Page 48 of Bachelor 1: The Grumpy Mountain Man

The baby shifts again under my palm, another kick, like it’s agreeing with her.

Nugget immediately sits up straighter, like he felt it too.

Nova watches me watch the belly, her expression softening into something that makes my chest ache.

“You’re going to be a good dad,” she says.

I swallow.

“I’m going to try,” I say, because trying is the only promise I trust.

Nova’s eyes shine. “You already are.”

I pull her closer and hold her like she’s the axis of my life.

Because she is.

“I still can’t believe you bought me at an auction,” I murmur into her hair.

Nova laughs against my chest. “Best impulse purchase I ever made.”

“I wasn’t an impulse.”

“You were,” she says brightly. “I saw you and my brain went blank.”

“That’s concerning.”

“It’s romantic,” she corrects.

I huff a laugh, low.

“You were a bargain,” she adds.

I lift a brow. “Excuse me.”

“Four hundred dollars,” she says, smug as hell. “For all this.”

She gestures down my body like she’s appraising me.

I bite back a smile. “I’m priceless.”

Nova’s grin turns soft “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

THE END