Not even a minute passes before my phone chimes, and I see that I have a text back.

Never undeserved. I promise. And you’re not an ass, but you do have a nice one. Dinner sounds great. And yes, you can definitely make it up to me. You can do that with dessert. ;)

Shaking my head, I put my phone away as my students start to enter the classroom. I try to spend the rest of the day not stressing out about the impending dinner and discussion but fail miserably. I usually pray for three o’clock, but today, it’s different. Every minute that passes, the apprehension gets even heavier on my heart. It’s only been three days since I’ve seen him, but it feels like it’s been so much longer. Our worlds are about to change, and I have no idea what he’s going to want. Or for that matter, even what I want.

Kale

“WHAT’S THAT look for, Montgomery?” Knox asks. “Not that I’m complaining. You’ve been a moody asshole the past couple of days.”

I look up from my phone and realize that I’m grinning like a fool at Lucy’s text message. It wasn’t anything epic, but it’s been three long-ass days without her, and I was beginning to go a little crazy. Now that I know I’m going to get to see her tonight, my mood has improved. Ignoring him, I type out a quick response before placing my phone in the locker so we can go out to do field exercises.

“It’s nothing, man,” I tell him, and he narrows his eyes. “Seriously, it’s nothing. Just a text from Lucy.”

“How is Lucy? It sucks you two had to miss the wedding. Is she feeling better?” Jace inquires, clearly having no idea about anything that happened while he was away on his honeymoon.

“Yeah, Kale. How is Lucy feeling?” Knox asks, raising an eyebrow, and instantly I know that Charlie’s not the type to keep a secret from her significant other. Not that it was ever a secret, but still. The way he’s grinning at me lets me know that he is aware of just how Lucy is.

I glare at him, not wanting to talk about this until I’ve talked to Lucy. Until I know where her head is.

Jace looks back and forth between us. “What the hell am I missing here? Did something happen while I was gone?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything until it was a little later, but thanks to Wellington’s girlfriend’s big mouth, that cat’s already out of the bag. Lucy’s pregnant.”

“And?” Jace asks before it dawns on him what this means. “Oh, man. It’s yours?”

Nodding, I finish lacing up my boots. When I stand up, Jace slaps me on the shoulder. “I didn’t know you two were like that, but congrats, man. That’s awesome!”

Knox snorts and shakes his head. “So much for you not being next,” he says, reminding me of the warning he and Jace both gave me only a few weeks ago. These two ass clowns have both been bitten by the love bug, and they’ve decided that it’s only natural that I’ll be the next one to settle down. I tried to deny it—I still do—but part of me is starting to think they were right, and that’s one ‘I told you so’ I don’t think I’ll mind getting.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen. We aren’t exactly dating, but we also aren’t seeing other people. I care about Lucy, a lot, and the thought of her carrying my child isn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Sure, it’s unexpected, but I want this. I want her. I want our child. I just have to be careful with my approach. I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure something out.”

A slow smile spreads over Knox’s face, and it’s a look I’m finally getting used to with him. Gone is the brooding asshole I met in Afghanistan. He’s been replaced with a love-struck guy who will do anything for his woman. “God, we’ve all turned into a bunch of fucking pansy romantic assholes. Well, Jace was always that way, but you get the point.”

Jace playfully shoves Knox at the comment. “You’ll pay for that in the ring later. As for you, Kale, I’m happy for you. Even if it happened when you least expected it, if it’s what you want, don’t stop at anything until you get it. Got it?”

Knowing Jace and Lexi’s history, I decide to heed his advice. There’s no way I’m going to let any type of miscommunication or misunderstanding lead to ten years of separation between Lucy and me, especially not with a child involved. I decide then and there that I need to pick up my balls and finally make Lucy realize that I meant what I said in that email. That I’ve had feelings for her all along, and the baby just helped push me into growing some damn balls and finally admitting it.

As we head out, Jace slaps me on the shoulder once more. “Congrats, again, Dad,” he says, and I close my eyes, remembering the last time I heard those words.

A slight burning fills my nose—and my heart—and I have to swallow hard not to tear up. It’s something I haven’t thought about in a very long time, but I never thought I’d hear those words again. Now that I have, I realize I have to do everything in my power to make them count.

Kale

AFTER PACING my living room for the better part of the afternoon, I decide that seven p.m. is way too late for me to see Lucy. I grab the sparkling grape juice out of my refrigerator and head on over, not caring that I’m going to be earlier than she expects. Part of me is actually hoping to catch her off guard, and I don’t want to wait until after dinner for us to have this conversation. I want it over and done with as soon as possible so we can celebrate the newest member of our family. Or what I hope will be our family.

I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself, but my excitement has grown the longer the day has gone on. Knowing that she’s finally going to let me in and be a part of the pregnancy has me feeling happier than I have in a long time. At least, I hope that’s where the discussion is going to lead. Pushing any negative thoughts out of my mind, I get to her place in record time.

I knock on the door impatiently, and when she opens it, she’s a sight for sore eyes. And let me tell you, mine are fucking sore beyond belief. She’s standing there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and I swear, she’s never been more beautiful. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she starts to speak, but I don’t let her. I set the juice on the table by her door and grab her by the waist as I push her back against the wall. Leaning down, my lips capture hers.

At first, she’s hesitant, not moving against me. I continue to kiss her, and my tongue darts out as I coax her lips apart and my hands slip beneath her shirt to rub small circles on her skin. She moans against my touch, and every tortuous second spent apart becomes a distant memory. Her tongue finally connects with mine, and I take in my fill, having missed this, missed her. I don’t know how she’ll respond to the words, so I take my time showing her just how much I’ve been craving her. She might not know realize it, but in her reaction, I can tell she’s doing the same thing, and a sense of relief washes over me from knowing that this time apart hasn’t made her totally withdraw from me.

Even though I don’t want to, I slowly pull away, recognizing that if I keep kissing her we’ll end up naked on the floor instead of talking. Like I told her, she can make it up to me with dessert, but there’s plenty we need to go over first.

“Well, that was certainly an interesting greeting,” she says, sounding breathless and oh so sexy as hell. “You’re also two hours early, Kale. I haven’t even had a chance to shower or start dinner.”

I shrug, feigning indifference. “I told you I missed you. I couldn’t wait another minute to see you. You don’t need a shower, and we can order takeout.” I watch as she bites her lower lip, and my cock springs to life. “Better yet, let’s go out. That way we’ll be safe in public and can get through this conversation without my wanting to rip your clothes off the entire time.”