Z waited outside the bathroom door in the townhouse while Es took care of business. It was early, he knew that, but given the way she’d reacted so violently to those putrid butcher’s leftovers in the haunted house earlier, maybe she really was pregnant.

The sound of a toilet flushing was followed by running water as Es washed her hands then opened the door. In her hand was the test.

“It’s probably not going to show anything,” she said, her fingers still trembling a bit. “It hasn’t even been a full week yet since my period was supposed to start.”

“Shouldn’t matter,” he said. “I talked to the pharmacist in the store. He said that even this soon, if you’re pregnant, there’s a 90 percent chance this test will show it. That’s why I got this one.” He shrugged. “And if it’s negative tonight and you still don’t start your period by the end of the week, then we’ll do a second one. That why I got two.”

Es sighed and leaned against the doorjamb. “I just don’t want to be disappointed.”

“I know, princess.” He leaned against the wall beside her, their shoulders touching as they waited the longest three minutes of his life. “It’ll be okay.”

“But what if it isn’t?” Es chattered on, unable to stop talking. It was one of the things she did when she was stressed, he’d noticed. Rambling on about all the questions swirling in her head. “I should have started preparing earlier. I should have taken those books more seriously. I should have—”

The ding of the timer in the bathroom echoed around them like a clarion call.

“Oh, God,” Es said, eyes closed and face pale. “I can’t look.”

“Yes, you can, princess.” He held her wrist gently, his thumb rubbing over her soft skin until she opened her eyes and met his gaze. “Whatever that thing shows, we’ll handle it together. We’re partners in this, remember?”

Es gave a slight nod then turned slowly back into the bathroom where the box with the results chart sat on the counter. Z followed her inside, peering over her shoulder at the box, then the test in her hand, doing a double take. One bright fuchsia line showed in the tiny window on the stick. He exhaled slowly. According to the box, that was a negative. Okay. Fine. They’d keep trying. A tiny pang of disappointment stabbed his heart. He hadn’t realized until this moment how much he’d wanted the test to be positive.

Then she gasped and Z looked again. A second line, faint at first, but growing darker by the second appeared to the right of the first. According to the box…

“We’re…” Es said, meeting his gaze in the mirror, a sheen of tears sparkling in hers. “Oh, my God, Z! We’re pregnant!”

Stunned, he looked from the test in her hand to her eyes then back again. They were having a baby. His baby. Their baby. The conversation he’d had with his buddy a few weeks ago came back to his mind.

Friends are great, but family always comes first.

As of tonight, he and Es were starting a family together. And yes, at the end of all this he’d be leaving them behind to return to his SEAL team because that’s what he wanted, but the ties of blood would always be there, no matter what. His baby.

Es sniffled and set the test aside. “I don’t know what to do.”

Carefully, as if she was made of the most fragile glass, he pulled her stiff form into his arms, still a bit in shock himself. “I meant what I said, princess. We’re partners in this. Our kid. We’ll face all of this together.”

Slowly, he led her out of the bathroom and down the hall toward the comfy living room. There, he settled her on the sofa, then sat beside her, unsure of himself for once. He wanted to pull her onto his lap and hold her close. He wanted to sweep her off to bed and make love to her all night. He wanted to shout from the rooftops that he’d made a baby.

Instead, he slid his arm around her shoulders. She rested her cheek against his chest and he pressed his chin to the top of her head. All was peaceful until his cell phone started buzzing in his pocket. He’d taken his Bluetooth headset off as soon as they’d gotten back to the townhouse.

“Z,” he said, answering.

His second-in-command on the security team rattled off the last words Z expected to hear that night. “There’s been a fire, sir. At the haunted house. Two of the actors inside were injured, but they’re expected to make a full recovery. Thought you’d want to know.”

“Any word on the cause yet?” Z asked, his mind immediately running through the most recent death threats against the royal family. Had one of those nut jobs finally made a move?

“None yet, sir. The fire marshal is here now, inspecting the damage. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s wrong?” Es asked once Z had ended the call.

“Nothing, princess.” He stroked her hair until she closed her eyes again and her breath evened out. “Nothing at all.”

Long afterward, as he sat in the quiet room while Es slept tucked against his side, he couldn’t seem to let her go. They’d just been at that place a few hours earlier. And yeah, it was a hellhole, but it was meant to be. Despite the rundown appearances, they’d had regular inspections and had checked out as safe. He’d been sure of that before he’d ever let his princess in there. His protective instincts went into overdrive, not that they hadn’t been there before where she was concerned.

Except he’d always been able to tell himself it was because of the job.

Now, though, it was because of their unborn child.