Bryce

Chapter 24

Samantha stared at her phone unable to control the tears that formed a steady stream down her face. Her stomach had been in knots ever since the ultrasound showed her as being further along in the pregnancy than she expected. Every night she slept alone in her bed, she woke up from a nightmare. Brandon hadn’t used violent force on her, but the feeling of powerlessness when he refused to take no for an answer was something she would never forget.

The words “not excluded as the biological father” blurred before her eyes as the tears continued. After attempting to blink the tears away and wiping her eyes, she continued to look over the results. “Probability of paternity 99.96% was typed in bold letters across the bottom of the test. Her breath came out as a sob, as she sank down onto her bed.

The first thing she wanted to do was to call Bryce, but she needed to get ready to walk out the door. Warm-ups were in less than an hour which wasn’t a lot of time when walking and using mass transit. After tucking her phone in her back pocket, she washed her face and headed out the door.

The cold wind that hit her face was a welcomed sensation. She could only hope the cool fresh air would help cover the fact that she’d spent the past hour crying. Bryce would be there front and center, and she didn’t want him to worry about her. She would tell him the news as soon as they got a moment alone.

The subway station was empty for a Thursday evening, but she wasn’t complaining. Sitting with space on either side of her gave her time to center herself and prepare for the night. It was opening night. On Broadway. And she was pregnant by the man she had fallen in love with.

She walked into the theater with a smile on her face that she knew would soon turn to more tears. But these tears would be tears of happiness. This was it. In a matter of minutes, she would be performing on Broadway. Finally. After years of practicing and going to auditions. That thought circled her mind as she got changed into her costume and applied her makeup. It didn’t take long before she saw herself transform from Samantha into Joanne.

Warm-ups were a blur. After helping Brittney in the dressing room, they joined the cast in the green room and sang scales before going over some last-minute items. When the warm-up was over, they exchanged hugs before making their way backstage for the opening scene.

Nerves began to fade as excitement and anticipation took over. On cue, she walked out onto the stage behind the curtain, arriving at her place as the opening chords began to play. The curtain opened and she fought back tears as they sang the first few notes to a resounding applause. The stage lights shined warm and bright, keeping her from getting a clear view of the audience, but she knew Bryce was there right up front. As promised.

Bryce was out of his seat and heading to the stage door before they had finished the curtain call. Knowing she could sing and hearing her beautiful voice for the first time was not the same thing. He had been unable to look away from her during the entire first scene. She might as well have been on the stage by herself. Dominic and Rayelle took up the two seats next to him, and a glance at them before he left told him they were feeling the same way.

As cliché as it may have been, he held a bouquet of roses as he waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to come out. She walked out wearing her usual all black and still had traces of her stage makeup around her eyes. Once she made eye contact, her gaze never left his as she made her way over.

“Baby, you were amazing,” he said, handing her the flowers. “I assumed you were good, but my god...”

Beaming, she accepted the flowers and placed a chaste kiss on his mouth. “Thank you.”

“Rayelle and Dominic were here. I don’t think they could take their eyes off of you either.”

She looked around before returning her attention to Bryce. “Did they leave without saying hello?”

“Not exactly,” Bryce answered.

He hadn’t told her about the plans he’d made for the night. He had reserved a two-bedroom suite so they could celebrate together without anyone worrying about getting home. Samantha wouldn’t be drinking, so neither would Bryce, but he wanted to spend the night with her, and he’d already decided he wouldn’t sleep at her place anymore. He couldn’t stand the thought of being in the house where his brother had done what he had to Samantha, and he wasn’t sure how she could stand it either.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said after a long pause. “That is, if you don’t have other plans.”

“I have a surprise for you too,” Samantha announced. “And, no. No plans other than to be with you.”

He closed the distance between them once again and kissed her soft lips. It was meant to be a chaste kiss, but as soon as their lips met, he wanted more. He would always want more. She whimpered into him, the sound going straight to his cock.

“Come with me,” he said before clearing his throat.

They walked the short distance in silence, bracing themselves against the cold. She looped her arm through his and gripped his elbow. He enjoyed the closeness even if it was so cold he couldn’t even feel the heat of her body against him. When he stopped in front of the hotel, she looked up at him, a grin spreading across her face.

“Are we staying here?” she asked.

Looking around as they stepped into the lobby, he nodded in satisfaction and gave her a smug smile. “Yes. Only the best for the Broadway star.”

Even as she rolled her eyes, he could tell she enjoyed that title. “Hungry?”

“Very,” she answered, raising an eyebrow.

“I meant for food. Knowing you, you didn’t eat much before the show. The baby wants to eat.”

“Your baby,” she said quietly, stopping him from walking.

His heart skipped a beat. “What?”

Grinning like a crazy person, she nodded her head several times before pulling out her phone and handing it to him. “Look. This was in the patient portal this afternoon.”

