by Emelia Blair
I take her hand. “I’ll be fine. And don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. Does Max know?”
Tracy shakes her head. “I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want to upset him anymore. He was already so devastated, seeing you in the hospital bed.”
“Well, I’m fine now.” I smile, squeezing her hand.
Tracy, however, doesn’t look so relaxed. She actually looks a little nervous and that’s a new look on her.
I’ve never seen her wear this particular expression on her face.
“There’s something else.”
“There’s more?”
She looks agitated. “Well, something happened. I -I kind of passed out after you went in for surgery and—”
I sit up, immediately. “Are you okay?” My groan of pain follows this stupid action.
Tracy is pushing me down onto the bed. “Duke, no. Don’t move!”
“What’s wrong with you?” I ask, anxiously, holding her hand as if I can cure whatever ails her by just my touch.
Her eyes shimmer with tears and her tone is strangled as she states, “Duke, I’m pregnant.”
I go still. “Pregnant?”
She nods.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yes.”
I stare at her, blankly. “We made a baby?” She’s close enough for me to touch and my hand goes to her flat stomach. “You’re carrying my baby.” My tone is awed.
She bites her lip. “You’re not upset?”
“Upset?” I stare at her. “Why would I be upset? I love you. We made a baby. Isn’t that a good thing?”
She looks worried. “It is. It’s just that neither of us is financially stable at the moment. My catering thing is still taking off, and babies are expensive.”
“What do you mean financially stable?” I give her a blank look. “I have money.”
“Duke, the baby will eat us out of all our savings. I’m planning to take another job and—”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I have to stop her right there, feeling amused and exasperated. “Tracy, honey, I have money. There is no way even ten babies we make will manage to eat us out of anything. I have a twenty five percent share in each of Caleb’s businesses. I work as his chauffeur because he needs somebody he can trust and because I’m lazy. But I have a lot of properties and real estate. We don’t need to work if you don’t want to.”
This shocks her into silence. “What?”
I raise my brows. “Well, yeah. How do you think I can afford that apartment?”
“You’re not poor?”
My eyes widen as something strikes me. “Is that why you’ve been feeding me all this time?”
Looking surprised, she blushes.
At the way she looks, my heart thumps loudly, as I whisper, “I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with you even more.” Then I grin. “I just realized something. Now that I’ve knocked you up, you have to marry me.”
“Don’t get too full of yourself,” she mutters.
I snicker as I say in a singsong voice, “I knocked you up! You have to!”
She smacks me on the hand, her face red. “Shut up, Duke.”
My smile falters. “But before that, once I’m out of here, I would like to ask you for a favor. A request if you would be okay with it?”
Tracy stares at me curiously. “What?”
I entwine my fingers with hers and lift her hand to my mouth to press a kiss against her knuckles, my eyes on hers. “Can I legally adopt Max? I want to give him my last name. Before the baby comes.”
Tracy’s eyes widen and she swallows. “You want to adopt my son?”
“Yes. I want him to be ours, not just yours.”
She sits down on the chair and then buries her face in her arms. “I want to hit you and kiss you at the same time.”
“So, that’s a yes?” I ask, hesitantly.
“Of course it is!” She sniffles, and then standing up, she presses a kiss to my mouth. “To the future proposal as well as this. I don’t know what I did to deserve you Duke, but I love you so much.”
My heart is bursting with joy as I murmur against her lips, “Tell me again after ten babies.”
She laughs into the kiss. “Shut up.”
I wonder if this is what happiness feels like, so pure and joyous.
THE END
Did you like this book? Then you’ll LOVE Resisting the Brit.
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