CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Baby Test19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRYqiHTDqwR
(Her POV)
She stared at the stick.
Pink.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7dY5Z6Nom
Too pink.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxdorOzngn
Two lines.
Positive.
Her knees nearly gave out in the gas station bathroom.
It wasn’t glamorous.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNgcRXm5b7
It wasn’t planned.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2skm1o2Nqe
It wasn’t quiet—her heart was screaming.
But she couldn’t stop staring.
Two.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUUx5ain5v
Freaking.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo6S7NzjGzb
Lines.
Back in the car, Matteo was humming to a song that didn’t match the moment.
He was beautiful when he was relaxed.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgWKeTFBIp
Driving one hand on the wheel, one hand on her thigh.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTqEckno1c
Like he didn’t know their lives were about to split open.
She waited until they stopped at a lookout.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCU2qUzYCez
Somewhere far. Somewhere no one knew their names.
Then she handed him the plastic stick.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
“Is this…” he whispered, “...real?”
She nodded.
Eyes brimming.
“I took three.”
He stared at it like it had teeth.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRzlPLCcDV
Like it could hurt him.
Then he looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if I wasn’t.”
He stepped back.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYorPS6Vod
Paced.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zYrpDQ74c
Rubbed his face with both hands.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqq6WFIsPK
Cursed under his breath.
Then?
He looked up.
“You’re going to be a mom.”
She swallowed hard.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
He walked back toward her, slowly.
Knees bending.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cOCwGZEjZ
Head against her belly.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdg51enMVEi
Hands around her waist.
He stayed there.
Breathing.
And for the first time since she met him…19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kUEQFkHBB
he was trembling.
“I don’t know how to be this kind of man,” he whispered.
“Then we’ll learn together.”
“What if I mess this up? What if—what if they hate me someday for who I was?”
She cupped his cheeks.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosYaHn2Xdi
Made him look at her.
“Then we’ll tell them the truth. That you were broken… until love fixed you.”
He kissed her stomach.
Once.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9v9c5L0Yp
Soft.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDUoCPHXjc
Like a prayer.
ns216.73.216.239da2“Then I promise,” he said. “I’ll protect this life. No matter what it costs me.”
