Sabrina inhaled sharply, feeling his pain as if it were her own.
“I couldn't understand Vanessa when she called me. He'd died on the way to the hospital and I was stuck halfway around the world. She didn’t even wait for me to get home, she’d made up her mind. She-- she killed herself. I--”
When his voice cracked, Sabrina found the courage to move.
Unable to hold back any longer, she crawled across the couch. Kneeling next to him, she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. His heat soaked into her and she nestled closer.
That explained everything. His comments to Marissa. His apprehension. The uncharacteristic way he’d walked away earlier.
“My team got me through it. I owe everything to them.”
“I'm so sorry,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder. Words seemed so inadequate.
“When you told me you were late, I reacted terribly. I know that. I'm sorry for flaking on you when you needed me.” He turned his head and kissed her forehead. “It'll never happen again.”
“I know.”
“No. I need to make sure you get—You’re, you’ve always been the most important thing to me.”
Except Samuel and Vanessa.
And popularity. And a new family.
Sabrina closed her eyes and tried to push aside all the old feelings rushing at her. Not good enough. Not thin enough. Not pretty enough or popular enough or rich enough.
She sat back on her heels, letting her palms drop to her thighs.
He turned toward her, his eyes imploring. “It threw me. I thought that I'd come to terms with his loss, but you don't ever come to terms with the loss of your baby. My first instinct was to protect myself from ever feeling that way again. It should have been to make sure you were okay and cared for. I'm sorry Layla needed to bring you ice cream.”
“Apology accepted.”
“But you don’t forgive me.”
“I forgive you, David. And I understand why you reacted that way.” But understanding didn’t ease the ache in her stomach, the nauseous feeling.
Deep down, she recognized his reaction for what it was. Now that she’d heard his story, of not only losing his son, but the woman he loved, she knew why he’d gone over the deep end again. Only a man who’d loved and lost would have so much trouble being in that position again.
He knew exactly what was on the line, better than most.
To have someone you loved that much and to lose them… Sabrina couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to look that situation in the face again and hand over your heart a second time.
“But?” he said.
“I guess I’m coming to terms with some things myself.”
That was a revelation that even ice cream couldn’t fix. All those pains of losing her childhood best friend, the teasing and taunting from the mean girls, losing Ethan, Jakob’s drug abuse, years of battling her weight, her place in life. She’d come so far, she’d thought she was past all of it. And yet, the doubts swirled through her mind.
“Sabrina—”
Her vision refocused on him as he shifted toward her.
“I love you, Sabrina.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and trailed a thumb down her jaw. “I'm in love with you. I think maybe I always have been. Maybe that's why I never asked Vanessa to marry me. But I spent today feeling lost and off balance and I realized that you are my balance. I've felt more whole with you in the last month than I have maybe ever.”
She knew just what he was talking about, the completeness. The feeling of being home and safe. Even with their future uncertain, she’d felt comfortable with him, able to be herself.
That’s why she’d been so upset earlier, she realized with a profound clarity. She took a deep breath, processing the rapid-fire thoughts. Her anguish hadn’t been because she’d worried about being pregnant, but because she’d been traumatized at the thought of losing David a second time.
And this time it’d be so much worse. Her heart stuttered in her chest. This time around he was both her best friend and her lover. She’d given him her heart and her body.
“I love how genuine you are. I love your enthusiasm. I love how you light up a room and make everyone at ease. I love that we make each other laugh and I love how easy it is to be with you. I want to see you smile and make you laugh and make you happy.”
For a man of few words, he knew how to pick the right ones.
“You know how to make a girl melt.”
“Did I mention I'm sorry for flaking out on you?”
“You did.”
“And that it’ll never happen again?”
“I know,” she said with a smile.
“And that I love you?”
“You might have said something to that effect.”
“And that I'll love our baby?”
Sabrina didn't think she could actually love the man more, but in that moment, she knew she'd follow him to the ends of the earth. She'd support him and love him and slay dragons for him.
“I took a test. Four of them actually.” His brows rose. “I think maybe I'll still go see a doctor just to be sure, but each test said I'm not pregnant.”
“Oh.” His gaze darted from her face down to her belly and back. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. Are you?”
After a long moment, he nodded. “Yeah. I am.”
She was still perfectly happy to play the role of aunt Sabrina. That would suit her far better than ‘mom.’
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely. You’re everything I want.”
Sabrina swooned. He reached for her, pulling her into his lap. His strong arms bracketed around her.
Somehow those words, combined with the utter sincerity
