Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 154728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 619(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Kane’s eyes thinned to slits “Yeah, I’m sure it’s great for plenty of women. And if it’s somethin’ you want, then I’ll hire a doctor, buy out all the hospital equipment they use in labor and delivery and make it happen here.”
He wasn’t joking.
Not even a little.
Although I was tempted to continue baiting him with the home birth thing and stress that my labor experience was just that … mine, I didn’t have the energy.
“I have a hospital organized,” I said sharply. “It’s close, has a top-tier neonatal unit, my OBGYN will be there, and I’ve already toured the facility, finding it more than adequate.”
Kane looked vaguely less tense at the mention of the hospital, though his posture was still rigid, brows still furrowed, arms folded across his chest.
“Your OB, I’ll need to meet them.” Pacing, I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “You need to make an appointment, get the ultrasound thingy. I want to see her.” His eyes grazed my stomach, filling with a warmth he hadn’t looked at me with since his arrival.
It was touching and devastating at the same time.
I fought against the urge to chew on my lip as I battled with emotions that slammed through me with the force of a hurricane. I struggled to grasp on to something familiar, safe.
“You’re making a lot of demands.” I rested my hands on the swell of my stomach.
Kane kept his gaze there. “Yeah, baby, I am.” He carded a hand through his hair. “And expect a fuck of a lot more. I’ve missed out on a lot, and I intend on making up for as much as I can. I intend on taking care of you.” His eyes went from my stomach upward. “Both of you.”
Wasn’t that everything I’d wanted? Everything I’d dreamed of when I first saw those two pink lines?
Maybe.
But a lot had changed since then.
And yes, maybe Kane wasn’t the man I’d thought he was, but he had left me. Even if the logical part of me knew it wasn’t by choice, I still felt that abandonment, that need to guard my heart.
“But you’ll have a parole officer,” I said, being cruel. “I’m assuming you’re not supposed to be out of state.”
His lips pressed into a harsh line as he exhaled loudly. “No parole officer, Avery. Victoria has been working overtime getting dirt on both the judge and the DA who prosecuted me. She found plenty of shit to get me out, conviction overturned, and she’s working on a whole lot more, but all I care about is I’m out.”
A shadow crossed his face, and yet again, I was overcome by the reality of what Kane had endured the past months.
Caged. He’d been caged like an animal. Possibly treated worse than an animal.
Spots danced in my vision as my stomach roiled.
Struggling to maintain my composure, I held his stare. “You’re going to stay. Here.” I wasn’t sure if I was making a statement or asking him a question. “Don’t you have events, interviews or whatever you need to do?”
Kane closed his eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You think there’s anywhere else I’m gonna be but here? With you? Then you really must not know me, Avery.”
There he was again with my name. It felt like a weapon, hurled at me in place of the soft term of endearment.
“I know you.” I took a seat at the breakfast nook, my swollen feet needing a break. “Or I thought I did. But I didn’t know any of this was going to happen. Especially not this.” I pointed to my stomach. “I’d never planned on falling in love, certainly never intended on having a family. There’s too much to lose. But then you…” I drew in a deep breath. “We were a whirlwind. Too good to be true. And when it happened, when Brax told me what he told me, I thought there it was, the other shoe dropping.”
“And you gave up. And ran,” Kane said flatly.
I rubbed my eyes, struggling between guilt, shame and defensiveness. Did I deserve all of his contempt? Maybe.
“I guess I thought you didn’t want me—us” I corrected, touching my stomach.
Kane’s eyes softened at the corners slightly, but his posture remained rigid, his jaw hard. “I have wanted you from the moment I saw you. You’ve been mine since I laid eyes on you, and you will be mine long after I become dust.” His intense gaze zeroed in on my belly. The fluttering I felt there was not just in my mind but from the limbs of a child who somehow felt her father’s gaze.
“Both of you,” he whispered roughly.
My vision wavered at his words, and I fought against the tears that threatened to fall. Kane was staring at me in a way that made me ache for him, that gave the impression he was going to cross the void between us.