Page 168 of Payoff Pitch
I think she’s toggling between emotional and confused. “Why right this second? What am I missing? I love you, and I want to be with you, but I feel like everyone is in on a big secret but me.”
“Do you want to spend your life with me? As husband and wife?”
Tears begin streaming down her cheeks. “I do. And I know what I’m giving up, but I’m willing to give that up to be with you. And I’m not really giving it up. I gain Harper and I love that little girl as much as I would if she were mine.”
“I know you do. It’s one of the million reasons I love you.”
“Tanner, we don’t have to get married. I’m okay to just be with you.”
I grin. “I want to marry you. More than anything.”
She turns her head to Fallon. “Are you okay with this?”
Fallon has tears in her eyes. “I love you for thinking of me during your special moment, but I’m more than okay. Another person loving and protecting Harper sounds good to me.” She smiles. “To be clear, I’m not going to be one of those ex-wives whose entire TikTok personality is videos of her and her baby daddy’s new wife getting along.” She exhales a breath. “Fine, one TikTok a month together. But that’s it.”
Bailey and all the girls laugh. I don’t know what any of that means, but I think it was nice.
She looks back at me with all the love in the world and nods her head emphatically. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
I kiss her hard and place the ring on her finger. Rubbing her face with my thumbs, I look into her big brown eyes and shock her to her core. “One more thing. Sweetheart, you’re pregnant.”
BAILEY
Tanner looks at me with all the love in the world. “Sweetheart, you’re pregnant.”
I’m frozen in place. I can’t move a single inch. He said pregnant, right?
I hear Kam’s voice. “Don’t piss yourself.” She mumbles, “She pissed her bed until she was eight.”
I blink a few times, turn to her, and deadpan, “Perfect time to bring that up. Thank you.”
She smiles and winks at me.
I look back at Tanner, who has an enormous grin on his handsome face, and say, “I’m pregnant?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“How?”
Again, Kam’s intruding voice says, “It happens when a penis goes into the vagina and—”
“Kam! Not now!” I snap.
The four of them giggle.
Tanner squeezes my hands. “I didn’t know about your IUD being removed. And you didn’t know that I had a vasectomy reversal.”
“A what? When?”
“A vasectomy reversal. A few weeks before your accident.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was going to wait for them to run tests to make sure it worked before I told you. I didn’t want to get your hopes up only for you to be heartbroken.”
“You haven’t had the tests yet?”
He shakes his head. “No.”