Chapter 29 #2
“I love you. I’m in love with you. Chloe misses you so much and asks about you every single day.” His voice roughens on the words. “You’re not just my girlfriend to her. You’re family to us.”
Tears are already burning in my eyes, blurring his beautiful face.
“Victoria showed up last Sunday,” he continues. “Told me she’s leaving her husband, that she wants to try again with me.”
My stomach drops. This is it. This is what I was afraid of, the reason I walked away, the worst-case scenario I’ve been torturing myself with for two weeks—
“And I told her no,” Theo says firmly, his gaze never leaving mine. “Not even for a second did I consider it.”
I look at the ground as the tears begin to fall and he steps forward, lifting my chin. “I need you to look at me,” he says, “to hear this. To really hear it once and for all. I didn’t consider it for even a moment because there’s not a particle anywhere inside me that wants that.”
I nod, staring into his eyes through tears.
“Because you’re the one I want, Emma. You’re the only one I want. Will ever want. Victoria being Chloe’s mom doesn’t change that. Nothing changes that.”
A sob escapes me before I can stop it, and he steps closer, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off his body, close enough to see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes.
Tears stream down my face as he says everything I’ve wanted to hear, everything I was too scared to let myself hope for.
Sophie was right. I was projecting, self-sabotaging, letting old wounds convince me that happiness was something that would inevitably be taken away.
“You’re it for me, Emma,” Theo says, his forehead pressing against mine. “You’re it.”
But I have to tell him. Before this goes any further, before he says anything else, before I let myself fall completely into the relief and joy of having him here, he needs to know.
“Wait,” I manage, my voice shaking. “Theo, wait. There’s something I need to tell you.”
His expression shifts immediately to concern, his hands still warm on my face. “What is it?”
I take a breath and take a step back. My hand goes to my stomach, pressing flat against the place where everything changed, where our future is already growing.
“Theo, I’m pregnant.”
Theo
For a second I just stare at her, my brain trying to catch up with what she just said. “What?”
“I’m pregnant,” Emma repeats, and her voice sounds stronger this time, more certain. “I found out Thursday on my way to the board meeting and I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you ever since, but I was so scared because what if you don’t want this? What if it’s too soon? What if—“
Pregnant. Emma’s pregnant with my baby.
Joy explodes in my chest so sudden and overwhelming that I can’t speak for a moment. All those mornings watching her sleep, imagining a future I was afraid to want too badly. Moments where I let myself dream about exactly this, about her belly round with my child, about building a family together.
I cross the last bit of space between us and pull her into my arms, holding her tight against my chest, burying my face in her hair. My Emma.
“You’re having my baby,” I say, and my voice comes out rough with emotion.
“Yes,” she says against my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt. “I’m sorry, I know the timing is terrible, I know we’re not even technically together right now, I know—“
I pull back to look at her, cupping her face in my hands so she has to meet my eyes. She looks terrified, bracing herself for rejection, and the fact that she thought for even a second that I wouldn’t want this makes my chest ache.
“Emma. This is the best news I’ve ever gotten.”
She blinks at me, confusion flickering across her tear-streaked face. “What?”
“You’re having my baby,” I say again, and I can feel the smile spreading across my face, so wide it almost hurts. “We’re having a baby. How is that anything but amazing?”
“But I thought...” Her voice cracks and she has to try again, her green eyes searching mine like she’s looking for the catch.
“You’re not upset? Because I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with me now, or like this makes things more serious than you wanted them to be, or like you’re trapped—“
I cut her off with a kiss. Deep and sure, pouring everything I feel into it, every ounce of love and certainty and desperate relief that she’s here, that she’s mine, that we’re going to have a baby together. When I pull back she looks dazed, her lips parted, her eyes still glistening.
“I’m not upset,” I tell her firmly. “I’m happy, Emma. So fucking happy. This is exactly what I want. You’re exactly what I want. A baby with you is...” I shake my head, searching for words big enough to hold what I’m feeling and coming up short. “It’s everything.”
The relief that washes over her face is so profound it makes my throat tight.
“I love you,” she tells me, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I love you so much. I was so wrong about everything—about stepping back, about Victoria, about needing space. Sophie told me I was being insane and she was right. I can’t believe I almost—“
“You were being thoughtful,” I say gently, wiping away her tears. “And I love that about you. Besides, you’re here now. We’re here. And we’re having a baby.”
She laughs, watery and bright, and the sound of it fills me up. This woman. This incredible, beautiful woman who walked into my life with an armful of lingerie and candy and changed everything.
“Chloe’s going to be a big sister,” she whispers, a smile breaking through her tears.
My own smile gets even wider. I can already see Chloe’s face when we tell her, the way she’s going to scream and jump around and immediately start making plans. She’s always wanted a sibling, and I’ve always felt guilty that she didn’t have one. She’s going to be such a good sister.
“She’s going to lose her mind,” I say, and we both laugh, giddy with the enormity of it all.
I kiss her again, slower this time, savoring the taste of her, the feel of her in my arms, the knowledge that she’s mine and I’m hers and we’re going to build a life together.
She melts into me the way she always does, her arms winding around my neck, her body pressing against mine, and I feel the rightness of it settle into my bones.
Then I pull back, and my hand goes to my jacket pocket, to the small velvet box that’s been burning a hole there since I left the jewelry store.
Suddenly there’s nothing I want more than for her to know how serious I am about our future, how much I wanted this before I even knew about the baby. I pull it out.
Emma’s breath catches when she sees it.
“I bought this today,” I tell her, and my voice is unsteady now.
“Before I knew about the baby. I was going to wait, plan it out properly, pick the perfect moment after I won you back today.” I look down at the box in my hand, then back up at Emma’s face.
“But I got this ring because I’m sure about us. And now seems like the right time.”
I drop to one knee right there and open the box. The antique gold catches the light and Emma’s hand flies to her mouth, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks, and she’s so beautiful in this moment that it takes my breath away. Pregnant with my baby and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“Emma Hayes,” I say, looking up at her with everything I feel written across my face. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you—you and Chloe and this baby and whatever else comes our way. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she says immediately, the word coming out on a sob. “Yes to everything. Yes to all of it.”
I stand and take the ring from the box, my hands steadier than I expected as I slide it onto her finger.
It fits perfectly, like it was made for her, like it was waiting all these years for exactly this moment.
She stares at it for a second, turning her hand to watch the diamond catch the light, and then she looks up at me with so much love in her eyes that I can barely breathe.
She throws her arms around my neck and pulls me down into a kiss that tastes like tears and joy and forever. I wrap my arms around her and hold on tight, this woman who’s going to be my wife, who’s carrying my child, who turned my whole world upside down in the best possible way.
When we finally break apart, both of us breathing hard, I press my forehead against hers and just hold her for a moment.
“I love you,” I tell her, because I can’t say it enough, because I want her to hear it every day for the rest of our lives. “You’re it for me, Emma. The only one. Forever. I’ll love you until the stars fall.”
“Forever’s a long time,” she murmurs, smiling up at me through her tears.
“Good.” I kiss her forehead. “And I’m going to love every second of it.”