31. Chapter 31
Harley
I stared at the man standing outside Rome’s mansion, my brain trying to catch up with what I saw. Water dripped from the jungle canopy into the bushes framing the illuminated marble steps. The smell of wet dirt and wood clung to the humid evening air.
He wore jeans . Kingsley wore jeans and sneakers and a T-shirt and a ball cap. And his hair! Goodness, had he shaved off the loose curls I’d loved so much to dig my fingers into?
He shoved his hands into the pockets. “Hey—”
I flung myself at him. His strong arms coiled around me without missing a beat.
He pulled me tightly against him, and for a long moment we just stood there, clinging to each other under the jungle’s dripping foliage.
The warmth radiating off his body cocooned me like a blanket, his familiar scent balm for my soul. Oh, how I’d longed for this moment.
“You cut your hair,” I finally mumbled, my voice thick with emotion.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He said nothing for a long moment. Then his chest heaved with a sigh. “Hoped fewer people would recognize me.”
Oh. I pulled back so I could look at him. “I almost didn’t recognize you without the habit. What . . . What happened?” I held up a hand. “Wait. Let’s go inside.”
We headed into the living room and sat on one of the leather sofas, three feet between us.
As much as I wanted to hug him again and never let him go, we had a lot to talk about.
The fire Rome had made earlier was now a pile of embers.
The room was so expansive, the ceilings so high, that it hardly contained the heat.
My palms grew sweaty, and I rubbed them on my khaki skirt. Kingsley’s timing was ironic, because I’d been on my way out the door to find him and tell him everything. “I heard you got expelled from Saint James. Is that true?”
He clenched and unclenched his hand. “Father Cruz and I both prayed about it. Both of us got the same answer—that my time at Saint James is up.”
“I’m so sorry, Kingsley,” I whispered, my heart breaking for him anew.
The life at Saint James had meant so much to him.
Despite the burning desire to hold his hand, I didn’t.
Feeling his touch made it impossible to focus, and I needed to have my wits about me for what was about to come. “I can’t help but feel guilty. I—”
“We talked about this, Sweetheart.” His tone was gentle yet firm. “I made my own choices and have to deal with whatever the consequences are.” He gave me a tortured smile. “Keaton reminded me that I’m not powerful enough to screw up God’s plan for my life, and he’s right.”
I nodded. “Yes, he is. How has life been since? And where do you live?”
“I’m staying with Keaton and Layne until I find a job. Applied at a couple of landscaping companies.” He pulled at his charcoal T-shirt. “Until then I’m wearing my brother’s clothes.”
“They look good on you.” I bit my lower lip, taking in the way the fabric stretched across his broad shoulders and solid chest. “Like, really good.”
Kingsley cleared his throat. “How have you been?”
My heart stuttered. The innocent question shouldn’t have caught me off guard, but it did. Before I could dump my news on him, I needed to know something else. “Do you still struggle with lust?”
“I, uh . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sometimes images of what we did come up. Not as frequently as they used to, though. And I usually manage to shut them down quickly. I’ve been working hard on doing better and leaning on God’s strength.”
I smiled. “That’s good. It’s a tough battle.”
“It is. What about you?”
“I’m doing better, too. Not fully free, though. I just . . .” Now it was me who squirmed. “I don’t know if you even want to marry me, but I don’t want us to take this issue into our marriage.”
“No.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “‘No’ you don’t want to marry me?”
His eyes widened. “What? No! I meant I don’t want to bring this issue into our marriage either.”
“I know. I was kidding.” Cackling, I squeezed his arm. “I’m relieved you want to marry me that bad, though.”
He visibly deflated. Then his mouth pulled into a devastating smile. “You have no idea how bad.”
Lord have mercy, I could fall for this man all over again.
“We won’t get married tomorrow, so we have time to work on ourselves,” he said, all focused again. “I actually think waiting will do us some good.”
“That’s a very valid point. We can’t wait forever though. No longer than seven months.”
“Why’s that?”
I inhaled deeply. Lord, help me to share the news in a non-shocking way. “Because I’m pregnant.” Wow, Harley. That was very non-shocking.
Kingsley stared at me, unblinking. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
“From you,” I offered very helpfully.
Ever so slowly, his eyes brightened. Then his whole face lit up. “Are you serious? I’m going to be a father?”
I nodded. Laughed. “Yes.”
He stood, pulling me up with him. Crushed me to his chest. “You’re going to be an amazing mom.”
His voice was muffled by my hair, but I had no problems understanding him. I practically melted right there in his arms. This man . . . There was so much I wanted to say, but my voice couldn’t be trusted right now. So I just let him hold me.
When he finally let me go, his eyes were glistening. “I’m going to be a dad.” Wonder and awe clung to his words.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table with an incoming call, but I ignored it. “Yes, you are.”
“If I can’t find a job right away, I’ll ask Regina if she has a position for me.”
“But you hate your family’s company.”
He looked down at me, his green eyes glowing. “I don’t care. I’ll do anything to provide for our family.”
My phone had stopped ringing, and started again.
Our family. I would get to start a family with the man I loved. My heart nearly exploded with joy and gratitude. God had taken the mess we’d made and turned it into something beautiful. Could there be a more breathtaking example for His undeserved mercy?
Cupping Kingsley’s jaw, I rose to my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He instantly deepened the kiss.
Again, my phone buzzed.
I groaned and pulled away from Kingsley. “Hold that thought.” Grumbling, I turned to my cell. Rome’s name flashed up on the screen. He better be ready for my foul mood. I put him on speaker. “Now is not—”
“Harley, I need you to listen to me.” The engine of his bike whined in the background, and I could literally hear the cars he flew by.
Geez, was he going two hundred miles an hour?
“There’s a bunker in my garage. I need you to go there and hide.
There are all sorts of firearms. Take whatever you’re comfortable with. ”
“What? Why? What’s going on?”
“Someone killed the guards at the gate. I don’t know who it is, and that’s why I need you to go into the bunker. Subito! ”
“We’re going right now.” Kingsley grabbed my hand and started tugging me across the living room to the hallway. His expression had turned downright dark, an intensity rolling off him I’d never seen before.
“Stay put until I come get you,” Rome said. “We’re on our way.”
Crack!
Glass exploded behind us as one of the massive windows shattered. A woman screamed. Me. It was me. Kingsley shoved me in front of him, serving as a human shield between me and the men clad in black tactical gear and armed with rifles flooding through the broken window.
“Freeze!” a man bellowed.
Kingsley pushed me around the corner into the hallway leading to the garage.
The door flew open and more men barged inside.
We were surrounded.