CHAPTER 45
Kaya
This morning, I have to take a few hours off from the Carnage rat caper for Maverick and I to go to our first baby appointment.
The last few days have been more of the same—research, dead ends, and little maybe moments that turned out to be nothing.
I found out Tank has a storage unit across town that nobody knew about, but after digging more into it, it turned out to be his incarcerated mother’s belongings, not a smoking gun.
Maverick opens the passenger door for me and I climb inside.
It smells…clean, like lavender and some kind of fresh smelling soap.
I glance around and realize all the blood is gone, but on top of that the entire interior is cleaner than the day I bought it.
Every crack and crevice is spotless. “This looks amazing!”
He gives me a grin as he buckles his seat belt. “Got it done a few days ago, had the prospects help.”
I reach over and rub my hand down his beard. “Thank you. You guys did a great job. I don’t think it’s ever been this clean.”
“I do have a question. What the hell was all the silver and colored dust in the crevices down here?” He points to my shifter.
I feel my cheeks flush. “Uh, the stuff from scratch off tickets.”
“Huh?”
“You know, lottery tickets. When I used to take breaks out on jobs I would grab a sandwich and a few scratch off tickets. I did it so much that the stuff that flakes off got everywhere.”
He smirks. “You got a gambling problem?”
I smack his thigh playfully. “No! Just scratchers. I’m not hitting casinos or sports betting.” I chuckle.
The OBs office is in Edgemere, which is about twenty minutes away.
The office is a standalone building, white, with a big blue sign out front.
It’s cute, not resembling a medical facility at all, which I actually appreciate.
What I don’t appreciate is the receptionist with a sly grin on her lips gawking at my man as he walks in the door.
I approach the window with him right behind me. The brunette with a name tag that says Mandie, is practically looking straight through me, taking him in. I give her 2.5 seconds before I smack the ledge of the window in front of her face. She jumps and her eyes come to mine.
“Yeah, hi. We have an appointment.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Your name?”
“Kaya Rhodes.”
“Yep, it looks like all your paperwork was done online so you can have a seat and wait to be called.”
“Great,” I mutter, before taking Maverick’s hand and pulling him with me over to a row of chairs.
I sit down and glance at my long-haired biker who is wearing the smuggest, cockiest grin.
“This isn’t funny,” I say. “She’s lucky I didn’t rip those cheap extensions right out of her head.”
Maverick chuckles, barely able to contain himself. I laugh too. “Stop it. It’s not right. Do you think she stares at every pregnant woman’s man as they walk in the door?”
Maverick shrugs trying to stifle more laughter. “Sorry babe, but I love this possessive side of you.” He leans down to my ear. “It’s hot as fuck.”
“Miss Rhodes.” Mandie says.
“Mrs.” I say, nearly choking. Where the hell did that come from?
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She looks back and forth between Maverick and I. “Your paperwork doesn’t say you’re married.”
“Well, we are.” I walk past Mandie towards the nurse that’s holding the door open, waiting for us.
Maverick chuckles again as he follows me. The nurse quickly takes us back to a room and ushers us inside, telling us she would be right back. I sit on the bed facing the room while Maverick takes the chair closest to the door. I’m aggravated while his eyes are sparkling in amusement.
“What?” I finally ask.
“So, you want to get married?”
“What?” I choke, even louder.
“But you would be Mrs. Pace, not Rhodes.” Maverick says matter of fact.
“That’s fine. Rhodes isn’t really my name.
I mean it is, but it isn’t. Rhodes was my dad’s mom’s last name but not his father’s name, if that makes sense.
” I scrunch my nose trying to remember the story.
“It was the last name of my grandmother’s ex-husband.
She had the name when she had my dad so she gave it to him, but neither me or my dad are actually blood related to a Rhodes. ”
Maverick blinks at me.
“My dad was Hawaiian, but he only met his father a few times, so he didn’t have his last name.”
He quirks a brow. “Babe, you lost me.” he eyes me for a moment. “So, you want to be Mrs. Pace?”
I shrug. “Sure. It’s not like I’m ever planning on falling in love again if this ends.”
