Madison’s eyes widened slightly. “You want to raise it with me?” she asked me.
I slipped my arm under her legs, pulling her into my lap and holding her close. No wonder she looked so terrified when she showed up on my doorstep. She had been holding in huge news.
“Of course. It’s my baby too, and you’re mine,” I reminded her. Sure, I was petrified of fatherhood, but if I could run a company, I could figure out how to take care of a baby. I already felt protective over it because it was a mixture of myself and the person that I loved the most in the entire world.
Madison’s body loosened up almost immediately as relief struck her. She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her forehead against my temple.
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that. I was so scared that you wouldn’t want this,” she breathed out.
I hugged her tightly, wanting her to feel safe in my arms. Now, I had two people to look out for, and I wasn’t going to let anyone get to them.
“I didn’t expect this so soon, but I did want this with you,” I admitted. All of this was supposed to happen later down the road, but we could do this. We could raise a baby together. I loved her. I trusted her. I wanted to be with her.
Madison pressed a gentle kiss against my cheek as she smiled. “Me too. You’re going to be a great father,” she told me as she peered at me.
I felt my heart jolt slightly at her words. I didn’t know the first thing about raising a kid, but I wanted to learn so that I could be the best father possible. Madison made me believe that I could do things I thought I couldn’t do. She gave me that drive.
“I hope so. I want to be,” I said. “I know you’re going to be the best mother.”
Madison gave me a nervous smile. “I’m going to try to be. There’s so much that I don’t know,” she replied.
It seemed like we were in the same boat when it came to raising a child. At least this was a learning process for both of us. We wouldn’t be alone, and we were each other’s main source of motivation. We were going to be great parents, and it helped that we were already a great couple.
“We’ll learn together,” I told her. I didn’t care if I had to buy a million baby books or if I had to ask Chris a million questions about fatherhood. I would learn one way or another because I was determined to look out for my family.
Madison gazed at me with a look that I could only describe as adoring. Her eyes flickered down to my lips. I took that cue and turned my head to capture her lips, letting my eyes close as I sank into the feeling. It felt so good to be kissing her again. I missed this. I missed her. I never wanted to be without her for that long. Maybe I was whipped, but at least I was happy. I didn’t want to live a lonely, stale life any longer. I wanted a fulfilling one.
Madison pushed her fingers into my hair, caressing the back of my head as I cupped her face in my hands. She sighed in pleasure, parting her lips so that my tongue could brush against hers. Things started to heat up quickly as our lips and hands moved.
My heart threatened to beat right out of my chest as her hand passed over it. I needed her right now. After going through everything and finding out everything, I knew that she was the one that I wanted to be with. She bled color into my black and white world, and I never wanted such a monochrome view of life ever again.
I needed to man up and finally tell her. I broke away from the kiss so that I could meet her eyes. “I love you,” I said.
Madison smiled at me as she placed her hands over mine.
“I love you, Ty,” she said.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know how badly I wanted to hear those words from her until now. Any weight that I felt on my body suddenly disappeared, and I felt like I was floating.
“I need you,” I told her as I stroked her cheek. I enjoyed just sitting here and talking to her, but I wanted to feel her as close as possible.
Madison nodded before rising to her feet. She took my hand and led me to the bedroom where she stopped in front of the bed and turned to face me.
I grabbed her hips and hoisted her up, letting her legs wrap around me. I crawled onto the bed, guiding her down onto her back as I hovered above her. My lips quickly found hers as her hands trailed up my chest. I pressed my hips down against her, drawing a soft moan from her. I wanted to keep hearing those sweet moans from her.