Page 24

Turning away from her, I shove the door open and step out of the truck before slamming it behind me and marching around the bed to retrieve her. I yank her door open and she still won’t look at me. The last thread of my patience snaps and I clench my teeth as I reach into the truck and spin her so she’s facing me. Her eyes finally meet mine, wide and full of surprise.

“Enough with the attitude. I’m fucking done with it, Izzy.”

She recovers quickly, rolling her eyes. “If you think…”

“Shut up,” I growl, leaning into the truck and planting my fists on either side of her hips. “I said I was done with the attitude and I fucking meant it but if you can be a fucking adult, I would love to go inside and discuss what we need to do for our child. Can you handle that?”

“That’s fine but I’m not…”

I can’t hear another second of her shit and since she refuses to cooperate with me, I’m left with only one option - slamming my lips down on hers. As part of my training to be a police officer, I had to experience being tased. It knocked me flat on my ass and I swear to God, kissing Izzy packs more of a punch than that thing did. It’s all-consuming, devouring me with its intensity, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to stop. My hand slips into her hair, gripping the back of her neck as I flick my tongue just past her lips, teasing the both of us with the promise of more. Her posture is tense but she’s not fighting me off which is a miracle in and of itself and I steal a few more seconds to add to my highlight reel. When I finally pull back, she releases a shaky breath and looks up at me with wide eyes, all traces of her defiance gone.

“What are you doing?”

I meet her gaze, my chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath. “Shutting you up. Are you ready to go inside and discuss our situation now?”

Her eyes search mine and her lips part as the smell of her shampoo fills the space between us. It makes me think of waking up in the morning with her wrapped in my arms, her mane a wild mess of curls all over me. She’s so fucking close to me and there is an ache to reach out and touch her, feel the silk of her body beneath my fingertips but I hold back. Now is so not the time but I swear, it’s like she’s calling to me, pulling me in. Kissing her was a mistake.

Finally, she nods and her gaze softens, dragging me further into the depths. “The attitude is gone… for now.”

I take her by surprise, scooping her up into my arms without warning in an effort to hide my smile and stop myself from stripping her bare on the seat of my truck. She yelps, wrapping her arm around my neck and I almost turn back to the empty seat.

“Don’t you dare fucking drop me,” she seethes and I roll my eyes, thankful for the distraction. I knew the no attitude thing wouldn’t last long. I can’t be all that mad about it though. Izzy just wouldn’t be Izzy without her signature brand of sass but I don’t want her to know that.

“Again, shut up.”

She arches a brow and narrows her eyes. “Or what? You’re going to kiss me again?”

“You want me to kiss you again?” I ask, stopping on the front porch. Her eyes widen and her lips part as she stares up at me, almost in a daze and then, a second later, she scoffs.

“No.”

Liar.

I set her down on the porch and grip the top of her shoulders, turning her toward the set of French doors in front of us as I grin. “Go inside while I grab your bag from the truck.”

“Bossy son of a bitch,” she mutters as she heads inside. I watch her go, letting the door shut behind her before I walk back down to the truck and pull the duffel bag out of the back. Looking up at the two-story house I had built a few years back when we all moved onto this property, I suck in a breath. Time to get serious. Nodding, I brace myself for the conversation I know we have to have before marching up the porch steps and walking into the house. When I step inside, she’s sitting at the kitchen table with a piece of paper in her hands. She looks up at me and nods, that determination in her eyes again.

“Okay, so let’s do this then.”

I arch a brow. “Let’s do this?”

“Yeah,” she shoots back, nodding as she stares down at whatever is in her hand. “I’m sure you have questions and we both know this conversation is going to be awkward as hell so let’s just get it over with so we can move on.”

“Okay,” I answer, dropping the duffel on the floor. It lands with a thud and I walk across the room before pulling out the chair directly across from her. As I sit down, she slides the paper in her hand across the table and I realize it’s an ultrasound of our baby as it comes to a stop in front of me.

“That was done at the hospital last night.”

I scoop it up, studying the grainy image of its little body. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“I… I don’t know yet. I was waiting until we could find out together…”

“Really?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. “And how was that going to work if you were never going to tell me about the baby?”

She sighs. “I was going to tell you about the baby… today, actually… but then everything happened last night and…”

“How could you keep this from me for so damn long, Izzy?” I ask, looking down at the ultrasound again and wondering what it would have been like if I had been there from the beginning, watching our baby grow along with her. She sighs, shifting in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest again as she stares down at the table.

“I…” she starts before fidgeting in her seat again and sighing. “When I was eighteen, I got pregnant and I was… not in a good situation but I was determined to have the baby and make it work. Two weeks later, I was in class and I didn’t feel well…” She glances away from me, staring at the doors that lead out to the driveway but I can tell that she’s a thousand miles away. “The last thing I remember was trying to leave the room and when I woke up, I was in a hospital. They told me it had been an ectopic pregnancy and it had ruptured…” Her chin wobbles and she clenches her teeth as she turns to stare at the table again. “The baby was not viable and there were complications in surgery that led to a lot of scarring. Until I got pregnant with our baby, I wasn’t even sure that I could…”