He stares at me as if he’s waiting for me to laugh or say just kidding, or maybe run out of the room.
I just turn and look out the window at the traffic driving by.
I don’t know if he’s being serious or trying to freak me out, but I would marry him.
It’s not something I ever fantasized about or wanted for that matter, but him?
I want him for as long as he’ll put up with me.
Suddenly he gets up and rushes toward me.
He steps between my dangling legs, his chest heaving and eyes more serious than I’ve ever seen them.
His pupils are little dots. He licks his lips and grabs my cheeks in his massive hands.
“I’m not fucking around,” he whispers. “I want us to get married, before the baby is born.”
My lips turn up into a wide grin. “Sounds good to me. I love you. I never thought I would be here. Even though it’s all shiny and new right now, I really think we’re gonna make it.”
The words barely leave my mouth before his lips are crashing into mine. I snake my arms around his back hugging him, holding him, embracing all that he is. I feel his fingers grip my hair in his fist as he holds me just as tight.
“Hi, I’m, oops, sorry,” a friendly voice interrupts.
Maverick steps back with a sexy smirk on his lips.
I quickly wipe my mouth and turn my attention to the doctor.
“Sorry, I’m Kaya and this is my fiancé, Maverick.
” I glance to him and wink. He blushes. Blushes!
My big scary caveman biker just turned cherry red in front of our baby doctor.
Inside I am screaming like a middle school girl who just got noticed by her crush.
“Nice to meet you both, I’m Doctor Weaver. I understand you had confirmation of the pregnancy on Monday at the hospital?”
I nod and explain Monday, everything from the attack to the hospital visit.
She asks me questions about my period and overall health and then steps out.
The nurse returns and takes my vitals, temperature, and explains that the doctor will be performing an internal exam before checking on the baby.
She hands me a gown to change into and walks out.
I undress while Maverick watches. As I take off my bra and toss it at him, goosebumps cover my skin.
His gaze is hungry and full of lust. He stands slowly and walks to me bending down to take one perky nipple in his mouth.
I let him for a few seconds before heat rises up my neck.
I giggle and push him back. “You cannot do that here. I’m going to be wet when she goes to do the exam! ”
He shrugs. “You can’t expect me to see your perfect tits and not steal a taste.”
“Sit down,” I say pointing to the chair. Instead, he takes the gown and helps me put it on. As he ties the strings in the back he makes a point of breathing on the back of my neck, turning me on even more. Damn him.
When the doctor returns, she gets right down to business. Feet in stirrups, Pap smear, and STI testing get done, all while Maverick looks on with wide eyes. I’m sure this man has never seen anything like this. If I make the slightest sound his attention snaps to my face, making sure I’m ok.
After everything is done, we move on to the only part I really care about.
Seeing the baby again. Maverick moves to the bed standing on the opposite side of the doctor.
Both of us are staring at the screen intently, waiting for another glimpse at the little life we made.
Only this time, the image is much clearer than the black and white grainy images we saw in the emergency room.
They are so vivid that his head can clearly be identified.
“Holy shit,” Maverick mutters under his breath. “It just looked like a bean when we saw it on Monday.”
Dr. Weaver chuckles. “Yeah, the emergency room is using older equipment. What we have here is much more state of the art. Did the hospital give you an estimated due date?”
I don’t move my eyes from the screen. “No. They just said I was probably around seven weeks.”
“Well…” She pauses as she shifts the wand inside of me. She clicks the mouse a few times near the screen. “Going by the date of your last period and what I’m seeing here, it looks to me like you’re closer to ten weeks.”
“When can we find out the sex?” I ask.
“If you want to find out via ultrasound it will be a few more weeks, but we can do an NIPT test and you could know in a week or so.”
I shake my head. “I’d rather find out at an ultrasound.” I turn to Maverick, looking to him for confirmation.
“Whatever you want, baby,” he says squeezing my hand.
“Very well. I’m going to put your due date down as November 14th.
Of course that’s just an estimate, babies can surprise you and show up a few weeks early or even a week or so late.
