suitcase and leave. That baby, however, that’s why I’m here.
I’m here for my kid.
“Wanna sit?” she asks, plopping down on the sofa in the living room and patting the spot next to her.
I shake off the influx of heavy thoughts and sit with her. “So…” I meet her gaze and feel relief to see some semblance of a sparkle back in those eyes. “How are you doing? You had dinner with your family tonight, right?”
“Yeah.” She draws back and smiles, looking surprised that I know that or remember or care. “It went, actually, pretty well. Even though my brothers are all major ass-pains sometimes, I’m really lucky to have my family. And not just the money, but…everything.”
“That’s awesome.” I lean back and run my fingers across the leather armrest. “I never had a big family like that. Growing up, it was just me and my grandma, actually.”
Her eyes widen with sympathy. “I’m sorry, Matt.”
“Oh no.” I wave a hand and laugh. “It’s not a sob story. My grandma is the literal best. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am without her. My parents just weren’t…” I dig for the right words, trying hard not to sound like I want pity. “Ready to be parents, I guess.”
She nods and purses her lips, and I can see the dots connecting in her brain. “That’s why you want to be a part of the baby’s life. Why you’re here right now,” she says under her breath, looking up at me through thick lashes.
“I need to, Ellie.” I scoot forward and lock eyes with her. “I respect the hell out of your family, and I get that you guys have everything planned out for how this is going to work, but I won’t be pushed out of it. I know you think I’m some jock player who wouldn’t in a million years want a baby right now, but it already happened.”
She holds my gaze for a long time, her eyes widening with soft emotion. “Okay. I won’t let you be pushed out. I promise.”
I sigh a little with relief and fight the urge to press my lips against hers and feel the rush I haven’t stopped thinking about for almost a month.
“I know this is all really confusing and overwhelming for you. It is for me, too.”
“I know that. You’re right. My first instinct was to just enlist the help and support of my family, knowing how much easier that would make everything. I honestly figured you’d want nothing to do with…it.”
I give her a look.
“I was wrong.”
“Yeah.” I smile and relax a little. “You were.”
We sit in silence for a second, in this mutual uncertainty about where to go from here. Tonight…the next nine months…the rest of our lives…
“In addition to the tiny human growing in my tummy,” Ellie says with an easy laugh, “we have another thing we’re doing together.”
“Ah, yeah.” I try to swallow the rush of warmth that fills my chest from knowing we’re going to keep talking. I don’t even care what we talk about. “Making the people of South Florida fall in love with me,” I say in a mocking voice.
“Exactly.” She arches a brow.
“Boy, the universe sure is insistent on sticking us together.”
Ellie rolls her eyes, but I swear she cracks a smile. “Should be pretty easy.”
“Because I’m so likable and cool?”
“Because public image and marketing are kind of my specialties.” She glares at me in mock annoyance.
“So you’re not gonna give that job to someone else?” I nudge her and give a cheesy grin.
She tilts her head and half smiles, those striking eyes teasing every bone in my body. “Nah.” She lifts a slender shoulder. “These are already unbelievably weird circumstances, so I might as well just do the job my dad wants me to do. Besides, you can use all the help you can get.”
“Hey!” I retort, biting back a laugh.
“Seriously, though, I think it’s going to be a fun marketing campaign. I’ve never done sports before, so we’ll figure it out together.”
“It seems we have quite a few things to figure out together, Ellie.” I lean closer and lower my voice, feeling the heat between us crackle a little.
“That we do.” She swallows and glances down, then back up at me. Her eyes seem to get wider as she tries to stifle the eagerness in her expression. “We’re having a baby together.”
The words sit between us and fill the air with a confusing mixture of shock and fear and joy.