Page 131 of Reckless Love

Ava snuggles close, and she traces circles on my chest. “You want the truth?”

“Always.”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t yet, but he might.”

“We need to make it safe for him to tell us that,” I say. “I don’t want him to think he can’t say that. There was a relationship there, even if it wasn’t a perfect one.”

“Or even a good one,” Ava murmurs. “There’s a reason he was so overjoyed to have a dad like you. Raul did almost nothing with him unless I made him participate in an activity or acknowledge Landon’s needs. I always thought we got married because of Landon, but…” Her shoulders lift. “He wanted access to the Tucker name. Landon was why I agreed to marry him, but I’m not sure he was even in the equation for Raul. We were just pawns in a bigger financial game that I didn’t even know we were playing.”

Silence sits around us as I struggle to figure out what to say. “I’m really sorry. That’s not at all what I would have wanted for either of you.”

“You’re right, though. Landon doesn’t know or understand any of that. I’ll talk to him tomorrow—alone, if that’s okay—to make sure he knows I can figure something out if he does want to see Raul. I don’t want him to, but I can’t make those decisions for him, or else I’m no better than my mother.”

“I just want the two of you to come out of this okay. Whatever you need to do to make sure that happens, I’ll stand behind you.”

“I fucking love you, you know that.” She rises up on her elbow to stare down at me. “Like really love you.”

I loop my fingers around a loose strand of her hair before tucking it gently behind her ear. My chest is full of emotion, and my throat tightens. “There is nothing more precious to me than what we’ve built in this house the last few months. Nothing.”

She traces my cheekbone with her index finger, clearly lost in thought. “When you texted me earlier, you said that Landon’s birth certificate was the last piece of our family puzzle. Is that what you really want?”

“What do you mean?”

“For Landon to be the last and only piece of our family puzzle.”

I search her expression in the faint light streaming in from the window, and I try to decide if she’s serious. “You’re going to have to spell it out for me, Ava. I don’t want to assume here.”

“A.N.O.T.H.E.R. B.A.B.Y.” A hint of a smile tips the corners of her mouth. “If you want.”

“It’s not if I want,” I say. “You’re an amazing mother, Ava. But it’s your body, and last time we talked about this—granted, that was years ago—you weren’t keen on being a mother. I’m not asking for more from you unless that’s what you want too.”

“We haven’t exactly been careful, have we?”

“Well, no,” I admit, and now I’m a little ashamed I didn’t raise the issue earlier.

“So I just thought I should say it out loud.”

“Say it, then,” I challenge.

“I want to have your baby.”

I groan and roll her over so I’m cradled between her thighs, my face buried in her neck. She giggles. The sweetest sound.

“Did you like that?” she asks.

“I think I just came in my pants.”

“You’re not wearing pants,” she says.

“Ava, are you sure? Yeah, I should have asked earlier. A lot earlier. But I need you to be completely sure.” When I draw back to look at her, her smile is gone.

“I’m choosing this life with you, Stephen. Without hesitation. I’m going to be your wife, and I’m going to have your baby. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. You are the love of my life. Those are just facts.”

“Facts, huh?” I say, nuzzling her nose with mine. “Just facts?”

“And so much love,” she says. “Now give me that baby.” She pushes her hips up toward me. “And an orgasm or two.”

“Sounds like an order I’ll happily fulfill,” I say.