She hated littering.
Getting to her feet, she knew she had to go back eventually. There was no way she could keep this news from Sarge. He had a right to know the truth.
Squaring her shoulders, she began the walk back to him. Regardless of what he wanted, she was going to keep this baby. She had no idea how she was going to keep it or make it work, but she was determined to hold on to the precious piece of love she’d created with him.
Chapter Seven
Sarge stared at his office, knowing it wasn’t the most romantic of settings to propose to a woman, but he hadn’t had the time to find a good restaurant or plan for this. Holding the velvet box with the engagement ring, he knew it was so fucking corny to ask his woman to marry him on Valentine’s Day, but he wanted this day to be special.
Now it looked like Talia was waking up to the real bastard that he was.
There was a soft knock at the door.
“Sarge,” Cherry said.
“Not fucking now, Cherry. I don’t want to have to deal with you tonight.”
She snorted. “Please, believe it or not, Mr. Ego, I found a man I want and I won’t cheat, okay? When you find the one, it makes you do crazy shit. Anyway, I just thought you should see this.”
He turned to see Cherry holding some tissue. “What?”
“I found it in the bathroom. I think this is why Talia ran out of here. I watched her leave just before she yelled at you.” She placed the tissue in his hand. “Hopefully this is a congratulations for you both.”
He didn’t have a fucking clue what she was going on about. He unwrapped the tissue paper and stared at it. “I don’t know what this is.”
“Like most men, you don’t know your ass from anything. It’s a pregnancy test and it’s positive. You’re going to be a dad. I think it freaked Talia out, and that’s why she needed to go for a walk. Congratulations, Daddy.”
Cherry left him alone and he stared down at the test in shock.
Talia was pregnant.
He wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t gone to the doctor and he hadn’t encouraged her to go either.
Nor had he used any protection. He’d expected her to get pregnant. Was she angry with him? Did she not want to have his baby? Was that why she’d run from him?
Grabbing his jacket and hers, he was annoyed with himself for not following her. As he left his bar, he came toward the path that meant he could go left or right. He didn’t know where she’d go but decided to take a chance. He turned right, going toward the city. Picking up his pace, he passed people, looking all over for Talia. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.
He crossed the street, trying to get a better view, and just when he thought about calling the cops, he saw her, blonde hair waving in the wind. She didn’t see him as she was too busy looking down at the path in front of her.
Cupping his mouth, he called her name. People turned to look at him, but he ignored them, not caring if he was making a spectacle of himself. He needed to speak to her.
When she didn’t respond, he moved toward the edge of the path, checked, and started to make his way across the road, nearly getting hit as he did. She hadn’t looked up, even as he slammed his fist down on the hood of the car. Fuckers. He walked toward her, and when he was a few feet away, she finally looked up. Her face was pale and she looked a little scared.
The moment he was close, he cupped her face, tilted her head back, and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and he kissed her harder. He loved this woman so fucking much it scared him.
He’d never had these kinds of feelings about anyone, but this was Talia, and fuck it, he was in love with her. There was no reason to hide his feelings from her. He loved her more than anything.
Breaking the kiss, he stroked her cheek and smiled down at her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Marry me,” he said.
This made her gasp. “Sarge?”
“I don’t give a fuck that you’re pregnant, Talia. I love you. I love you more than anything in the world and I want to make this official with you. I want a ring on you, so everyone knows you’re claimed.” He ran his thumb across her lip. “I don’t want to ever let you go.”
“What if the only reason you’re saying that is for the baby?”
“I’m not.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, hell, yeah, I do. I know what I want, Talia. It’s you. It has always been you.”
She smiled at him. “What about what you told me?”
“Ignore it.”
“This is just sex?”
“It was never about just sex, baby. You know it and we both know how you feel about me.”
“So you’re a mind reader now?”
“I’m whatever you need me to be, but we’re doing this. I’m not taking no for an answer. Tell me I’m wrong.”
She licked her lips and shook her head. “No, you’re not wrong. You’re not wrong at all. I love you so much. I tried not to.”
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop loving me, baby. I’m not telling you this is going to be perfect. It’s not. I’m going to do shit you’re not going to like, but know this, I love you more than anything in
