Down Fall (Fallen Duet 2)

“I’ll never let you go,” he said.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

* * *

LOLA

“You sure about this, Lola-Girl?” Sal asked, for what felt like the thousandth time. “I know you’re pregnant, but it doesn’t mean you have to move in with him. And—”

“Sal.” I placed my hand on his arm and smiled gently. “I’m sure. I’m surer than anything.”

He rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. “Well, just know that if he hurts you, he’ll have me to answer to.”

“And me!” Jan shouted from the other side of the room. She was helping me pack away the little knickknacks I’d collected over the last few months. “I can be a badass bitch when I wanna be.”

“We know,” both Sal and I told her at the same time.

I planted my hands on my hips, the tips of my fingers touching the bottom of my growing bump as I looked around the apartment. It had never felt like a place where I’d settle forever, but it had done its purpose.

“So, this is it then?” Jan said, coming to stand next to me.

I nodded, nerves settling in my stomach. “Yeah. I’m staying at Brody’s place tonight—”

Hands wrapped around my waist from behind, and I stared down at the long fingers that could only be Brody’s. He spread his fingers over my bump and pressed his chest against my back.

“It’s not my place,” his deep voice said in my ear. “It’s our place.”

I tilted my head back, looking at him upside down. “That sounds so weird.”

His lips lifted at the corner, and he planted a kiss on the end of my nose. “You’ll get used to it.”

He was right, we would get used to it, but it would take time. In the space of six months, I’d gone from having my life turned upside down, to being with the man I loved way too much to be considered normal. I’d deferred my second year of college, just until I’d had our baby, but then I’d be right back to it, gaining the career Cade had shown me I wanted.

A throat cleared behind us, and we both looked over at Sal. “I gotta get back to the diner and make some money considering it’ll be closed for the afternoon on Thursday.”

“What?” I frowned at him. Jord, Ryan, and Kyle had come inside and filled the space with their huge bodies. “Why are you closing the diner?”

“Dammit, Sal!” Jan threw her hands up in the air, her red hair flipping back and forth as she shook her head. “You’ve got a big mouth.”

He widened his eyes at her and pointed at his chest. “Me? I have a big mouth.” He stepped toward her. “Jan, you have the biggest mouth I’ve—”

“You don’t complain about my big mouth any other time, Sal.” She pursed her lips and raised her brows, waiting for him to say something back, and all the while, all five of us stared at them like they were a sitcom in the making. “Now you’ve ruined the surprise.”

“Surprise?” I asked, still not understanding what they were talking about.

“Yes!” Jan shouted, turning her wrath onto me. “Your baby shower, dammit!”

“My baby shower?”

I asked, my voice a mere whisper. “You’re throwing me a baby shower?”

“Ugh!” Jan grabbed her purse and flung it over her shoulder. “No one knows how to keep a secret around here. You men can help Lola with all her things. I’m going home to google diaper trees for the centerpiece.”

I blinked as she walked out with Sal on her heels. “You do realize that you were the one to spill that secret, huh?” he said to her, closing the door behind them.

“What the heck is a diaper tree?” I asked to no one in particular, not expecting an answer.