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Her jaw drops, and she gives a short laugh. “Henry!”
“Look. I told you at Damon’s wedding that I’m going to marry you, and I haven’t changed my mind. It’s going to happen—it’s just a matter of when. I’d do it tomorrow. I’m sure of what I want. I’ve been sure for years. But if you want to wait, I understand. If you want to live apart for a while, I understand. I won’t like it, though, and I’m going to ask you to move in with me every day.”
Her lips curve up. Then her smile fades again, and she looks away. “I just feel so bad putting all this on you so early in the relationship. Normally people have months or years getting to know one another, having lots of sex, and being free before they settle down and have kids. I mean, I’d hope there’d still be sex, but I have no idea whether it’s safe when pregnant, and obviously there’s the birth, and I don’t know—”
I pick up my phone and hold up a hand. “Just a sec.”
“—whether… oh…” She stops and frowns.
I type something in. Read a bit. Then I say, “All right, so I Googled whether it’s okay to have sex during pregnancy. It says the baby is protected by the amniotic fluid and the strong muscles of the uterus, and that sexual activity won’t affect the baby as long as you don’t have complications.” I put the phone down. “So that’s one problem solved.”
That makes her laugh. “Hurrah for Google.”
I reach out and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “So neither of us knows anything about pregnancy… So what? It’ll be fun to read about it. We’ll research together. Find out how big the fetus is week by week. We’ll read about morning sickness and shop for maternity clothes and cots and breast pads and fuck knows whatever else you and the baby need. Aroha will help, and I’m sure Saxon’s Catie would love to talk about her experiences. You have people around you, Juliette, you don’t have to do this alone.”
She swallows hard. “There’s one more thing… Cam.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“I don’t know what he’s going to be like. If he goes to Australia, he might actually want nothing to do with the baby. But I have a feeling he’s going to go the other way and make it really difficult for us.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. Look, he’s the baby’s father, so he has every right to be involved. I don’t have to like the man to accept that. He can be involved with the baby as much as you want him to be. We’re grown ups, so we’ll sort something out—visitation rights, involving him in decisions, that kind of thing. Equally, if he’s a pain in the arse, we’ll sort it. We’ll get a lawyer if we have to. It’ll be about what’s best for the baby.”
I give her a firm look. “But where you’re concerned, he has no rights at all. Zero, you hear me? If he comes within three feet of you without prior arrangement, I want to know about it. You’re mine now. And the sooner he realizes that, the better.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Juliette
My lips curve up at his possessive tone. He’s doing his absolute best to be calm and understanding, bless him, but I can see that deep down he’s furious over what happened with Cam today.
“I knew it would annoy you when he called me his girl,” I tease.
“Annoy is too mild a word.”
“Infuriate?”
“That’s more like it.”
I giggle, and his lips curve up.
A seagull flies low in front of the deck, drawing my gaze away, out to sea. It’s such a beautiful day. This house is absolutely stunning. I can’t believe that Henry is asking me to share it with him. I know his privacy and his peace are important to him. Does he understand how me being here, especially once the baby arrives, is going to tear that peace apart? I suppose he does. He’s an intelligent guy. But I do worry that he hasn’t thought it through.
It’s been such a strange morning. I’ve fantasized about this moment, leaving Cam and telling Henry I want to be with him, and in my mind we went straight to bed and made mad passionate love for days. I hadn’t anticipated this quiet, thoughtful discussion. But I’m glad of it. I needed it, even though I didn’t realize it, and I’m so thankful he’s taking it slow.
I look back at him. “There is one thing I want to talk about.”
“Okay.”
“I’m only seven weeks pregnant. First, miscarriage is very common, so we have to be aware of that.”
“Yeah. Hopefully you’ll be fine.”
“But… I want to say… it’s not too late.”
“For…”
“To terminate it.”
