, I point at my very obviously pregnant belly. “You thought I just gained this much weight? In my stomach?”

“Look, I don’t ask unless I see the head. And you haven’t told me, so I didn’t want to assume.”

“Please, fucking assume… I’m actually more offended you didn’t notice.”

Demi laughs, her dark hair brushing her shoulders. “Of course I did. But I wasn’t going to ask you. I’m not that much of a bitch.”

My heart still flutters from the scare as I walk out into the bar, and I stop short when I see Stephen sitting at a table. The moment his eyes meet mine, he smiles and gives a short little wave.

He wears a button-down blue shirt, his hair perfectly styled, and expensive Italian loafers to match the Rolex watch on his wrist. “Dixie, hi.”

Penn turns from the bar, and I’m nearly frozen. My baby’s father and the man who currently wants to help me raise my child are sitting only feet apart from each other. He couldn’t have come in here when Penn was gone on his run?

My hand rests on my belly protectively, and I shake my head. “What are you doing here?”

He stands and walks over to me, but I step back to keep distance between us. “You look gorgeous,” he says, placing his hands on either side of my stomach.

It’s such a fatherly move, except he doesn’t want this baby. “Thanks. What are you doing here?”

“I love you, Dixie. And I fucking miss you.”

“Okay?”

“I want you back. I want you, and I want this baby. God, I’m so glad you didn’t make that appointment like I wanted.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see every Daredevil—including Penn—turn and watch us. Great, they all know who the father of my child is now. And who tried to kill me in my house fire.

“Outside,” I say, leading him to the back door and away from everyone.

Once we’re outside, he grabs me by the shoulders and tries to kiss me. My palms press against his chest and push him backwards. “Dixie—”

“You tried to kill me and our unborn child, Stephen.”

“I feel really bad about that.”

I blink at him and laugh. Really laugh. “You feel… you feel bad about that?”

“I want to be with you. I’ve already talked to a lawyer, and I’m leaving Caroline.”

Holy shit. “You what?”

“It’s not working with her. If it was, I wouldn’t have strayed. And I wouldn’t be thinking about you every moment of every day, Dixie. I love you.”

“But your job has you gone—”

“I’ve got that figured out, too. I’ve grown the company enough to have people beneath me. I can have them working out of town for me and only go when absolutely necessary. I’ll have more time with you.”

This makes no sense. “You said everything you told me was a lie. You didn’t love me, and we were never going to have the life we talked about.”

“I believed that when I said it, but now, being with you in a big house with our child is all I want. That life we dreamed about is something I didn’t know I wanted until it was completely off the table.”

“You don’t want to be a dad. Not even to the three you already have, remember? I still can’t believe you said that.”