Dallas

Holy fuck.

This isn’t how I imagined this going down.

Willow looks like she’s about to vomit. My mom looks hurt. My dad looks like he’s ready to lay into my ass. Hudson is grinning like a motherfucker.

I clear my throat, ignoring every set of eyes on Willow, and bolt her way. I kiss my daughter on the top of her head. “It’s fine, May Bear. Why don’t you go show your new doll the bounce house, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she says again. “I’ve just been so excited.” She throws her hands out. “It just blurted right out of my mouth.”

I kiss her forehead. “It’s okay.”

Willow jumps out of her chair when her eyes start to water. She doesn’t want anyone to see her cry. “If everyone will please excuse me for a second.” Her voice breaks. “Or a few minutes. Possibly a few hours … or days.”

She turns and dashes into the house. Stella jumps up to follow, but I stop her.

“Let me have this one, okay?”

She stares at me with a hard look and hesitation before nodding.

As soon as I leave the crowd, I can hear the voices erupt into chaos. Question after question is being fired off, one after the other, to my family. I feel sorry for leaving them to the Blue Beech gossip wolves, but I have to make sure Willow is okay.

I find her sitting on the bed in my childhood room with tears in her eyes. I shut the door and bend down in front of her. I take her chin in my shaky hand and lock eyes with her.

“I’m so fucking sorry, do you hear me?” I whisper. “I made a mistake.”

She tries to pull away from my touch, but I don’t let her.

“Please,” I hiss. “Please don’t fucking run from me because of this.”

Willow is a pro at helping other people with their problems but terrible at facing her own. It’s easy for her to turn her back on situations she doesn’t want to deal with.

She sniffles. “This is humiliating. Did you see their faces? All the jaws dropping?”

“They were surprised, which we expected. I mean, we haven’t exactly been forthcoming about your pregnancy or this.” I signal between the two of us. To be honest, I’m relieved it’s out there. I wish it had happened in a better situation, like us sitting my parents down and spilling the news, but at least the secret is off my chest now.

“This?” she questions, scrunching up her face and reenacting my movement. “What do you mean, this?”

I get up and sit down next to her on the bed. “We’re doing something here. I’m as confused as you are about it, but we are. You’re the only woman I’ve looked at since I lost Lucy. I can’t …” I pause. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Whenever I leave your apartment or drop you off, the excitement from when I get to see you next keeps me high. Hell, I can’t wait until the next time I even get to talk to you. You’re something I look forward to every day. The thought of seeing you, talking to you, and spending time with you gives me so much fucking happiness.” My revelation only makes her cry harder. “What can I do to make this better? Anything. I’ll do anything.”

Except let you walk away.

Please don’t fucking walk away.

“Turn back time to months ago,” is all she whispers.

Fuck. I want to beg her not to go there.

“Tell me you don’t mean that. You might’ve thought that at first, which I don’t fucking blame you, but tell me, after all this time we’ve spent together, after seeing the beautiful babies we made on that monitor, that you don’t mean that.”

She sighs. “I … I don’t.” She covers her face with her hands. “I thought I would. Sometimes, I wish I still felt that way. I thought it was the end of my happiness when I found out I was pregnant after our night together, but now … now, I can’t think of a time when I’ve been happier. A time when I thought I was doing something so right.” She rubs her stomach. “These past few months have changed my life, too.”

“These past few months have dragged me out of the darkest hole I thought I’d never escape.” Not all the way. I’m still there, and I’ll never be the same man, but Willow has brought out parts of me I thought would never come out again. And I can feel myself healing as the sun rises each day.

I drop down to my knees to take in the sight of her and show her the honesty in my eyes. “You brought me to the light. We might not have expected this, but it’s somehow made us stronger, brighter, happier.”

I cringe at the knock on the door that interrupts us. Stella pokes her head in, apology on her face, and takes in the scene in front of her.

Me on my knees in the begging position, and Willow crying.

Willow wipes away a tear and nods her head, silently permitting Stella to come in and shut the door behind her.

The door opens again seconds later, this time without a knock, and Hudson appears with brows knitted in concern. “I know this is bad timing, brother, but Maven is in the bounce house, crying, and insists on only talking to you or Willow.”

“Fuck,” I snap, averting my attention to Willow. “Will you be okay for a minute?”

She nods. “Go ahead. I’ll be fine.” I get up, but she grabs my arm to stop me. “Actually, I’d like to come with you, if that’s okay?”

“I’m not sure you’ll be ready for eyes on you,” Stella says.

“How about I try to get her to come in here?” Hudson asks, leaving the room before waiting for our answer.

Willow sniffles again. “That’s a good idea.”

Stella starts to go toward the door but stops and darts over to Willow. “I love you,” she says with a hug. “Know that I’m here, no matter what, and I love you.”

This brings a small smile out of Willow. “I love you, too.”

Stella pokes her shoulder. “And you know you have some explaining to do. Twins? You couldn’t even let a girl know she’s having two godchildren now?”

“I was waiting for the right time,” Willow replies.

The door opens again, and a sobbing Maven comes running into the room and crashes into my arms. “Daddy, I’m sorry!”

I keep my arms around her and rub her back. “It’s okay, May Bear.”

She turns around, still in my arms, and shyly peeks over at Willow. “Are you mad at me?”

Willow’s eyes go soft, and her tone turns soothing. “Of course not, honey. Just shocked, is all.”

She composes herself, gets up, and runs a hand down her dress. I can’t stop myself from grinning at the sight of her stomach showing through. Fingers crossed, she’ll let it be on display more now. “I need another slice of cake.”

I grab her elbow to make sure she’s stable and dip my mouth to her ear. “You sure you’re okay with going back out?” I ask. “We can leave, if you want?”

“We’ll have to face them sooner or later,” she says.

“We’ll be out in a few minutes,” I tell Hudson. “Tell people no questions until we’re ready.”

Maven wraps her hand around my leg. “I know you promised extra doll clothes if I kept our secret.” She pushes her lower lip out. “Do I still get to keep them?”

Willow snorts before bursting out into a fit of laughter. “God, I needed that.”