Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
I laugh at that as I throw the towel into what I hope is a laundry basket and not a trash bin. “I disagree.”
“Alex!”
“Elliot,” I say, cutting my gaze back to hers.
“I am not someone to be owned.”
“By someone who has no right, sure. But I am yours, just as you are mine.”
She blinks, stunned, before she gawks at me. “No! I am my own person—”
“Who is mine,” I say, cutting her off. “Mine to protect, mine to provide for, mine to make laugh, mine to exist with, and mine to fucking love.”
Tears gather in her eyes as I drop next to her, lying on my side to look at her profile. When a tear rolls down her cheek, I wipe it away before taking her by her hip and rolling her to her side so she can mirror the way I’m lying. More tears roll down, falling off her nose, and I wipe them away before she whispers, “You can’t love me, Alex.”
I scoff, moving my thumb to catch more tears. “But I do.” She squeezes her eyes shut, and I cup her jaw, stroking her bottom lip. “And I know you feel things for me too, mi sol. It wasn’t just sex, and you know it.”
“It was,” she says softly. “I don’t want to be in a relationship.”
“So you’ve said, but we were together for three months before you pushed me away. I thought of you every day, wanted you, and now that I have you, I’m not letting you go.”
“I lied to you,” she reminds me, her eyes burning into mine. “For six months, I hid this baby from you. Why would you want to be with someone like that?”
“I understand why you did it, Elliot,” I answer hoarsely. “Am I upset about it? Sure. But I forgive you.”
“How?” Her voice is so small, her eyes so sad, and it guts me. “I’ve hurt you.”
“You have,” I agree, pulling her lip down a bit. “But you were honest with me the first time, told me you didn’t want a relationship. And yeah, I should have probably kept my feelings in check, but you’re easy to fall for.” I say it to make her smile, but she doesn’t. I can see the mental war in her eyes, and I wish I could put on some armor and battle for her. “And the second time, I get that you were scared, and I suspect that you probably went to tell me a few different times, but you hesitated. Then time kept moving, and you just didn’t know how to tell me when a day turned to months. I get it. I do.”
“I dialed your number so many times, but something always stopped me. I didn’t want to distract you.”
“I know,” I say softly. “I know because you never told your sisters. If you were trying to hide it from just me, you would have told them.”
“I wanted to tell you first.”
My heart flutters, and I believe her.
“But we can’t be more than just parents to this baby.” Her words sting but don’t do damage because I was ready for them. “I will always feel like you want to be with me because of the baby, and that’s it.”
I grip her by her chin, forcing her eyes on me. “Erase that from your mind,” I demand, my words oozing with authority. “I want to be with you because I love you, Elliot.”
More tears fall, and she slowly shakes her head. “I am not a good person.”
“I disagree,” I whisper, stroking my thumb along her jaw. “I have a plan.”
She’s unmoving as she gazes into my eyes, her chest rising and falling in time with her heart. I can see the fear, the curiosity in her gaze. More than anything, I want to kiss her senseless, roll on top of her, and show her exactly how completely she is mine. I know I can’t, though. I have to explain my plan.
“What?”
“Give me three months.”
Her brows pull together.
“Give me until August first, which is a couple weeks after you have the baby, so I can show you that I can not only get you to fall for me, but show you that I can be your partner and be a great dad to our baby.”
“Alex, I have no doubt that you’ll be a wonderful father. I know you will. It’s me. I’m not who I appear.”
I want to shake her. “Why do you feel that way?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
I believe her words. I can see the emotions swirling in her eyes. “Elliot, do this for me.”
“It isn’t right. I’m too emotional. Of course I want our baby to have their daddy around. I’ll develop feelings because I think it’s what’s best.”
“No, you’ll realize your feelings because it’s what’s right. We are right.”