My body is frozen solid, the earth stopped spinning, and time stopped. The only thing I can see clearly is Harper’s face. Her gorgeous face filled with doubt and worry. My gaze slides down her body to her stomach; I think part of me is expecting it to already be round and full, different from when I saw her only an hour ago.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

Pregnant with my baby.

Harper is pregnant with my baby.

“Holy fuck.” My words come out on a whoosh of breath. There’s noise all around me, but I only see Harper worrying her bottom lip, nervous for my reaction. Ridiculous. How can I be anything but the happiest man alive?

My legs eat up the distance between us and hands wind into her hair. I’m still in a daze. This can’t be real. I can’t be this lucky. My lips crash down on hers. Her hands wrap around my back, gripping my shirt tightly when her mouth opens for me. My tongue plunders inside, sweeping along hers. I’m pouring every word I haven’t said yet into this kiss. Thank you.

Everything around me comes back into focus as we break our kiss and I lay my forehead against her. Savannah is ushering Kiernan and James out the front door, calling out just before it slams. “Congratulations! We love y’all!”

“Pregnant?” I whisper, still not willing to believe my luck. This other shit swirling around us couldn’t bring me down if it tried. It’s only given me more reason to fight and give Harper a safe, happy life.

“Yeah,” she says softly, breaking eye contact and looking down at the ground. I feel her body tense slightly when she pulls her lip between her teeth. “Is that okay?”

“Is that okay?” I repeat, taken aback by the crazy question. “Is that okay?”

She’s still looking down, worrying her lip, but she nods. I pull her lip from between her teeth, not wanting her to hurt her pillowy lips. “Is it okay that in a span of twenty-four hours you’ve given me everything I ever wanted?”

Her eyes pop up to mine, round with surprise. She can’t really think I’d be upset about this. Since I fell in love with her, I’ve been vocal about wanting a family with her.

“It’s more than okay,” I promise her. “It’s everything. I’ll try every day to give you even a fraction of what you’re giving me.”

“What am I giving you?” she asks softly.

“A family. You. A baby. Everything,” I whisper against her skin, kissing her again.

Her arms tighten around me, holding me tightly as mine band around her, hugging her to my body while I kiss her with everything I have, pouring every piece of myself into the kiss.

Breaking the kiss, I bring my hand down to her stomach, hoping to feel something. I know it’s too early but fuck, I’m happy. “Are you feeling okay? Have you been thinking this was a possibility?”

She shrugs. “I feel nauseous, but I thought it was probably the stress. Now I’m not so sure.”

“Fuck. The stress. Baby, I’m going to handle everything, don’t worry about anything. There’s no need for you to be stressed or worried, let me take care of you.”

I need to get the ring from Tennessee. I want Harper to be my wife before our baby comes into this world. My name didn’t come from much, but I take pride in the name it’s become. I got out of the trailer park and off the path my mother was on. She overdosed during my time in the Middle East. At that point, I hadn’t seen her in years. I sent gift cards to the grocery store every month, hoping she didn’t find a way to trade them in for cash. She wasn’t really a mother, and I had no father—unless you count the men she fucked for her drugs. I know I didn’t.

My kid is going to know nothing of that life. I’ll give him or her every opportunity to be something. Kids from my area only had a few choices: gang life, death, or military. Harper’s father helped me see that. Santiago helped me see it, as well. Both of them grew up the way I did and made something of themselves, or so we thought. I vow our children will never question us the way we are questioning them now.

Harper brings her hand up to my face. “I don’t think you can completely take away the stress about everything we’re dealing with, but I love you for trying.”

“How long have you known?” I ask, still rubbing her stomach.

“About twenty minutes. Savannah called me, wondering why I hadn’t called her. We start our periods at the same time every month without fail. I always call and we have a slumber party with Val and eat tons of chocolate. I didn’t call—so she called me—and I realized that in fifteen years, I’ve never started even a day late. She rushed over with a test and here we are.”

I press another kiss to her lips before bringing her in for a hug. “How far along are you?”

“I don’t know, I need to go to the doctor to confirm everything. I only took one test, I think most women take multiple.”

“Call the doctor,” I say, pulling my phone from my pocket handing it to her.

Her laugh sends warmth spreading through my chest and pride filling my veins. “Right now?”

“Yes, right now. Let’s go today.”

She laughs. “It doesn’t work that way. They probably won’t have an appointment today.”

“Just call,” I urge. A smirk breaks over my face when she shakes her head and starts dialing. I try not to look too smug when she tells me they had a cancellation and can squeeze us in this afternoon.

The day started with a shitstorm of epic proportions but is turning around to be the best fucking day.

My smile falls from my face when Harper starts crying. “I’m sorry,” she says, bringing her hands to her face, hiding her tears.

I tear her hands away from her face. “What could you possibly be sorry for? I’m pretty sure you get a pass on anything for the next nine months. Happy wife, happy life, and all that.”

She chuckles through her tears. “I’m not your wife.”

“Yet,” I say with confidence. “You’re not my wife yet.”

“I just blurted it out. Savannah and I planned this fun, sweet surprise. You would have loved it, but I just blurted it out, like I was asking what you wanted for dinner.”

“Sugar, I don’t care how you tell me, just as long as you tell me.”

“I wanted it to be special,” she says, pouting.

“I think it was special, but I’ll tell you what—don’t tell me what you planned, and surprise me with our next kid.”

“Roman,” Harper says, laughing. “We don’t even know how far along I am and you’re already talking about our next kid.”

“Sugar, I’m already thinking about our next four kids.”

She laughs like I’m joking. I’m not, not even close. I sweep her up into my arms, carrying her into the bedroom. “We have three hours until the appointment—enough time to show you how damn excited I am and how fucking hot it makes me to think about my baby inside of you.”

Bringing my knee up on the bed, I gently lay Harper down, hovering over her. “You’re beautiful.” Each article of Harper’s clothes comes off slowly as I peel them from her body, kissing every inch of her skin. Our lips meld together, never breaking apart while we make love.