Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Emma’s aunt is waiting outside the police station when we pull up. I don’t waste time, handing Matteo over to her and walking into the police station. When I walk up to the woman sitting at the desk, she has a smile on her face. The smile pisses me off and I have to keep myself from yelling at her. Emma will get out. There’s no question about that, but I don’t think a lawyer would appreciate hearing I yelled at the police’s receptionist.
“Hello, my name is Enzo. I was told one of your officers brought in my fiance.”
The woman’s smile grows, much to my irritation. I keep a cap on it. “Emma, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
She picks up the phone and calls back, and less than a minute later, an officer walks out. “Hello sir, would you follow me? We picked up your fiancee on shoplifting charges.”
I scoff at the idea. Emma has more than enough money. There’s no reason she would shoplift. This has to be a mistake and one that will be cleared up quickly.
The officer doesn’t direct me towards the cells, but to what looks like a meeting room where Emma is sitting in handcuffs. She looks at me guiltily when I enter the room.
“I’ll give you a couple of minutes,” the officer says.
Emma doesn’t look uncomfortable, which is a relief. She doesn’t look upset either. Instead, she looks happy, which confuses me.
“I expect you to tell me about exactly what happened, but not here. They have cameras in here,” I tell her, whispering into her ear so that the nosey police officers who keep glancing over don't hear.
“The only time I’ve gotten taken to a police station before was because a cranky, old shopkeeper thought I was stealing a pregnancy test from her. I wasn’t. I was going to pay for it, I just needed to know if I also needed to pick up prenatal vitamins.”
This isn’t a story I’ve heard before, and even if she probably shouldn’t be telling me it while we’re in a police station, I find myself curious.
“The test was positive, and I got carted off to a police station. I only had one phone number I could call, and that was my father. There should have been someone else I could call, but he didn’t give me his phone number.”
My lips part in question, but Emma silences me with a raise of her eyebrows.
“I can’t reach into my pocket. Can you?”
She stands up from the table and lifts the hip on the side she needs me to grab something from. I’ll be a dead man before I turn down the invitation to touch her ass so I walk over to her side of the table and reach into her pocket to find something long and slender.
“Emma,” I whisper as I pull out the white test with two pink lines.
“Two lines means positive. Trust me, I triple-checked the instructions.”
My eyes dart to hers but quickly fall to her stomach. It doesn’t look any different from yesterday, or a week ago, but knowing that inside of there, my child is forming has me falling to my knees in front of her.
“Aunty has a friend in the police department. I figure we both deserve a redo from the first time I found out I’m pregnant.”
My hands find her stomach, and I lean in and give it a little kiss. “Emma, did you get yourself arrested just so you could tell me?”
She giggles, the melodic tune sounds even sweeter now. “No. Aunt Kennedy has a friend on the police force and she called in a favor. This town is boring, they were all excited to be a part of this.”
“We’re going to have a baby,” I whisper. She nods her head, still giggling.
“The key is in my other pocket if you don’t mind releasing me from these handcuffs. They’re chafing.”
I scramble to do what she asks, still in amazement we’re having another baby. There are going to be ultrasounds and doctors’ appointments. This time, I’ll get to be there for Emma when she goes into labor. Tears fill my eyes. I don’t know the last time I cried, but this woman has not only brought me to my knees but overfilled my soul. “We’re going to have a baby.”
“Yes Enzo, we’re going to have a baby. Matteo is going to be a big brother.”
I kiss the woman who has given me everything and filled my life with love. There isn’t enough privacy in this police station for me to do what I want, so I excitedly pull her out to the applause of the police officers behind us.
“This might be the only time I have to donate to a police department that isn’t a bribe.”