Page 90 of Into the Storm

“Do you have a good doctor in Port Angeles? Do you plan to deliver there?”

“Yes. I like the doctor and hospital, and it’s not like I can relocate to the Seattle area for the last trimester just because I want to be near a bigger hospital.”

Without thinking, he said, “I’ll move to Port Angeles, then. If I haven’t been released from the Navy yet, it might mean commuting to the shipyard in Bremerton while we get things sorted, but I’ll make it work.”

“It’s too soon to be making those kinds of decis—”

“No way. Not too soon. You don’t want to leave your job or the peninsula, so I’ll come to you. I’m not going to miss a minute of this, Audrey.” He felt his eyes burn, but he pushed through, speaking with his whole chest. “If you don’t want me in the delivery room, fine. I’ll respect your wishes in all things, but I will hold my child on the first day of their life. I’ll be there for you and the baby in every way you’ll let me.”

She made a sound, and he raised his gaze from her exposed belly that he’d been caressing to see her face.

He’d been afraid to look into her eyes as he spoke, terrified of the rejection they might hold, but instead, he saw something else entirely. A warmth he’d had no right to hope for, accompanied by tears that might just be the good kind.

“You can be in the delivery room. I think I’d like to hold your hand.”

He scooped her up—ignoring the pain in his shoulder—and pulled her onto his lap. He held her against his chest. “Thank you.”

He thought about Chris’s advice. Did he love Audrey? It was hard to know. They barely knew each other. But damn, what he did know had him in awe.

“I want to be with you, Audrey. Not just as the father of your child, but your partner in everything. I want to share a home and a bed.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to go there, Xavier.”

“I know. I just wanted you to know that’s how I feel, what my goal is.”

“We have a lot we don’t know about each other. I mean, I only just found out you’re a SEAL.”

He grimaced. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

He paused. He’d thought he was in love with Lynn, but wasn’t certain if the feelings had never been there or if the way she’d dumped him had killed his connection to the deeper emotions. “I don’t know.” He went on to explain the relationship and the breakup in brief terms. She needed to go to sleep, but he didn’t want her to think he was avoiding this conversation.

“Have you ever been arrested?”

He laughed. “What? I thought you were going to ask favorite color or favorite movie. We’re going straight to jail?”

“Yep. Favorite movies and colors can change over time, but a criminal record follows you.”

“Well, not if you were a minor…”

She grinned. “You were arrested. What did you do?”

“I was arrested, but no charges were ever filed, and it was juvie, so no record of any of it.”

“I’m waiting, Mr. I’ll-tell-you-anything.”

“I…shit. Jae’s going to kill me.”

“What? Jae was involved?”

“We were fifteen and full of ourselves. A senior who was our team’s quarterback and even more full of himself comes driving up to the school in a flashy sports car on game night. He nearly hits Jae and me and two freshmen as we’re crossing the lot. I called him a dickhead, and he puffed up, tossed a few racist slurs against me and Jae. During the game, we decide to get some revenge by stealing his pretty car. We just planned to move it a few blocks from the school. Jae was on the JV team, so no one paid any attention when he slipped into the locker room and took the asshole’s keys.”

Audrey put a hand over her eyes. “I don’t like where this story is headed. Please tell me no one gets hurt. Did you even know how to drive yet?”

“Well, not a stick shift. They didn’t cover that in driver’s ed. So yeah, that was part of the problem. We get pulled over two blocks from the school by a cop on patrol. It’s kind of obvious when someone who has no clue how to drive a stick shift is behind the wheel of a fifty-thousand-dollar car that the car probably doesn’t belong to them. Especially when said driver doesn’t even look like he’s hit puberty yet.”

Her eyes went wide. “You or Jae?”