“I parked around the back.” I took her hand, and she didn’t fight me.
Pressing the button, I unlocked the car then held the door for her to climb in. She did so, muttering under her breath.
I went to the driver’s side, climbed in, and started the ignition.
She gave me directions to her doctor’s, but I didn’t need them. I’d gotten a thorough background check done on her while she’d been working. I might not had been back in the States, but I still had men at my fingertips, willing to do whatever I needed.
The doctor’s surgery was full. I struggled to find a parking space. Ashley kept saying she’d jump out of the car, but I found a spot, and then once I was parked, I followed her into the surgery. She booked herself in, and we took a seat.
“You’re not coming in with me,” she said.
“I am. I need to make sure you’re okay.”
I wasn’t going to be left alone. I’d fucked up once, and Ashley needed to understand I wasn’t going anymore.
People coughed. Some had one leg crossed over the other. Many people were on their cell phones. Others were reading a magazine. The crinkling of the paper offered a distraction.
Ashley’s name flashed above the screen.
As much as she hated me right now, she wouldn’t cause a scene, and getting me out of the surgery would require a scene. One I was more than happy to partake in to get what I wanted.
The female doctor was waiting, and the moment we sat down, she asked what seemed to be the problem today.
I waited.
Ashley kept offering me glances.
“I … er … I took a couple of tests last night, and I wanted to see if they were accurate.”
Tests?
“Pregnancy tests?” the doctor asked.
“Yes.”
Everything fucking faded.
I looked at Ashley, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
Was that where she’d disappeared to? A pharmacy? I only snuck into her apartment, I didn’t snoop.
The appointment was a blur. Ashley talked and the doctor took some blood, promising to have the results back very soon.
I was a little dazed. I shook the doctor’s hand on the way out.
Neither of us spoke as I got into the car.
Pregnant. It wasn’t like I’d attempted to be safe. Every chance I got, I fucked her pussy raw. There was nothing between us, and now there was a chance she could be pregnant.
“Say something,” she said.
“Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“I’d just found out myself, and I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind.” Her hands shook, and I watched as she clenched them into fists. “It … surprised me.”
“Do you want to get rid of it?” I asked.
“What? No, of course not.”
“Some women do.”
“I don’t. Okay. I … I’m not sure how I feel right now, but it could be a couple of false positives. I’m sure it has happened before.” She shrugged her shoulder. “Can you take me home, please? I need some space.”
“I can’t give you space.”
“Earl, don’t do this.”
“I just found out that you could be pregnant.”
“And you think I wasn’t freaking out? I found out before you turned up back in my life. I got to see the stick change, believing my baby’s daddy wanted nothing to do with me.”
“You should have told me last night. You weren’t even going to tell today.”
Ashley groaned. “You’re right. I didn’t know when I was going to tell you, or if I was even going to. The way you dumped me back in Crude Hill, you hurt me, Earl. I … damn it, I was fucking falling in love with you, and you just threw me away because you were done with me, and it hurt. I struggled and I couldn’t be back in that place. So I left. I’m trying to make a life here, but I can’t stop this feeling. I love you and you hurt me, and it’s not going away. Now you’re back and I might be pregnant and everything is all so confusing. So please, don’t look at me as if you’re accusing me of something because right now, I will fucking flip out. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just surviving.”
She sounded like she was falling apart, and I understood her so much. I knew what she was going through.
Sinking my fingers into her hair, I pulled her close and locked my lips against hers, kissing her.
It had been too long since I’d kissed her.
As I slid my tongue across her lips, she opened up for me, and I plunged inside.
She moaned my name. Her hand came to my cheek, and I knew she felt it too. She loved me. She fucking loved me. I didn’t deserve her love. I wasn’t a good man. I relished in others’ pain, but hearing her say the words, now that was a sweet victory. One I couldn’t deny loving.
Ashley had no idea how fucking obsessed I was with her. The lengths I would go to ensure her safety.
She was my soul mate. The other half of me.
The age gap could go and get fucked.
This woman was mine.
Ashley put her hands on my shoulders. “No,” she said. “We have to be sensible. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I don’t care, Ashley. Pregnant or not, you will be soon. I’m not letting you go.”
“Until when, Earl? When you get bored? When you decide?”
“Never.” I stroked my thumb across her cheek. “You need to understand, I’m not going anywhere because this is the only place I want to be.” There was nothing anywhere else.
Ashley was my family. My future. My path.
Wherever she went, I would follow.
Chapter Twenty
Ashley
The doctor confirmed the news within a few hours.
I was pregnant with Earl Valentine’s baby. We both sat in my apartment, and neither of us had spoken. I’d put the call on speakerphone.
There was so much to be said, and yet, neither of us seemed to be able to get a word out.
After pushing out my chair, I went to the kettle and flicked it back on. Was I even allowed tea?
This all seemed so out of place.
“Marry me,” Earl said, taking me by surprise.
I whirled around and saw he stood there, hands clenched at his sides.
“You don’t need to propose to me.”
“Ashley, you need to understand, this is not me being forced into any kind of situation. I want to marry you. It’s why I came back.”
“If you were going to propose to me, you would have done it already,” I said. I couldn’t stop thinking that the only reason he was proposing to me was for the baby. Deep down, I should have been happy he’d be willing to take responsibility, but I wasn’t. When I married, I wanted it to be with someone who loved me. Who couldn’t imagine another day without me.
Not with someone who felt obligated.
“I know I’ve fucked up big time with you. I can’t take a lot of the shit back that I’ve done, and I’m sorry. So fucking sorry for everything. You’re pregnant with my child, Ashley. That’s not going to change, and I don’t have time to prove to you how I feel.”
Licking my lips, I shook my head. “No.”
“Ashley?”
Tears filled my eyes, and I was getting so frustrated with crying. This wasn’t fair at all. Being emotional was turning into a curse.