The light is too much. It pierces my eyeballs, blinding me like the sun. I squeeze my eyes closed tighter and turn my face away.

“Lauren,” a strange voice says. “Lauren, can you hear me?”

I open my mouth to answer, but it feels like it’s full of cotton.

“My name is Doctor Pichard. You are in the hospital. You fainted. Do you remember anything from that?”

I work to process everything he’s saying. I fainted…at the tournament…

I open my eyes, no longer caring about the light burning them. “My…”

“Here. Drink this.”

He hands me a glass of water and helps me drink it. I’m in a bed that’s elevated, so that I’m partially sitting up.

“My baby,” I gasp, trying again. “I’m pregnant. Is—”

“The baby is fine. We did an ultrasound, and everything looks good.”

My head falls back against the pillow as I sigh in relief. “Thank you.”

With my eyes adjusting to the light, I can see him better now. He’s a young doctor, with a sweet face. He gives me a smile.

“Most likely, you fainted from the heat. You were very dehydrated.”

“I was?”

I know I didn’t eat anything before heading to the casino, but had I had anything to drink? Now that I think about it, I can’t remember. My heart was too broken over the fight with my parents and my head too focused on what I planned to tell Jay. Maybe I really did forget to eat and drink all day long.

He nods. “How do you feel now?”

“Tired. And my head kind of hurts.”

“We can give you something for that if it gets really bad, but right now, you just need to rest. Don’t try getting up, yet. We attached you to an IV to get you hydrated.”

I lift my right hand a little bit and see the drip stuck in it. If my parents haven’t been notified already, they’re going to freak. But at least the baby is all right.

And then there’s Jay. What about him? Is he still at the casino? Does he know I passed out?

“Your boyfriend has been waiting here all night for you.”

“What?”

The doctor’s eyes drift over to the corner of the room. “I’ll give you some privacy. If you need anything, the button here will call the nurse.”

As he leaves, I turn my head to follow where he’d looked. To my surprise, there has been a third person in the room this whole time. Jay leans forward in the small plastic chair, his arms on his thighs and his hands clasped. His pale complexion makes him look just as exhausted as I feel.

“Jay!”

He smiles at me. “Hey there.”

“What are you doing here?”

He cocks his head. “You fainted.”

“I know. I heard the doctor.” I take a pause and swallow, my mouth already dry again. After a moment, I continue. “But you have a game.”

“It’s over.” He stands up and retrieves my water glass. After helping me to take a drink, he perches on the side of my bed and lightly rests his fingers against mine.

“I didn’t stay for it.”

Now, I’m even more confused. “But it was a special tournament, right? Wasn’t this one a big deal?”

“To some people, maybe,” he answers quietly.

My heart swells. “You came here for me.”

Jay makes a noise of surprise and shakes his head. “Lauren, are you serious? You fainted. You were out cold. Do you really think I was going to just sit there and play a game of poker while you were unconscious?”

“But the money…”

“Who cares about the money?”

I smile and look down at our clasped hands. “How much did you pay to enter?”

“I had a hundred thousand down.”

I gasp. “No.”

“It’s fine.”

“Jay, it’s not fine. That’s a lot of money.”

The shock of what he’s done must be invigorating me, because I suddenly feel incredibly awake. I sit up a little straighter, but the movement makes my temples pound.

“Lauren, the money doesn’t matter. I have plenty of it. Do you really think I was going to sit by while someone else took care of you?”

I duck my head sheepishly. “I guess not.”

He rubs his thumb over the top of my hand and looks down.

“I was so worried…I’ve never been that scared in my life. As soon as you went down, everyone was freaking out…and I went over there, and you weren’t moving…You looked so pale.” He takes a deep breath. “And the baby. All I could think was, what if something bad happens? If she loses the baby…or I lose her—”

“Jay,” I softly say. “Everything’s fine. You heard the doctor.”

He looks up at me with red eyes. “I know.”

I shake my head and sigh. “I should have taken better care of myself. I was being stupid.”

“Why weren’t you taking better care of yourself?”

“I just didn’t think to. I was preoccupied—we hadn’t talked in a while, you know, and I didn’t know what you were going to say. I was worried about what you would think about the baby.”

The last word hangs between us and I hold my breath. I still don’t know how he feels about the pregnancy news, but if he’s not fully happy about it, I need to know now. I need everything out in the open so I can accept his reaction and start moving on.

Jay runs his palm over his face. “I’m sorry. I should have said more—it’s just, Petit came up, and then the game was starting… I wasn’t trying to ignore you. Please believe me.”

“I believe you,” I whisper weakly.

He swallows hard, his gaze piercing me. “I’m happy, Lauren. I’m excited.”

The words are so good I almost don’t want to believe they’re real. What if I’m imagining them?

Jay smooths some hair on the top of my head down.

“When I first found out, I was shocked. I didn’t know what to think. There was so much going on at once. And then I sat down at that table, and it just hit me. A baby. We’re having a baby.” His eyes become misty.

We’re having a baby.

A laugh bubbles out of me. “Yeah,” I agree. “I guess we are.”

“How do you feel about it?” he asks.

“I’m…” I pause and take a moment to really think about it. All week, I’ve been worried about what everyone else is going to think. First my parents, then Jay. I haven’t given myself a moment to step aside from the rest of the world and listen to my own heart.

“I’m excited,” I say. “I’ve never really thought about kids, but somehow…” I trail off, not sure how to get to the root of what I’m feeling.

“It feels right,” he finishes for me.

I look at him in surprise. “Yeah. Exactly.”

He lifts my hand and kisses it. “Us doing this together seems like it’s the right thing.”

I know I must look like a crazy person right now; the smile on my face has to be that huge.

“I really didn’t think you’d say that.”

“Lauren, I’m fucking crazy about you. The last five weeks have been torture.” He pauses and looks thoughtfully off into space. “The second you showed up at the casino I thought, ‘There she is. The only person who’s ever made me feel like I belong somewhere in this crazy, stupid world.’”

My tears flow unchecked. After all the stress and worry, hearing this from Jay is the best present I could ever receive.

“And then the baby…” He looks back at me and smiles. “I can’t wait to be a dad.”

I laugh out of happiness, nearly hiccupping on the combination of tears and giggles. “You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

Jay wraps his hand around the back of my neck and presses his forehead against mine. “I’m not the best role model.”

“I happen to think you’re amazing.”

“Even if I punched Petit?”

This makes me lean back in shock. “Wait. What?”

“While I was waiting for the car to bring me here. He came out and started talking shit, and I just couldn’t take it.”

“What did he do?”

“He just stood there, staring at me like he couldn’t believe I’d actually left the game for you. I warned him, too, but he wouldn’t back off.”

“Oh my God,” I snicker, wiping the last of my tears away. “I’m sorry I missed that.”

“So, do you still think I’m amazing?”

“Are you going to teach our kid to fight?”

“Only for self-defense.” He grins. “And, if he’s a boy, only for the honor of pretty girls.”

“That sounds like you.” I chuckle and pull him close to me.

The kiss is perfect, our lips familiar with each other, just like our bodies and hearts. I get what Jay means about seeing me at the casino and feeling at home. Even though I grew up in New York, and everyone I know is there, I couldn’t stay there while he was on the other side of the world.

My home is Jay Hammond, and my heart belongs wherever he is.