Page 104 of Property of Tacoma

“Hey.” He reaches out and stills my hands, holding them in his. “You can tell me anything, baby. You know that, right?”

I nod, swallowing hard.

Here goes nothing.

I take his hand and place it on my belly, looking up to meet his eyes.

“We’re going to have a baby.”

The words hang in the air between us, and for a moment, Tacoma just stares at me, his hand frozen on my stomach.

My heart is racing, panic starting to claw its way up my throat.

Say something. Please say something.

Then, slowly, his face transforms.

His eyes light up, his lips curve into the biggest megawatt smile I’ve ever seen, and he lets out a whoop of joy that makes me jump.

“Are you serious?” he asks, his voice thick with emotion. “We’re having a baby?”

“Yes,” I whisper, tears starting to stream down my cheeks. “I found out yesterday. I wasn’t sure how to tell you?—”

He cuts me off with a kiss, deep and passionate, pouring everything he feels into it.

When he finally pulls back, his eyes are glistening.

“Happy tears?” he asks, wiping my cheeks with his thumbs.

“The happiest,” I confirm, laughing through my tears.

He pulls me into his lap, cradling me against his chest. “I can’t believe it. We’re having a baby.”

“You’re really happy?” I ask, needing to hear him say it again.

“Happy doesn’t even begin to cover it, Angel.” He kisses my forehead, then my nose, then my lips. “I’m fucking ecstatic.”

Relief floods through me, and I bury my face in his neck, breathing him in.

“I have something to tell you, too,” he says after a moment.

I pull back to look at him. “Okay.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small velvet box.

My heart stops.

“I’ve been trying to find the right time to ask you this,” he says, flipping open the box to reveal a beautiful princess-cut diamond ring. “But there’s never going to be a perfect moment, so fuck it.”

He shifts me onto the cushion beside him and slides off the couch, dropping to one knee in front of me.

“Cali Sosa, you saved my son. You saved me. You brought light and laughter back into this house, into our lives. I love you more than I ever thought possible, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. Will you marry me?”

Another wave of tears spills down my cheeks, and I nod frantically. “Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes.”

He slides the ring onto my finger, and it fits perfectly.

Then he’s kissing me again, his hands in my hair, his body wedged between my thighs.