Hold Me Close (Bridgewater County 4)

CHAPTER TWELVE

MATT

I usually had something to say, always a witty comeback of some kind. But Rachel? Yeah, she shut me up. Not only did I have no words, but my brain wasn’t functioning. She was pregnant.

Holy fuck. She was having our baby.

I was going to be a father.

And so I just stared at her, mouth open, eyes wide, heart beating frantically and oddly enough, my dick was as hard as a rock.

I felt very virile, very manly. Like a fucking caveman. My little swimmers were strong and they’d gotten our girl knocked up. I glanced to Ethan and his face had a similar expression to mine. Yeah, it could’ve been his mighty sperm, but I didn’t care.

Our woman was having our baby.

“How long have you known?” Ethan asked, stroking a knuckle over her cheek.

She looked down, saw my hand on her belly. It was still flat and yet I imagined it growing round soon enough.

“That’s why you did all this,” he added, his voice softer. “You knew and didn’t want to keep Matt from his dream job.”

I stepped back then, yanking my hand away as if the baby just zapped me. “Is this true?” I asked. Shit. She had broken up with us so I could go after what I wanted, unimpeded. She’d known she was pregnant and was willing to go it alone for my happiness. I ran my hand over my hair.

She gave a slight nod.

“I love you.” The words fell out of my mouth and I was just as stunned as Rachel looked. Not stunned at the feeling, because it was true, but because I hadn’t said it before now. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe my brain and my heart would have been in sync and I would have told the Giants no before I even got on that damn plane.

Ethan smiled. “We haven’t told you that, have we?”

Rachel looked between the two of us, clearly surprised. “No.”

“Maybe that’s the problem. We made it clear you belonged to us, that we wanted a baby with you, even told you we wanted forever, but we never told you why.”

“Oh,” she whispered.

“I think it was love at first sight.”

A laugh escaped her lips and I had to grin.

“Yeah, I know. It’s crazy. Me, saying something as romantic as that.” I stepped forward, hooked my hand about her waist and pulled her to me. Felt every soft curve, heard the gasp that escaped, breathed in her sweet scent.

“It’s true. You might be Emmy’s sister and our office manager, but you were ours before we even knew your name,” Ethan admitted. “And the baby? I’m thrilled.”

He grinned then in a blinding sort of way and I knew that feeling. I felt it too. A smile, though, wasn’t enough to show her how we felt about her, about the baby she was making. The family she was creating inside of her.

“I love you, Rachel Andrews,” Ethan said. His smile had slipped and he looked at her with a sweet seriousness. With reverence.

“Do you believe us, baby?” I asked. “Do you believe me when I say you’re what I want? This baby is everything.”

She nodded. “I…I love you, too.”

She was like a boxer hitting me with a one-two punch combination. A baby and the three words I hadn’t realized I’d longed to hear.

“It’s time we showed you how much we love you, don’t you think?” Ethan asked.

Rachel looked at him, arched a brow. “Oh, how’s that?”

He bent at the waist, picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “Ethan!” she squealed as he carried her to her bedroom.