” She smiles at us. “Everything looks great so far. We’ll be seeing you monthly until about week thirty-six, at that point you’ll come in every week until delivery. ”
After she left and I redressed, we stopped at the receptionist to make my next appointment.
I’m guessing she got chewed out because she hardly made eye contact with me, let alone even glanced at Maverick.
That’s right, girly pop, because I’m not the one.
This is me. When I go in, I go all in, and he is all mine.
Once we are on the road, I pull out the photos stop and can’t looking at them. Our baby has a head and little nubby arms and legs. He’s very alienish and yet, the most beautiful perfect thing I have ever seen. I can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or a girl.
“What do you want it to be?” I ask, staring at one of the photos.
Maverick shrugs. “I don’t have a preference. Just know if it’s a girl, I’m buying more guns and she’s never leaving the house.”
I chuckle and look around, suddenly realizing we aren’t on a road that leads to the clubhouse. “Where are we going?”
“Need to make a stop.” He clenches the steering wheel tightly, looking…nervous? He keeps his eyes on the road, refusing to even glance in my direction.
“Okay. Why are you being weird?”
He doesn’t respond, just turns on the blinker and takes a right hand turn down River Road. I watch him, curious now, because this is damn right odd. “Are you kidnapping me?” I joke.
He lets out a deep sigh and keeps driving. He pulls into the driveway of a bi-level house with wood shake siding and a red front door. He turns off the car, but still doesn’t speak. I tilt my head as I glance from the house to him.
“Are you okay? Whose house is this?”
He gets out, leaving the keys in the cup holder.
He comes around the car and opens my door.
I look up at him. His mouth is a straight line, his eyes unreadable.
What in the hell is he up to? He puts his hand out to me.
I glance to the house again and then to his hand, seriously confused.
I place my hand in his, allowing him to help me out.
He laces his fingers with mine and starts walking on the stone pathway that leads to the house.
“Maverick,” I whisper. “What’s going on?”
As we reach the brick stairs that will take us to the front door, he stops and turns to me.
I take in his eyes, deep blue with tiny flecks of gold that are more noticeable now as we stand in the bright sun.
The hand holding mine is shaking. I look down at his other hand and that one is too.
Concerned, my brows rise as I watch him.
Before my eyes, Maverick drops to one knee. My breath leaves my lungs in a whoosh. “I hope you meant what you said back there, because I did.”
He pulls a ring from an inside pocket of his cut.
“Kaya, baby, I never thought I would have a family. I never imagined meeting a person that I would want to share my life with, let alone build a life alongside them. I never once thought about buying a house so my kids would have a yard to play in. Those things were for other people, not me.”
Holy shit. I whip my head toward the house again, just now realizing that it’s empty. Did he buy this house? When? How? I turn my attention back to him, with my throat clogging with every emotion that’s built up inside me. A tear trickles down my cheek as he continues.
“When I met you, everything changed. It took you some time to come on board, but I hope you’re here with me now, because I want to marry you, take care of you, and spend every fucking day worshiping you and your beautiful body.”
I throw my hand over my mouth and stifle a laugh, because of course he would add the f word to his proposal.
His voice goes a bit shaky as he finally asks, “Will you marry me?”
I beam at him. “I can’t wait!” More tears escape as I try to contain the drunk, dizzy feeling that takes over my entire body. I feel like I’m floating, completely high on everything Maverick.
He takes my hand and slides the ring on my finger. It’s a little big and not too lavish, but so incredibly beautiful. It has an oblong ruby in the center surrounded by small diamonds.
“This was my grandmother’s ring. It’s one of the only things I kept of hers. Her and my grandfather were married for over fifty years until he died, but we can go pick out something else, if you don’t like it.”
I’m shaking my head before he even finishes. “I love it. It’s perfect. I can’t believe you did this.”
He shrugs.
I throw my arms around his neck and he picks me up.
I wrap my legs around his waist and kiss him.
I fist his hair as our tongues move together, nipping and lapping at each other like hungry animals.
I pull back and take him in. “I love you so much. I feel the same as you. This was never my plan, but I’m so freaking glad plans change. ”
He gives me another kiss before putting me down. “Want to go inside?”