Still, I hated myself for not knowing she was pregnant. I should have hauled ass to get her ice-cream, not pissed around with my own impatience while waiting for her to come to her senses and fucking love me.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“You never say that.”
“I probably should say it more. Maybe it might have helped.”
Shay swallowed. “I didn’t tell you.”
I didn’t want to take my hand away. How the hell did something so small affect me so much? “Why?”
“I was just…scared.”
“Of what?” I drew my gaze to hers. Those almond eyes were pure elegance.
“Of losing you. Raising a baby alone. That you’d deploy and we’d never see you again.” She rubbed my hand, pressing me harder against her belly. “I was afraid of telling you because I didn’t understand how I felt.”
“Do you understand it now?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t know if it was the brain surgery, pain meds, or the lingering effects of the anesthesia, but Shay went quiet.
“You didn’t tell me you weren’t permitted to re-enlist,” she whispered.
“You didn’t tell me you were pregnant.”
“Yeah, but I already told you why I was afraid.”
“I wasn’t afraid.” The drugs made it hard to lie. “I didn’t want you to think less of me. I didn’t want me to think less of me. I spent my entire life training to serve in the military. Suddenly I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know what to do. What I had left.” She sat too far away from me, but I couldn’t pull her any closer. “Now I know exactly what I have.”
Shay stilled. “What’s that?”
“You. If you let me in.” I managed a grin. “If you let me stay.”
“That’s what you want?”
“Shay, I’m so goddamned in love with you, if I weren’t tethered to this fucking bed, I’d get on my knee and chase you around until you promised to stay with me forever.”
“Forever is a long time.”
“Forever will never be enough time with you.”
“Zach—”
“I don’t know how to prove my love to you,” I said. “I wouldn’t even know how to begin. But you have to know that you are the reason I’m staying. Not because some doctor rejected me or my head scrambled. I love you, Shay. I want a life with you.”
Her eyes welled with tears—terrified but overjoyed. She couldn’t help but touch her belly. I had a feeling we’d be doing a lot of that.
If she let me.
Christ, I hope she’d let me.
“Say it,” I said. “Don’t fight me anymore. Forget our parents’ marriage. Forget the money. Forget the house. Just look at me.”
Shay shook her head. “I can’t forget those things, Zach. They’re what led me to you.”
“Will they keep you from me?”
Her smile warmed me. “No. Not anymore.”
“You’re sure?”
“More certain than I’ve ever been.”
I nestled into my pillows. Shay wasn’t the only one who avoided commitment. I never heard anyone say it to me. I wondered if it’d be just as sweet as I imagined.
“Zach, I’m in love with you.”
Nope. I was wrong. It was far sweeter. Beautiful. Perfect.
Nothing better in the world, and I was attached to a line of morphine.
She leaned in again for a simple kiss, but there was nothing simple about it, not after speaking those words. Not after nearly dying in her arms. Not after learning our passion created the life tucked secret within her belly.
I thought my life fell apart without my job. Instead, I was given a chance for a happiness I didn’t know if I fucking deserved, but I sure as hell wasn’t blowing.
I brushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her again.
“You and me,” I whispered. “We’re gonna start a family. We’re going to love each other. And we’re going to be good to each other. That’s the way it’ll happen.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. The instant I get out of this bed, I’m proving it to you.”
She smiled. “You just had surgery. You need to rest. Really rest.”
“I’ll have plenty of time while I’m taking care of you and the baby.”
“I’m supposed to be the one reassuring you.”
“Me?” I shrugged. It hurt. I reminded myself not to do that again. “I’m still in one piece. Much better than my last stay in the hospital. This recovery will be easy.”
“Why?”
“Because I have you.” I pulled her close again. “I love you.”