Page 22 of One More Kiss
He stopped in his tracks, his throat bobbing. “She meant nothing. You have to understand that. Less than nothing.”
Another spike of jealousy hit me, dampening my happy glow from only moments before. I hated that woman so much. “How long were you with her?”
“Off and on for a few weeks,” he admitted, his eyes glued to my face. “We weren’t exclusive. She wasn’t even the last woman I had sex with before I returned to Vegas for good.”
For some reason, that made me feel better. Thinking of him having sex with Nicole before coming home to me made my skin crawl. But I still needed to know…
“Were we always exclusive?”
“Fucking right, we were. Always. From the moment I saw you, there was no one else. I fell in love with you that day, Lily.”
“And you couldn’t tell me before?” I pouted, determinedly pushing Nicole from my thoughts. She didn’t get to mess up any more of my life, damn it.
Chagrin darkened his handsome face. “I was worried Joseph would find a way to use what I felt for you against us. Samuel kept reassuring me there were no loopholes your father could exploit to contest the will, but I didn’t want to take any chances.”
“But you had no issues making me tell you how I felt every time you were inside me,” I reminded.
“Hearing you say you love me is addictive as hell, sweetheart. I couldn’t give that up, even under threat of death. I’m going to make it up to you, though.”
“How?”
“For every I love you that you so beautifully and generously gave me, I will return them tenfold.”
“Starting when?”
“Right now.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
nash
Lily’s dark-blue eyes glittered as I entered the house. “I love you, baby.”
“Again,” she commanded breathlessly, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“I love you.”
Having already discovered the layout of the cottage-style house—because, she was right, I had searched everywhere for her before checking the beach—I carried her into the bedroom.
“More!”
“I like you greedy. I love you, Lily.” I started to throw her down on the bed but stopped before I could let her go. Glancing down at her, I gulped. “Did Winston tell you what Joseph had that bitch do?”
She tilted her head to the side, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she considered me for a moment. “Sam mentioned taking out a restraining order on my behalf and why. But I kind of already knew my birth control failed. I was going to tell you. That morning I overheard you and Nicole—”
She made a gagging noise as she said the other woman’s name. “When I heard the two of you talking. Things kind of took a wild turn after that. I’m not going to apologize for keeping my pregnancy to myself, because I’m not the least bit sorry. You can’t exactly throw stones, given the secrets you kept from me.”
Tears I wasn’t used to stung my eyes, the full realization of what she was saying hitting me so hard it knocked the air from my chest. “You’re pregnant.”
“Yes,” she confirmed, her eyes locked on mine. “Twelve weeks now, give or take a few hours for time zones.”
Dazed, but with my heart overfilled with so many emotions, I turned and carefully sat on the end of the bed with her arms and legs still wrapped around me.
“Nash?” she murmured softly.
“I just… I need a minute, Lily.” Closing my eyes to fight the tears that I couldn’t stop, I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing raggedly. From the moment I’d realized those assholes had tampered with her birth control, I’d been half holding my breath. Worried for her but, at the same time, afraid to hope.
I knew this woman was my future. That she would be my wife. Even before I fell in love with her, it had been a given that if I ever married, it would be to Delilah Royal. But loving her changed the way I saw our endgame.