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“Come with me,” he said before clearing his throat.
They walked the short distance in silence, bracing themselves against the cold. She looped her arm through his and gripped his elbow. He enjoyed the closeness even if it was so cold he couldn’t even feel the heat of her body against him. When he stopped in front of the hotel, she looked up at him, a grin spreading across her face.
“Are we staying here?” she asked.
Looking around as they stepped into the lobby, he nodded in satisfaction and gave her a smug smile. “Yes. Only the best for the Broadway star.”
Even as she rolled her eyes, he could tell she enjoyed that title. “Hungry?”
“Very,” she answered, raising an eyebrow.
“I meant for food. Knowing you, you didn’t eat much before the show. The baby wants to eat.”
“Your baby,” she said quietly, stopping him from walking.
His heart skipped a beat. “What?”
Grinning like a crazy person, she nodded her head several times before pulling out her phone and handing it to him. “Look. This was in the patient portal this afternoon.”
He nearly snatched the phone out of her hands. He read the screen once, twice, four times before handing the phone back. He’d memorized the important part. He was not excluded as the father. He was going to be a father. The tightness in his chest made it hard to breathe.
“The baby is mine?”
Her eyes shined with tears as she nodded. She didn’t need to speak. The happiness on her face said all he needed to know. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, causing her to drop her bag on the floor. The handful of people lounging in the lobby at that late hour glanced up at the sound, but he didn’t care. The only thing he cared about was getting his hands on the future mother of his child; the woman he loved.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked once they finally pulled apart.
“I wanted to surprise you,” she said with a small laugh. “I guess we both had the same idea.”
“Hey, you two. Get a room,” Rayelle teased as she approached from the restaurant. “We have a table just inside, but it didn’t look like you two would ever come in.”
“Sorry,” Samantha said sheepishly. “We were on the way, but got distracted.”
“I wasn’t really worried about it. You were absolutely amazing! I wanted to cry the whole time you were up there. I’m so proud of you. And also, can you get us more tickets? I want to see this all the time,” Rayelle said, finishing off by shoving Bryce out of the way and hugging her.
He would have thought he was the one with the pregnancy hormones the way everything seemed to be making him emotional. Watching Samantha and Rayelle made something click within him. This was right. This was the way things were meant to be. Everything that had happened with his mom and with his brother made him hesitate to get into a serious relationship. Sure, he’d dated, but nothing serious. He told himself it was because he hadn’t found the right one, but deep down he hadn’t been looking for the right one. Fortunately, the right one seemed to have fallen into his lap.
“Bryce?”
Jolting back into the present, he found Samantha looking at him expectantly. “Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you were ready to go to the table. Are you okay?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah, sorry. Let’s eat. This was part of the surprise, but I got a little distracted,” he said with a content smile. “And no, that wasn’t a complaint.”
Bryce watched as Samantha interacted with his friends, and was able to enjoy himself since he was no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop. He would have stuck around regardless, but it would have been hell on Samantha if she found out she was carrying Brandon’s child. He couldn’t even imagine. Fortunately, they didn’t have to figure out how to navigate that situation.
They didn’t stay at dinner for long. Everyone was tired, so they ordered dessert to go and headed up to the room. Once they got there, Samantha nearly knocked the wind out of Bryce with the force of her hug. Stumbling a few steps back, he held her tight as he righted himself.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“Just because. I cried so hard when I saw those results. I had already decided I would go through with the pregnancy regardless, but I was so afraid I’d have to do it on my own…” she said before trailing off.
He forced himself to let it go even though he wanted to demand she explain herself. There was nothing but honesty in his words when he told her he would be there no matter what the results showed. He chose his response carefully.
“You wouldn’t have had to do anything alone. You’ll never have to do anything alone again if I have a say in it.”
Her gasp was the only sound in the room. He held her in his arms as he waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. She didn’t make another sound and she didn’t move to pull away, even though he felt her go stiff in his arms.
