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On the heels of the shock was relief so great it almost took him to his knees.
Taking off after Lila who was almost at the door, about ready to fling it open and storm out of his life possibly for good, he shoved past the security guard who had been following her, ready to neutralize her if she turned out to be a threat and snatched her up into his arms.
Her pregnancy changed everything.
Keeping his distance to protect her was a moot point now. She was connected to him, carrying his baby. She was in as much danger as any of his teammates’ women, and leaving her alone with no one watching out for her was asking for her to be hurt.
Clutching her to his chest, he spun around in a circle, happier than he’d been in the very long month since he’d broken her heart and walked away.
“Put me down,” Lila ordered, shoving at his shoulders. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? One minute you’re telling me you’d love to have me arrested, and the next, you're hugging me like you’re happy to see me.”
“Oh, honey, I am happy to see you. Happier than you could ever know.”
When he set her on her feet and dropped to his knees in front of her, Lila’s mouth dropped open in shock. He didn’t care that he was making a fool out of himself in front of his team who he had no doubt were watching on the building’s security feed—hell, probably the entire building was watching—all he cared about was Lila and making her understand.
“We’re really having a baby?” he asked in wonder, placing a palm over her flat stomach.
“I brought the pregnancy test and results from my doctor as proof,” she said defensively.
While he couldn’t blame Lila for having zero faith in him, it didn’t stop a shaft of pain from arrowing through his heart. “I don’t need proof, sweetheart. I believe you.”
“It’s your baby,” she added, still defensive. Despite the fact that he had one hand still on her stomach, his other wrapped around her thighs she was stiff as a board, wound tight with stress, anger, and uncertainty.
“I know that, honey. You don’t sleep around, I know that. I remember.”
Her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. He’d known the second he kissed her that the woman was sexually repressed, not inexperienced exactly, but she had no idea how to let go and run with those emotions. Watching her blossom, her confidence grow, no longer fighting against the pleasure he gave her, had been a gift, one he hated he’d had no choice but to squander.
“We can do a DNA test to prove it. If you don’t want to wait we can get an amniocentesis done. I’d rather not risk the baby by doing it but if you want to we can,” Lila continued, obviously still believing that he wouldn’t believe her.
“Again with the proof, sweetheart. How do I convince you that I already believe you?”
Lila tried to pull out of his grip, but he tightened his hold on her. It had been a very long month. Every day he had ached to touch her, hold her, tell her how sorry he was that he’d caused her pain. Now that she was here, he couldn’t let her go.
Although there was every possibility he wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.
Could Lila forgive him?
Could she understand why he’d done what he did?
“I’m sorry, honey, for everything. So very sorry for having to break your sweet, beautiful heart.” Tugging her closer with the arm he still had hooked around her thighs, he curled his other arm around her waist and pressed his face against her stomach.
Pregnant.
Lila was having a baby.
They were having a baby.
He was going to be a father.
This was huge.
Huge, but he was thrilled. Excited.
A baby.
Surf had never really thought about having kids. He was excited to be Uncle Surf to his teammates’ kids, but a kid of his own? Given how he’d grown up, having kids hadn’t even been on his radar.
“We need to talk, but please know I am so sorry for hurting you,” he said as he slowly released her and stood, immediately curling a hand around hers so she couldn’t put distance between them. She wanted to, he could tell she did, and he understood why but these last four weeks had been hell, and now she was here and everything felt right again.
