Page 59 of Flawless

I allowed myself to finally let it sink in. “I’m not gonna let her shut me out,” I said, grabbing my keys, wallet and cell phone. “She can be pissed at me. She can refuse to love me. But there’s no way in hell she’s gonna prevent me from being in my kid’s life.”

“Cam,” she said, grabbing my arm before I could make it to the door. “It was never her intent to shut you out. She knows you’ll be a great dad. She just didn’t know how you’d react. She needed time to process her feelings about it, and figure out how to tell you, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well she’s had plenty of time. Now we’re gonna have this out, whether she’s ready or not.”

When it was just the two of us, I respected her right to space, but now that she was carrying my baby, all bets were off.

“Just go easy on her,” Eden warned. “Stress is the worst thing for mamas in their first trimester, when risk of miscarriage is the highest.”

Miscarriage.

That word stopped me in my tracks.

I’d just learned about this baby five minutes ago and was already in love.

“I’ll be cool, I promise.”

I’d flown to Nashville and rented a premium pick-up truck at the airport. As I navigated the late-night traffic, I thought of calling or texting Rylee before showing up on her doorstep unannounced and uninvited. But given how determined she’d been to keep me in the dark about our baby, I suspected the element of surprise might work in my favour.

I could barely breathe as I knocked softly on her door, not wanting to scare her.

A shadow passed across the peephole and I knew she was there, probably trying to decide whether to let me in.

“Rylee, please. We need to talk.”

Another minute passed before she finally conceded and the door opened slowly. “What are you doing here?”

“I think you know.”

My gaze drifted over her slowly, because damn, it had been too long.

She was wearing a thin white tank top, without a bra, and blue cropped leggings that fit her like a second skin. I was salivating.

“Come in,” she said, taking a step back to let me enter, before closing the door behind me. “Maybe you’d better tell me.”

“I know, Rylee.” I let those words sink in before I asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed heavily, running a hand through her tousled waves before she said, “I was going to, I just needed a little more time. I should have known your sister couldn’t keep this to herself for long.”

Feeling compelled to get Eden off the hook, I said, “She doesn’t want you to go through this alone, and neither do I. You’ve gone through too much alone.” I took a step closer, praying she’d allow me to provide some comfort. “And you don’t have to do that anymore. I’m here for you, for our baby, and⁠—”

She flashed her palm to silence me. “I appreciate that, but this is a lot, Cam. I just need some time.”

I could give her time. We had months to figure out how we would co-parent before our baby arrived.

“Take all the time you need. I just wanted you to know, whatever you need, all you have to do is ask.”

She looked up at me, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re not mad at me?”

This girl had a million ways to break my heart.

“Sweetheart, why would I be mad at you?”

“I wasn’t supposed to get pregnant.” She started wringing her hands and pacing. “You have to know, this wasn’t intentional. I didn’t even think I was being careless. Sure, I forgot to take a few pills, but I took them the next day and I thought⁠—”

“It’s okay.” I smiled to stop her rambling. “Ry, this baby is a blessing. I want this.”

I want you.