Page 109 of Cruel Betrayal

“Then when you go on that vacation, make sure you send me pictures of the rings you like.”

I grin and lean into him, brushing a kiss over his lips. “You know me better than anyone else. I’m sure you’re going to pick something beautiful.”

“I still don’t know if we’re going to survive tomorrow, and I know we have a lot of work to do along the way, but there’s nobody else I’d rather do this with. I love you.” He kisses me.

“I love you too.” I kiss him again before turning my attention to the massive steak in front of me. “We can worry about tomorrow when it comes.”

Maybe it’s okay to have some things not figured out. Maybe diving into the unknown is part of the fun of living.

EPILOGUE

Jade

A coupleof months later

This can’t be happening. It’s the middle of September. I finally have a day where I don’t have to do schoolwork. Ezra and I are supposed to be going apple picking. I’m supposed to be getting a fuck ton of apples so I can work on making a habanero and apple tart.

I’mnotsupposed to be sitting on the closed toilet seat with a positive pregnancy test in my hands.

Everything else in my life has gone in the opposite direction it should. Nothing is in the right order, so I’m not surprised this isn’t either.

I let out a shaky breath, staring at the other three tests lining the counter.

How do I tell Ezra? Does he even want kids?

I know he wants to have a future together, but we’re not even engaged yet. We haven’t even started to talk about anythingbeyond building a life for ourselves. Kids were never even mentioned.

But this could be the start of something really good.

I’m going to be a mom.

We’re going to be parents.

The door to the bathroom opens, and Ezra pokes his head in. “I’m starting to get worried about you. What’s?—”

His gaze drops to the test in my hands, and then it drifts to all the ones lining the counter.

His eyes look like they’re going to pop out of his head.

Then a slow grin starts spreading, his eyes lighting up like I’ve never seen them before.

Two seconds later, his eyes widen and his face goes pale white. “I don’t know how to be a dad.”

It’s the first thing he blurts out, and oddly enough, I think it’s the most comforting thing he could’ve said in that moment.

“I don’t know how to be a mom.”

Ezra comes over and sits on the edge of the bathtub. He clasps his hands together in front of him, looking between me and the test like he’s scared one of us is going to bite him. “So…how do we feel about this?”

“I don’t know. Excited…I think. I know we didn’t talk about this, and then there’s everything with Noah and the fact that he keeps attacking anyone he even thinks is associating with us. So, I don’t know if it’s the best time to bring a baby into the world, but I also don’t know if any time is a good time. And then there’s myage. I’m only in my early twenties, and I’m going to school and the restaurant only opened last month and I don’t know what having a child is going to do to my career, but I’m terrified that it’s going to halt it.”

He reaches out and takes my hands in his. “I need you to breathe.”

“I am breathing.” I put the test beside all the others before getting up to wash my hands. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do, other than have the baby. Which I want! God, that sounded horrible. I mean, valid, but horrible. There are other options, but I want to have the baby is what I’m trying to?—”

Ezra laughs and pulls me into a tight hug, kissing the side of my neck. “I know what you’re trying to say. We’re going to be parents, and it’s scary as hell. Neither of us knows what we’re doing, but I don’t think you need to worry about this impacting your career.”

I spin around, wriggling out of his arms and pacing back and forth. “What do you mean? Of course, it’s going to have an impact. Childcare is insanely expensive, which means I’m going to have to be around until our kid is old enough to go to school.”