Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
But she was happy to have company, glad her best friend pushed past the barrier she’d erected to the outside world and forced herself in.
At least she felt less alone.
The doorbell to her apartment rang and she glanced at Brooke.
“Expecting anyone?” her friend asked.
Fallon shook her head. “Make them go away,” she muttered.
“As you wish.” Brooke placed her pint on the cocktail table, put the spoon inside, and rose, walking to the door.
Fallon heard muffled voices and then Brooke called out to her. “I think you’re going to want to see this person.”
“I don’t want to see anyone,” she reiterated. Couldn’t a girl wallow in peace, she wondered.
Brooke’s footsteps sounded as she walked back, as did someone with a heavier tread.
“I said no company!” Fallon called out.
“Not even me?” Noah asked.
She jumped in her seat. Brooke immediately walked over and took her ice cream and spoon. Then she picked up her container in the other hand. “I think my job here is done. If he’s not here to patch things up, call me. I’ll tell Remy to shoot his ass,” she said of Fallon’s former detective brother who owned a gun.
“Ouch,” Noah muttered.
Brooke walked away from them and into the kitchen. Fallon listened to the sounds of her friend cleaning up, putting the ice cream in the freezer, before the front door shut behind her with a loud sound.
Noah stared at her and she returned the favor, taking in his mussed hair, the dark circles under his eyes, and the exhaustion prevalent on his face. But he was no less handsome because of it.
At least he hadn’t been any happier than her. “I’m tired, Noah. If you’re here to talk and rehash the impossible, I’m not up to it.”
He shook his head. “I’m not up to it, either. No sooner had you left my parents’ house than Dylan came down with a stomach bug. Twenty-four hours later, Dakota had it. It’s been a hellish forty-eight hours.”
She winced, feeling badly for him. “Are they okay now?”
He nodded. “Back to their bouncy selves. Me? Not so much.”
With a sigh, she gestured toward the sofa. “Why don’t you sit down?” He clearly wasn’t going to leave without saying what he came to say and he looked about to fall asleep where he stood.
He chose a chair across from the couch. “How are you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’d think that was obvious by looking at me. Please just have your say and go. I can’t do this again.” It hurt too much.
“Fine. Every once in a while, Liam has something intelligent to offer to the world.”
Unable not to, she laughed at his comment. “And what brilliance came out of his mouth besides what a catch he is?”
“To begin with, he asked how I felt about you and that was a no-brainer. I love you, too,” he said in a gruff, sexy voice. “And I’ve never said that to a woman I’ve been involved with. Ever.”
His gaze remained locked with hers as he spoke and she wasn’t sure if the words were welcome. Because she had even more to grieve now that she knew he felt the same way.
“Then he asked me how I’d feel if you came to me and said you were pregnant.”
She stilled, sensing a shift in energy in the room. A shift in Noah. “What did you say?” The question came out more a whisper tinged with hope.
“That I’d feel damn lucky if you were carrying my child. He made me think and realize the thought of having a baby is way different than actually having a child with you.”
“Which means?” She leaned in.
“Come here.”
She rose from her seat and stepped closer. When she reached him, he grasped her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap.
She fell willingly, breathing in his familiar scent and wrapping her arms around his neck, hoping she wasn’t in for another fall.
“It means I love you, Fallon, and I’m not letting you go. You want kids? Then I want babies. With you.”
She blinked, stunned by his one-eighty. “Are you going to resent me when—”
“Never. I meant it when I said I’d be damned lucky if you got pregnant with my child.”
“I didn’t mean right away,” she clarified. She had business goals too. But the personal ones? They dictated who she spent the rest of her life with. And she was still unable to believe this change was real. That he was here saying everything she’d needed to hear.
He let out a low chuckle. “Coming on the heels of the massive stomach virus outbreak, I’m glad to hear that.”
“So you really want a bigger family with me?”
“I want you and everything that goes along with you. If I haven’t been clear, I adore you, Fallon Sterling, and I want forever with you.”
Her heart rate picked up speed, happiness filling all the empty spaces inside her. “And I want forever with you. And your precious girls. I know you’re a package deal.”