“At least let me walk you out. It isn’t safe for such a pretty lady to be on her own.”
“Fine. You can walk me to my jeep.”
Viking drops his arms from my sides but leaves one at my lower back, guiding me toward the exit. Some club bunny shoots me a dirty look.
“I’ve got her from here,” I hear East growling. For three whole minutes Viking had managed to get my mind off my fucked-up situation.
“You good to go with him?” Viking asks and I can sense he’s sincere.
“Yeah. Thanks anyway. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Like hell you will.” East grabs my arm and shoves me out the door and into the parking lot. “The hell you think you’re doing?”
“Does it matter? You obviously have new plans for the holiday.”
“I can’t do this with you right now, Wylla Mae.”
“Can’t what? Tell me that you’re going to be a father and that you gotta do what’s right. I know you, Easton Reed. You’re a decent man. Probably the best I’ll ever have known, but we both know how this ends. You’ll go running back to Lynn like you always have and you’ll make her your Old Lady because that’s who you are.”
“Baby.” His arms come around me and I don’t push him away. I need him to tell me I’m wrong. That he chooses me like I always dreamed he would. “I need time to process this shit. Nothing has changed between us.”
“Everything has changed. She’s having your baby. Where are you sleeping tonight, East?”
“Next to you. I told Lynn the truth. Told her that I’m with you, Wylla Mae.”
I swallow. “You told her about us?” I stare at him, seeing the welts forming on his cheek. “She smacked you.” I stroke his jaw unable to keep from touching him.
“I’m your man. You’re my Lady. Don’t give a fuck what anyone else has to say about it.”
“What if I were pregnant too, East? What if that’s why I came here tonight?”
“You know how I feel about that. Timing would be bad, but I’d be happy.”
I nod. Now isn’t the time for me to hit him with the possibility that I could be pregnant. “So now what?”
“You’re gonna drive us home. And I’m going to spend the rest of the night reminding you how perfect we are together.”
“East…”
“Don’t use this as an excuse to give up on me.”
“I don’t know how to be okay with any of this. I can’t just push the thought of her having your baby aside. I can’t forget it. I saw her. She’s obviously heavily pregnant.”
“I wish she wasn’t. I’d take it back if I could. But I can’t.”
“No, you can’t, but you also can’t expect me to just roll over on this.”
“Shit won’t always be easy, Lady, but I promise you, I’ll never make you fuckin’ question where you stand with me. You’re everything to me. Don’t you ever forget that. But when are you gonna tell Alexa the truth? How long you gonna hide me? You call me a coward but you’re the one that’s scared. I love you, Wylla Mae. You have me. I’m all in with you. Are you with me? You ready to tell your mom the truth?”
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not. Either I’m your man or I’m not. So, what’s it going to be?”
“You’re having a baby with another woman, East…”
“There’s a possibility of it, but it changes nothing. None of that changes the way I feel about you.”
“I can’t share you with her. I hate her and maybe I hate her baby too.”