Deklan

I glance at him through my lashes. He has that ominous stare on his face which means he’s not going to let me distract him. I could probably offer to let him fuck me in the bathroom of the expensive restaurant, and he would still demand an answer first.

“I took a test before we left,” I say quietly.

“A test? What are you doing, learning another language?” He chuckles.

“No, I, um…” I stop and look away for a moment, hoping to catch the server’s eye to refill my water glass or order dessert or something, but he’s nowhere to be found. Deklan is still staring at me intently, impatiently waiting for my answer. “I took a different kind of test. It was a, um, a pregnancy test.”

Deklan’s hand seems to freeze in midair with the wine glass halfway up to his open mouth. He blinks a few times, clears his throat, and sets the wine glass back on the table.

“You’re pregnant?” he says in a nearly inaudible whisper.

I suck my lower lip behind my teeth and nod.

“Like, with a baby?”

“Is there another kind of pregnant I should know about?” I can’t help it—I giggle. “Yes, with a baby.”

“That’s why you haven’t touched your wine.”

“Yeah.”

“Shit!” Deklan’s eyes go wide as he pushes his own wine glass away from himself, nearly toppling it onto the white linen tablecloth. “I shouldn’t be drinking either! Alcohol can do shit to your sperm!”

He looks positively horrified, and I can’t stop my giggles from turning into a loud laugh.

“It’s too late to worry about that, you dork! It’s already done!”

“Oh, yeah.” Deklan blows out a huge sigh of relief and shakes his head to clear it. “Good, because I really need another glass now.”

“Are you mad?” He seems so shocked, I really can’t tell.

“Mad? Jesus, no!” His eyes sparkle as he says the words, and he gives me a goofy grin. “I’m fucking ecstatic!”

“Oh, good!” I smile, and Deklan reaches over the table again to squeeze my hand.

“When?” he asks. “I mean, how far along are you?”

“I’m not sure,” I say. “I think maybe two or three months. With everything else that’s been going on, I haven’t really kept track. I’ll have to go see a doctor to find out.”

“But you’re sure?”

“Positive.” I giggle again. “I can show you the plus sign on the test if you like.”

“Well, shit,” Deklan says. “That trumps my plan.”

“What plan?”

“There was something I wanted to ask you.” He looks me in the eye with that silly grin still on his face.

“What’s that?”

Deklan gets quiet for a moment, and the grin disappears. His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath before he looks at me again.

“You told me I should do this,” Deklan says softly. “You said I should take over the business at Teagan’s request and lead this organization. I never wanted it, though I will do it, but Kera—I can’t do it alone.”

“You won’t be alone,” I say. “Teagan and Brian are behind you one hundred percent.”