He nearly snatched the phone out of her hands. He read the screen once, twice, four times before handing the phone back. He’d memorized the important part. He was not excluded as the father. He was going to be a father. The tightness in his chest made it hard to breathe.

“The baby is mine?”

Her eyes shined with tears as she nodded. She didn’t need to speak. The happiness on her face said all he needed to know. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, causing her to drop her bag on the floor. The handful of people lounging in the lobby at that late hour glanced up at the sound, but he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was getting his hands on the future mother of his child; the woman he loved.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked once they finally pulled apart.

“I wanted to surprise you,” she said with a small laugh. “I guess we both had the same idea.”

“Hey, you two. Get a room,” Rayelle teased as she approached from the restaurant. “We have a table just inside, but it didn’t look like you two would ever come in.”

“Sorry,” Samantha said sheepishly. “We were on the way, but got distracted.”

“I wasn’t really worried about it. You were absolutely amazing! I wanted to cry the whole time you were up there. I’m so proud of you. And also, can you get us more tickets? I want to see this all the time,” Rayelle said, finishing off by shoving Bryce out of the way and hugging her.

He would have thought he was the one with the pregnancy hormones the way everything seemed to be making him emotional. Watching Samantha and Rayelle made something click within him. This was right. This was the way things were meant to be. Everything that had happened with his mom and with his brother made him hesitate to get into a serious relationship. Sure, he’d dated, but nothing serious. He told himself it was because he hadn’t found the right one, but deep down he hadn’t been looking for the right one. Fortunately, the right one seemed to have fallen into his lap.

“Bryce?”

Jolting back into the present, he found Samantha looking at him expectantly. “Sorry, what?”

“I asked if you were ready to go to the table. Are you okay?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah, sorry. Let’s eat. This was part of the surprise, but I got a little distracted,” he said with a content smile. “And no, that wasn’t a complaint.”

Bryce watched as Samantha interacted with his friends, and was able to enjoy himself since he was no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop. He would have stuck around regardless, but it would have been hell on Samantha if she found out she was carrying Brandon’s child. He couldn’t even imagine. Fortunately, they didn’t have to figure out how to navigate that situation.

They didn’t stay at dinner for long. Everyone was tired, so they ordered dessert to go and headed up to the room. Once they got there, Samantha nearly knocked the wind out of Bryce with the force of her hug. Stumbling a few steps back, he held her tight as he righted himself.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Just because. I cried so hard when I saw those results. I had already decided I would go through with the pregnancy regardless, but I was so afraid I’d have to do it on my own…” she said before trailing off.

He forced himself to let it go even though he wanted to demand she explain herself. There was nothing but honesty in his words when he told her he would be there no matter what the results showed. He chose his response carefully.

“You wouldn’t have had to do anything alone. You’ll never have to do anything alone again if I have a say in it.”

Her gasp was the only sound in the room. He held her in his arms as he waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. She didn’t make another sound and she didn’t move to pull away, even though he felt her go stiff in his arms.

“I mean it,” he reassured her. “I’m not going anywhere. If you want to do things alone, that’s fine; I won’t fight you. But you never have to. Not if you don’t want to.”

With a deep breath, she began to relax into his hold once more. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there. They stood in that spot until Samantha stepped back and looked up at him.

“You ready to go to bed?” he asked.

She nodded her head. “Yeah. But, um—”

“To sleep,” he reassured her. The fact she was nervous about setting boundaries or suggesting they not have sex, made his heart constrict. He couldn’t stay angry at his dead brother, so instead, he felt regret and sadness over what he took from her. “You can say anything you want to me. You don’t have to be nervous about not wanting sex or for wanting it. The only thing I’ll ever get upset about is if you aren’t honest with me about what you want or what you need.”

He stayed behind when she went to take a shower, making a point of giving her space, and he wasn’t in bed long when she exited the bathroom to join him. Her braids were pulled up into a bun with a scarf wrapped around the edges and she was wearing a tank top and pajama shorts. Keeping his word wasn’t easy when all he wanted was to put his hands on her—to have her beg for him. And he was pretty confident that he could.

“We don’t have to go right to sleep if—”

“Samantha,” he cut her off. “I’m a patient man. You want to go to sleep, we’ll go to sleep. You don’t want sex? That’s fine; I’m more than capable of waiting, no matter how bad I want to be inside you.”

“Jesus,” she breathed.

Turning to his side, he lifted the covers, inviting her in. “What is it?”

“You can’t just say stuff like that,” she said as she climbed into bed beside him.

“Really? That’s strange, because I did,” he said with a chuckle as he pulled her close. “Now let’s get some sleep.”

She didn’t argue. As soon as he had his arms around her, she sagged against him. Holding her close, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax and enjoy the feel of her warm body pressed against his. Before long, he felt her drift off and knew he wouldn’t be far behind her.