at me. Her lips part and she sucks in a soft rush of air. “You’re all I’ve thought about,” she whispers, blinking slowly as if she’s not sure I’m real or not.
“I… missed you.” They’re simple words, only three, but they mean the world to me because I didn’t think I’d hear them from her after everything I put her through. “I read the letter.”
I wait. She blinks, tears flooding her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything.
“And?” I press, waiting.
“And I loved it. It was the perfect way to give me the closure I needed to move forward.”
“This moving forward… does it include me?” Christ, I really sound like a pussy.
She stares at the small space between our chests, tugging on her lip with her teeth.
“Please.” I draw in a ragged breath and try to control the amount of emotion in my tone. She doesn’t need to know that I’m seconds away from tying her to my bed and telling her I’m not letting her go. The least I can do for her is give her the option. “I don’t want to do any of this without you. We want you in our lives.” I lift my eyes to the door, and the one now standing in the doorway.
Atlas grins and jumps on the bed beside us. I keep Journey on my lap, for many reasons, and smile at Atlas. “Are we keeping her?”
“I’m not a dog, buddy,” Journey teases, watching him closely, her hands raised like she thinks he’s going to fall.
“I know, silly.” He’s jumping on the bed, completely careless to the heaviness weighing down the conversation he walked in on. “What are you guys doing in here? There’s cookies out there.”
With our bodies bouncing on the bed, I study her face and wonder for a moment if I should get on my knees and beg.
Journey stares at me, her features softening, and I know I’m breaking her down. “You’re not keeping any more secrets from me, are you?” she asks, her voice low.
“None. I promise,” I tell her. “Actually, there’s one.”
Her breath catches, tears she held at bay, letting loose.
“I can’t wait any longer. I need cookies.” Atlas jumps off the bed and runs down the hall.
Journey’s lips twist down as if she’s going to burst into tears, her breathing light and steady. She isn’t crying, yet, but I can tell she’s about to. “What’s your secret?”
My hands move to her cheeks, cradling her face, her tears rolling over my knuckles. “That I love you.”
At first, I think she’s shocked by my admission. Hell, I think I am too. But I know I mean it.
Journey closes her eyes, and I let go of her face. I wrap my arms around her and bring her to my chest, refusing to let go. She cries into my neck, her hands over my heart, and the name of the one who gave her life again. “I hate that I’m always going to wonder if she’s the reason for the connection, or if we really have something together.”
“It’s you.” I pull back, looking down at her, attempting to convey the meaning. “It’s always been you.”
Blinking steadily, she breathes in, the softest of smiles forming. “I have a secret too.”
Finally, more alive than I am numb, excitement rushes through me. I shift underneath her, my hands moving closer to her ass. “That you want me to lock the door and fuck you?”
Her grip on my shirt tightens. “I’d like that, but later. I have something I need to tell you.”
I search her face for any indication as to what she’s going to say next. I’m not granted with anything. “What?”
She pulls her bottom lip in and chews on it for a second. “I’m pregnant,” she whispers.
Pregnant? I blink. A few times. No words. Hell, I don’t even know that I have thoughts. I blow out a calming breath and flip that word around in my head for a minute. Pregnant. As in, she’s going to have a baby. I lift my hand to her face, slowly sliding it from her hair to the nape of her neck. I open my mouth three times, unable to get words out until I finally ask, “What?” I hadn’t heard what I thought I did, or did I? She’s pregnant? No. She can’t be. I haven’t been here in months. If that’s true, who had she been with?
Her chest rises with a gasp. “I’m pregnant, and it’s yours.”