ELEVEN
JULIAN
I’m sitting at the kitchen counter scrolling through my phone for any emails that need my immediate attention when Olivia and Maya walk in through the front door.
My blood turns cold the second I notice Olivia’s been crying. I jump from my seat and rush to her. “Olivia. What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t answer. She only looks at Maya.
“Do you want me to stay, Liv?” Maya asks.
Olivia shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. I need to talk to Julian alone.”
Olivia looks nervous when she says my name. A hard knot forms in my throat. What the hell happened?
“Thanks for coming with me. I’ll call you later.” Olivia gives Maya a hug.
“Liv, I love you. You are my best friend and I will always be there for you,” Maya whispers. They stay locked in the hug while Maya speaks.
Immediately, this conversation puts me on high alert. I step back and leave them to say their goodbyes.
The second Maya closes the door behind her, I focus on Olivia.
“Olivia, what’s wrong? You better tell me right now because I’m going to lose my mind if you don’t.”
She nods. She takes my hand and walks me to the couch.
“Come, let’s sit,” she says.
I take a seat next to her. Her hands drop to her lap. I see a slight tremor in them as she plays with the tissue she’s holding. It’s damp from the fresh tears trailing down her face.
“For fuck’s sake, Olivia, what happened at the doctor’s? Tell me or—.” I don’t get to finish when she says two words. Two words that change my life forever.
“I’m…” She looks up from her shaking hands to meet my stare. “I’m pregnant,” she says softly.
Numbness spreads straight through my arms and legs. I’m not sure if I heard her right.
Tears run down her cheeks now. I can’t form any words. It feels like hours pass in total silence when it’s only a minute or two before I find my voice again.
“What did you say?” It comes out louder than I mean it to. I need to hear her say it one more time. I need to know I didn’t hear wrong.
The last bit of color drains from her face. She goes pale.
Tears pour out of her eyes. She covers her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking as she cries uncontrollably.
I want to take her in my arms and hold her, but I’m still numb after hearing those words.
After a minute, she forces her breathing to slow down.
She dries her cheeks and searches my eyes.
“I’m pregnant. I know this isn’t a good time to get pregnant, but it happened. I want you to know I didn’t plan this. I took my pill every day, but there’s still a one percent chance of getting pregnant while on the pill.” She rambles the words out fast, like she rehearsed a speech.
What I do next surprises both of us.
I jump up and grip both her hands, pulling her up so that she’s standing right in front of me. I need to look her straight in the eyes for this conversation. She needs to see how serious I am.
But first, I need to make sure one final time.
“We’re going to have a baby?” I ask.
She nods and another tear escapes the corner of her eye.
I cradle both sides of her face in my hands and kiss her. It isn’t just a kiss because I love her. It is a promise. A promise that she and this baby are mine forever. I will protect them with my life and destroy anyone who ever tries to touch them. She will never have to face anything alone again.
When we break away, I give her the reassurance I know she’s looking for.
“Olivia, I love you so deeply. There aren’t enough words to describe how I feel right now. But know this, you just made me the happiest man in the world.”
Before she can say anything, I kiss her again. When I pull away, something hot trails down my cheek.
Olivia looks at me with her watery eyes, taking my face in her hands. “Julian, you’re crying.”
A laugh escapes me. “Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold.”
We both laugh. I wipe her tears and she wipes mine at the same time.
I drop down on one knee and pull her shirt up to expose her belly. Facing her stomach, I lean in close.
“Hey princess, I’m your daddy,” I say to the little peanut. “Daddy and mommy love you and can’t wait to meet you. You hang in there, princess.”
I press a kiss to her bare skin. When I look up, Olivia’s hands are covering her mouth and she’s full-on sobbing.
I stand up and pull her shirt back down.
“Don’t cry, Love,” I murmur, holding her tightly. Her tears soak straight through my shirt.
The moment her sobbing subsides, she speaks. “I... I thought you would hate me for getting pregnant.”
Gently, I hook my finger under her chin and pull her face up to meet mine.
“How could I ever hate the one person who gave me a second chance after what I did to her in school?” I wipe away another stray tear on her cheek.
“You changed my life, Olivia. You changed me from the person I was to the person I’m right now. You did that by showing me the good. You have a good heart, helping all the people who are struggling in this world, in this country, with your app. And that is the good you brought to me.”
This woman has no idea how many lives she touches. She’s my everything.
“I love you so much. You are my one.”
I kiss her so deeply I feel it in my spine. My hand slides to the back of her neck, anchoring her there, anchoring us both. She makes a sound against my mouth, something broken and wanting, and I swallow it. I want everything she has to give.
I pull her flush against me. Her body lines up with mine, chest to chest, hip to hip.
She rises onto her toes to meet me better and I groan into her mouth.
The kiss turns hungry. My other hand finds the small of her back and presses her closer, until there’s no space between us at all. Until I can feel her heartbeat.
Her fingers tug at my hair, pulling my head back so she can kiss my throat, my jaw. She hits the spot below my ear and my breathing speeds up. I’m burning everywhere she touches.
I tilt her head back with my hand at her jaw and return to her mouth, deeper this time, tasting her, claiming her. She whimpers and the sound goes straight through me. Only she has the power to undo me like this.
“You’re going to be the mother of my child,” I say against her lips. The words come out wrecked. “My child, Olivia. Inside you.”
She gasps. I swallow the sound and kiss her again, harder, with all the gratitude and terror and love I’m drowning in.
My hands slide down to her waist, then her hips, pulling her into me.
She rocks forward and I feel it everywhere.
I walk her backward until she’s pressed against the wall.
I brace my forearm above her head and lean my weight into her, caging her in.
She arches into me, her hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer still.
The kiss goes on and on. I kiss her like I’m starving. Like she’s the only thing keeping me alive. Her lips are swollen and wet and I keep taking her mouth, angling my head to fit us better, deeper.
I pull back just enough to see her face.
Her eyes are glazed, her lips parted and red.
She’s beautiful. She’s carrying my baby.
The knowledge hits me again and I surge forward, kissing her with renewed fervor, my hands framing her face, my thumbs brushing her cheekbones.
She opens for me. There is no hesitation. No part of her is holding back.
“I love you,” I whisper against her mouth. Then I kiss her again because I cannot stop. Because nine years of wanting her, of waiting for this chance, of being terrified I would lose her, are pouring out of me through this single point of contact.
She kisses me back with equal desperation. Her hands slide under my shirt, her palms hot against my back. I shudder. I press her harder into the wall and feel her smile against my mouth. She likes this. She likes that I’m losing control.
I kiss her jaw, her throat, the line of her collarbone. She tilts her head back, giving me access, trusting me with the arch of her neck. I return to her mouth and the kiss turns endless. Time stops. The world falls away. There is only her taste, her heat, her breath mingling with mine.
When we finally break apart, we are both shaking. Our foreheads rest together. Our chests heave. I keep my hands on her waist, holding her steady, holding myself steady.
“You are my one,” I say again. My voice is raw. “You and this baby. My whole world.”
She opens her eyes. She looks at me with a love so fierce it steals my breath.
“I love you,” she whispers.
I lean in and kiss her again, softer this time, but no less deep. No less true.