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“Yeah, otherwise I guess I’m okay? Things changed really quickly.” She rubs her arms. “But I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m supposed to go to a doctor’s appointment, like a check up for the baby? And I wanted to ask if you maybe wanted to come with me?”
“There’s nothing I want more,” I say. “Seriously. Call me any time of the day or night. No matter what you need, even if it’s just a hug or to have your fucking pillows fluffed. Call me, Princess. I will come running.”
“Thank you.”
I reach into my pocket and draw out the black box I’ve been carrying with me all day. “This is for you,” I say.
Her eyes widen. “Carter?”
“Open it.”
She takes it from me and opens it, then gasps. Inside the box, nestled on a black velvet cushion is her mother’s silver charm bracelet. It’s still got the key charm, but I’ve added another one to it. A rose.
“But I thought you needed it,” she whispers, and stares at the bracelet. She traces it with her fingertip. “The rose is so beautiful.”
“I’m going to buy you a charm for every event in our lives,” I say.
Hannah’s bottom lip trembles. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“But Carter, you said you?—”
“I need you, Hannah. You are the only luck I need. The only calm I need. The only excitement. You and our baby.” The truth is, I need the bracelet, but it’s been bugging me that it was precious to her and I kept it. I want her to have it, I want her to know that I will suffer through anything to make her happy.
I remove the bracelet from the box, and she holds out her wrist. I place it on her, and she sighs, smiling at it, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. And then she hugs me. I kiss the top of her head, my hands wandering down her back, stroking every bit of skin I can get at.
“When do you get off work?” I ask.
“In a couple of minutes,” she says. “I’m just going to clean up here, move the tables back and then?—”
I start moving the tables back from the corners before she can say anything.
“Carter, I’ve got it, don’t worry.”
“You’re pregnant,” I murmur. “You are not moving shit.”
She purses her lips, but she’s wearing a small smile. “Thank you.”
I don’t think she gets it yet, and I don’t blame her. She is mine. She is so fucking mine, and I am going to care for her every need from now on. I finish up under her direction, and then I slip my hand into the small of her back and walk her back to the counter at the front. She collects her purse and says goodbye to Irma, who is reading one of the Game of Thrones books.
Before we leave, I lean in and make eye contact with Irma.
She stiffens.
“I hope your favorite character dies,” I say.
And then I guide a shocked Hannah out of the library. She’s laughing by the time I feed her into my SUV and start the engine.
Forty-Seven
HANNAH
The ride to the ranch is comfortable and quiet. Savage switches on the radio and listens to me croon to the music, smiling as we take the dirt road. It helps me not think too much about how strange things have gone.
I didn’t expect to ever get pregnant, let alone get pregnant with Carter’s baby, or when I was on the brink of taking a big step and leaving town.
The more I’m in Savage’s presence, the less stressed I feel. Before, I felt this weird tension with him, but now it’s good nerves and warmth.
