“I’m going to be a father,” I say out loud, testing the words on my tongue.
Me, a father.
I kiss her head again.
Yes, I’m still terrified, but I’m going to be here.
Right where I belong, with my family.
FORTY-FIVE
Shayla
“I DIDN’T know if you’d be angry that I told him about the baby or not,” Faye says, taking a sip of her juice. “He needed to know, but it wasn’t my place, but then Sin got involved and they were all ganging up on me.”
I smile at her as she explains what happened that day.
“I’m not angry you told him, Faye,” I say, wincing slightly when I admit, “I’m kind of glad it wasn’t me who had to tell him. If I was there to see how he reacted, I don’t know if I’d have been able to forgive him.”
“I totally understand,” she says, nodding. “He was being a dick, but I’m so happy the two of you managed to work things out. I love Vinnie, and I want him to be happy, and it was so frustrating to see that what would make him happy was right in front of him, everyone could see it, but he couldn’t. I had to shake some sense into the man.”
“Thank you for talking to him,” I tell her earnestly. “Your and Arrow’s words made him realize he could be a good father, that it’s all about his choices, not his past.”
“I’m so happy for the two of you,” she says, beaming and looking at the restaurant menu. “And now we’ll have another baby in the house. So exciting!”
The waitress asks us what we’d like, so we place our orders.
“Imagine you with a big baby bump,” she says, her hazel eyes amused. “You’re so tiny, you’ll probably fall over.”
I laugh and unconsciously touch my stomach. “I guess we’ll soon find out. For now I just have to deal with the morning sickness. Luckily today it stopped before lunchtime, or I’d be running to the bathroom right now.”
“Morning sickness sucks ass,” she agrees ever so eloquently. “So did you and Vinnie decide where you’ll be living when the baby comes? I know he said he wants to stay in the clubhouse, but I think you’ll both find it’s nice to have your own private retreat when things get hectic.”
“One thing at a time,” I tell her, making her laugh. “He’s just getting used to the baby, so I think I’ll wait and let him bring up the living situation. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to push him, you know? I’m fine with not getting married, to be honest, but yeah I think I’d like a house. Talon gave me the house that I stayed in the other night, he said it’s mine to do with as I please, but I don’t think Vinnie will want to live there.”
“I wish I had a cousin who gave me houses,” Faye says, sighing longingly.
“I know that Vinnie has his own house and land, so I’m not sure why he bought it if he never intends to move into it,” I say, stomach rumbling as I look at the people next to us, who are currently getting served their food.
“All the men have investments,” Faye explains to me. “And stocks, and land. They’re all well set-up. Another reason why so many women want them. Good-looking, badass, and they’re well off.”
“I can see the appeal,” I admit. “I never thought I’d end up with a biker though. Vinnie literally came to my doorstep and just changed everything for me.”
“Yeah, I remember when Sin told me he was bringing his marker home,” she says, laughing. “You should have seen my face. I’ve never seen Vinnie really pay attention to a woman, except once, but he was young and she’s dead, so it doesn’t count.”
My eyes widen at that.
Faye cringes. “Long story, don’t ask. But yeah, I was surprised, and very intrigued. It’s funny, watching the men fall in love, one by one, and seeing what kind of women they end up with. I have to say, they’ve all chosen well. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t like one of their women.”
“Not teach her how to throw knives?”
“Definitely not.”
We share a smile.
Our food arrives, and we stuff our faces like the two hungry, pregnant women we are.
* * *
When I see Vinnie lying in bed, reading a pregnancy book, my heart melts. He’s trying, and that’s all I ask. I think he’ll be a great father, I really do, he just needs to feel more confident about himself and his future parenting skills.
“Interesting book?” I ask, smiling and crawling under the sheets with him.
“Did you know your cervix will stretch to ten centimeters?” he asks, eyes going double their size. “I hope you decide to have some kind of drugs, maybe an epidural?”
I peer over his shoulder at the page he’s reading. “Jesus.”
“I know.”
“I think I should read this book after you. Everyone’s just telling me how amazing everything is going to be, no one mentioned ten centimeters. Although it does explain how the baby gets out. I always thought it sounded like pushing a watermelon out of a tap.”
Vinnie winces and mutters “Ouch” under his breath.
“Tell me about it. I’m going to let future me worry about the pain of the delivery though. I have a lot more time to go before that.”
“True. We have a doctor’s appointment in an hour, so we can ask him any questions we want to know. How was lunch?”