“I think it’s stunning,” she says, her eyes lighting up. “And I like it better than the other two.”
“Do you see yourself living here?” I finally take the leap and ask her, and she just looks at me. “Do you see yourself living here?” I ask her again.
“With you?” She points at me. “One day on, one day off.” I look at her dressed in black pants and a white button-down long top that shows off her belly just a bit. Her hair is piled on top of her head, and she is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. The fact that I get to hold her hand at night and share a life with her is more than I can thank anyone for.
“No.” I shake my head and my heart speeds so fast I’m afraid of everything that is happening right now. “I mean, you move your stuff in here with mine, and we share the house.”
“I’m a teacher.” She points at herself. “I can’t afford this house.”
“But I can,” I counter. She puts her hands on her hips, and I hold up one hand to stop her. “I know you don’t care what I make.”
“I don’t know what you make,” she answers honestly. “I mean, you play a professional sport. How much can you possibly make?”
“I make enough to afford this house for us.” I try to shy away from what I make a year.
“You want to live together?” she asks, looking around. “Like together together?”
I walk to her. “I want to move into this house,” I say when I get in front of her, and she looks up at me. “I want to come home to you every single night,” I explain. “I want to get up in the morning and have your stuff on the counter with my stuff. I want us to get dressed in the same room and have all of our stuff mingled together.” My hands cup her face. “I want to bring the baby home here and grow together as a family.” She blinks away tears. “I want us to build a home together.” My thumb grabs the tear that escapes her eye. “I want it all, Jillian, and there is no one in the world I want to do it with besides you.” I kiss her lips, feeling her hands going to my hips. “What do you say, Jillian?” I question when I let go of her.
“I say that if someone would have told me six months ago that I would meet this hot-as-balls guy…” I chuckle at the way she calls me hot. “By accident.” She laughs. “Have the best sex of my life.” I smile as I look into her eyes. “And then get pregnant and have a baby with him, I would have told them they were crazy.” I take a deep breath. “But I guess the universe had other plans for me.” I let her speak, not interrupting her because I just laid it all out for her, and it can be a lot to take in. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me contribute for the house.” I glare at her, and she laughs. “And I don’t suppose you’ll let me pay for anything.” She shakes her head. “Are you sure this is really what you want?”
“There are two things I’ve ever been sure about in my life,” I say. “One, that I would play hockey.” I laugh. “I mean, at times I was fed up with it, but I couldn’t deny how much I loved to play it, and the second is that there is no one in this world I want beside me but you.”
“Oh, that’s smooth.” She smiles. “And you said you had no game.”
I laugh, thinking back on the first date we had or the accidental date we had. “Only for you.”
“This is insane,” she says, and I just look at her. “I mean, not as insane as sleeping with a guy on the first date and then having his baby, but this has to be number two.” I want to tell her that we can be totally insane and get married, but one thing at a time.
“So what do you say, Jillian?” My voice goes soft as I get lost in her eyes. “Want to build a home with me?”
She looks down, and for one split second, I’m afraid she’s going to say no. But when her eyes look back up into mine, I find peace. “Fine.”
Chapter 36
Jillian
I look down at my belly, feeling the kick our child is giving me. I look up into his eyes. The only thing I can say is “Fine.” The smile fills his face as he grabs me around my waist and pulls me to him. “Your child is happy with this decision.”
His eyes go wide as he puts me down and gets on his knees in front of my stomach, something that he does every morning and night. He puts his hand on the side of my stomach. “We got a house.” The baby kicks him as if he understands. “And I can’t wait to bring you home and show you all the things.”