“Maybe we should keep the van,” I say, trying to keep my face serious.

Roman turns his head, glaring at me for a second before looking back at the road. “There’s no way in hell we’re keeping this van.”

“I like it.” A smile takes over my face as I raise an eyebrow.

“You only like it because I just ate your pussy in the backseat.”

I shrug, not seeing an issue with this reasoning. “The reclining seats that lay almost flat are pretty useful.”

“Nope,” Roman says, popping the p. “I’m not driving this thing longer than I have to.”

“Fine,” I say, chuckling at the expression on his face.

“Ready to talk about the store?” He glances at me with a worried expression, afraid he’s going to send me into a tailspin again. I’m better than I was this morning, but I’m still struggling coming to terms that my dream is gone. Poof. Just like that. I want to find the old landlord and strangle him for selling to Rafael.

“Sure.” May as well rip off the bandage and get this over with.

“James is meeting the movers in an hour and taking everything to a large storage facility. It’s climate controlled, so there won’t be any issues with anything. I didn’t know if the heat could destroy fabric, so I played it safe.”

I groan. “I’m going to need to call all my vendors and see about returning everything. I don’t have the money to rent that space for long, and I’ve pretty much depleted my accounts with the severance pay.”

“Wait a minute. Don’t worry about the storage fee, I’ll take care of it. Kiernan is working on your website, so you can sell online until we find a new storefront that you’ll own.” He puts emphasis on that last word. I feel the same. If I’m ever able to get Harper Avenue open again, it will be in a building I own. I don’t think I’ll ever rent again. “You’ll be an online boutique until we find a location. You may have to cut the girls’ hours but I’m sure you’ll still need help. I don’t think it’s time to think about severance. They’ll need to know today what’s happening with the store, Camille will freak out if she opens in the morning and everything’s gone.”

My face drops into my hands as I start crying.

“Oh shit,” Roman says. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I’m just happy you’re here.”

“Always, Sugar.” He grabs my hand, pressing a kiss on my palm before holding my hand in his lap.

“So, I’m not jobless?”

Roman glances at me again. “No, Sugar. You’re not jobless but even if you were, we’d be okay. We’ll start looking for a house tonight, so you won’t be homeless, either.” Roman winks. I laugh, my heart feeling much lighter this afternoon.

“Are you going to move here?” I ask.

“Is that even a serious question?” He squeezes my hand, bringing it to his lips for another kiss.

“I guess I want to hear you say it.” I hate that I need the reassurance, even after how amazing he’s been, but I do. I want to hear it from his lips, hear the confirmation.

Roman doesn’t say anything as he pulls into the parking lot of my doctor’s office, unbuckling his seatbelt and mine, pulling me into his lap. One hand frames my face, his fingertips weaving into my hair. “Nothing in this world could stop me from moving here to be with you. Even if you didn’t want me to live with you, I’d move here. This,” he says rubbing my stomach, “is my kid, too. I will be there every day of their life. Nothing will keep me from you or this baby.”

My lips fuse to his, relishing his words. My hand slides up his chest, right over his heart. I come alive feeling his heart beat against my palm. “I’d do the same, you know. I’d take down anything that kept me from you. James taught me how to throw a punch. I could take a bitch down.”

Roman throws his head back, his shoulders shaking from laughter. “I have no doubt about it,” he says, kissing my nose. “Let’s go see our kid.”

* * *

Roman impatiently bounces his leg, staring at the door. We’re waiting in one of the exam rooms for the doctor to come in and confirm I’m pregnant. He exhales a sign of relief when the doctor finally enters the room.

“Well, Harper, you are indeed pregnant. You’re on birth control, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m assuming this was unplanned?” she asks, standing next to the exam table with a look of sympathy on her face. It hasn’t been long since I was in here getting a refill on birth control and telling her I wasn’t sexually active at the moment.

“Unplanned, yes. Definitely not unwanted, though.” I smile at her with tears in my eyes. Harper smiles at me as her sympathy washes away.

She looks up at Roman, acknowledging him for the first time. “Is this Dad?”

“Fuck,” Roman breathes, standing up. “I love the sound of that. Roman. Nice to meet you.” Roman sticks out his hand for the doctor to shake.

“Good to meet you, too. When did you take your first test, Harper?”

“Only this morning,” I answer pointing a finger at Roman. “This guy couldn’t wait to come in.”

The doctor’s smile grows even wider. “I need to know she’s okay. Will being on birth control hurt the baby?” Roman asks her.

“This early in the pregnancy normally doesn’t have any effects, but she should stop taking them immediately.”

Roman nods. “I’ll throw them in the trash when we get home.”

“Let’s take a look at the baby. I need to warn you, we may not see a heartbeat today, depending on how far along you are. That’s no cause for concern, though. It may be a little early. If we do see the heartbeat on the ultrasound, I will try to use the doppler to detect the sound but again, this early in the pregnancy, we may not be able to hear it.”

Roman’s eyes grow comically wide when the doctor prepares the internal ultrasound machine and tells me to put my feet in the stirrups. The stunned look grows to wonder and awe as a tiny circle appears on the screen with a little fluttering heartbeat. Roman holds my hand and kisses my forehead over and over, not taking his eyes from the screen as the doctor does the measurements.

“You’re about seven weeks along,” the doctor announces.

“Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?” Roman asks before looking down at me. “If it’s a girl and she looks like you, I’m fucked.”

The doctor and I laugh. “No, it’s too soon to tell. Let’s see if we’re lucky enough to hear the heartbeat today. That is, if you want to try. Some feel disappointed if it’s unsuccessful.”

“Let’s try,” I whisper, squeezing Roman’s hand.

“Yeah,” Roman says. “I’m feeling lucky this afternoon.”

He rests his head against mine, looking into my eyes as we wait, listening, hoping to hear something over the white noise. After a few seconds, I close my eyes, feeling disappointment even though I knew not finding the heartbeat was a possibility. My eyes fly open when a whooshing sound takes over the room.

Roman slams his mouth down on mine, kissing me through tears as he laughs, unable to control his smile. “That’s our kid,” he whispers. “I love you, Sugar, so damn much. I didn’t think it was possible to love you more than I did, but I do. I love you even more, it’s growing every second.”

“I love you just as much, Roman.”