“I love you, too.” I press my lips to his cheek before he has a chance to get away.

While he’s getting my clothes, I apply some lotion and brush my teeth twice. Crackers and ginger ale may work wonders for my stomach, but they didn’t leave the best taste in my mouth.

“Will these work?” Blake asks, holding up an old pair of jean cutoffs and an off-the-shoulder white T-shirt.

I wrinkle my nose at him. “Weren’t there any athletic shorts in there? I know I used to have some.”

He grins walking toward me. In one quick motion, he undoes the towel leaving me naked in front of the mirror. “Have you looked at yourself lately?” He brushes my hair over my shoulder, kissing the back of my neck. “You’ve always been beautiful, but there’s something even more beautiful about you now that you’re carrying my baby. You’re glowing.”

His hands settle on my hips, sliding up my sides then under my breasts. They’re sore, but he’s careful with his touches.

“Look at yourself,” he whispers against my neck. It’s something I’ve never done when I’m aroused, and I’m definitely there. I blame that on my hormones, too. He can flip me on like a switch.

I lift my lids, adjusting to the light. Blake is right; my stomach is still toned, but my breasts have filled out giving my body more shape. My skin glows. My lips are parted. My eyes glossed over.

“Blake,” I moan, wrapping my arm around the back of his neck while his lips caress my shoulders.

“Tell me what you want.”

“You. I just want you. I’ve always wanted you.”

He pulls my arm from his neck and spins me around in his arms. Tears fill my eyes as I look into his. “You have me … all of me. Even when I’m not with you, I’m with you.”

He uses his strength to set me on the counter. I stare in his eyes, believing every single word he says. For months, I believed what he said because I wanted to. Now, every word sinks into my heart, my mind, my soul because he’s proven there’s reason to believe. Nothing seems forced anymore.

Freeing himself from his jeans, he easily enters me. I’ve been ready for him since the second he made me look at myself in the mirror.

I dig my fingers in his back as he kisses me deeply, burying himself deep inside me over and over.

“Blake,” I breathe, wrapping my legs around his waist. My body shakes as the tension builds.

“Do you know when I knew I loved you?” he asks, touching his forehead to mine.

I bite down on my lower lip, so close to orgasm I almost can’t take it anymore.

“The night I took you to the studio … that was the only way I knew to show you without saying it.”

He thrusts a few more times, and I’m a goner, pulsing around him repeatedly. He follows, burying his face in my neck to muffle his screams.

I hold him close while we both climb down from the high. Sex has become a truth serum.

“When I walked away from you on Christmas, it just about killed me.”

Holding his face in my hands, I say, “But it made us stronger. We’ve lived through the worst, and neither one of us wants to go back to that.”

“You’re mine. No one else is ever going to be with you like this again. Just me.”

“I’m yours.”

His lips press to mine one more time before he lowers me to the ground, using the towel to clean me up. “There’s nothing I’d rather do than stay locked in this bathroom with you for the rest of the day making up for all my wrongs, but you need to go check on my baby.”

“I’m going to be honest … I never thought you’d embrace this. This is going to ground you, you know that?”

“I’ve been waiting for something to ground me for years. I’m happy to be grounded with you.” He smiles, throwing me my sports bra.

I laugh for the first time since the situation became real. “Your seed has officially been planted.”

“Turn that into a Hallmark card. Daddies across the country will love your little analogy. Maybe add a tree to the front.”

“I think it’s time for you to give me some space so I can get to the doctor on time. You’re distracting me,” I say, turning out my lower lip.

He sticks out his lower lip mockingly. He probably looks cuter than I do. “I’ll go back down and talk to your mom. I think she’s just starting to not hate me.”

I open my mouth to object, but he’s gone before I get a chance.

After pulling on the clothes he gave me, I tie my hair up in a loose knot and put just enough makeup on to mask the dark circles under my eyes. There’s not much to the outfit, but it’s acceptable around here this time of year.

I slip on a pair of brown leather flip-flops and make my way downstairs a little before one. My mom is stirring something on the stove while Blake flips through one of her old recipe books. “You two are really freaking me out,” I admit without thinking.

“What?” Blake says without looking over. “You know I like to cook.”

My mom chuckles. “That’s good because it’s never been one of her strong points. I tried.”

“I’m glad the two of you have made an alliance at my expense, but I need to leave for the doctor, or I’m going to be late.”

Mom stops what she’s doing, pulling the pot off the burner. “Am I driving or are you?”

Blake doesn’t say anything or look back, but the pages stop turning. I can tell by his eyes he’s staring, at one point, not actually reading.

“Actually, Mom, I was hoping Blake and I could go together. It’s just—”

She holds her hand up to stop me. “I get it. See if you can get me a picture, okay?”

I shake my head, watching Blake stand from the table with an easy smile. “I don’t think there’s much to see at this point, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Blake pulls his keys from his pocket. “We can take Frank.”

Great. I’m going to pull up at the doctor in an old Trans Am wearing a pair of cut-offs. Better yet, my boyfriend looks like he hasn’t touched a comb or a razor in a few days—he definitely doesn’t look like he’s from here. He’s still the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, just not what I would have dreamed of a few years ago.

“See you in a little while, Mom. I think I might take Blake out to Grandpa’s farm after so I can show him my spot.”

“I’ll have something ready for dinner when you get home,” she replies, waving as we head out the door.

He opens the passenger door for me before going around to his side. The engine roars as I give him directions to the one and only clinic in town, my legs shaking uncontrollably as we get closer.

“Hey,” he says, placing his hand over my knee. “It’s going to be okay. Besides, I’m here now, and there’s nothing we can’t get through together.”

“I know. I hate going to the doctor in general.”

We pull into the parking lot with only a few minutes to spare. “I don’t want this to come off wrong,” he says. “But, do you have insurance? I can help out if you don’t.”

“Yeah, I got it through Stanley a few months ago.”

He cringes but drops it as we make our way inside. My fingernails tap on the reception desk as I wait for her to get off the phone. “Can I help you?” she asks, staring at my hands.

“Lila Fields for Dr. Phelps.”

“Oh, yes, I’m going to need you to fill out a couple forms since it’s been a while.” She hands me a clipboard and a pen. “Take a seat and bring it back when it’s complete.”

I take a seat, filling out as much as I can. It’s the standard health history and insurance information they get every time I come. After handing it back to her, I sit back down next to Blake, resting my head on his shoulder.

“You feeling okay?” he asks.

“I hate waiting.”

His knees bounce up and down. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him this nervous. We’re quite the pair. “How did you know you were pregnant?”

“Umm, I took a test.”

“No, I mean, how did you know that you might be pregnant?”

I think back to the couple of days before I finally bought the test on the way into work. My cycle had been irregular since I got the shot so there was nothing out of the usual there. I felt queasy for two or three straight mornings but had chalked it up as a case of the flu. Then, my breasts started to hurt just from putting my bra on. When the exhaustion hit, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. “When you know your body, you can just tell. The test was just confirmation of what I already knew deep inside.”