Page 80 of Flawless

When he slipped in beside me and fastened his seatbelt before pulling away from the curb, I realized what felt different. The fear and anxiety I’d been wearing like a second skin since I was a kid had faded into the background. It was just a fragment of the past now, like all the other bad memories. The past couldn’t hurt me anymore. Because I was safe. He made me feel safe.

“I love you,” I whispered, feeling the emotion thicken my words. “Like, I really love you.”

He smiled, frowning slightly as he side-eyed me. “Why do you make it sound like a revelation? You didn’t know you loved me before?”

“It’s never felt like this,” I admitted, still kind of awed by the magnitude of what I was feeling for him. “Nothing has ever felt like this.”

He kissed my hand. “Good, that means you’re finally catching up. Because I’ve been feeling that way for a while now.”

It scared me a little, to feel so much. But I refused to let that fear get in our way anymore. Because I finally saw Cam for who he was. Like he told my mama, he was the kind of guy who stayed. When things got hard, he’d be there. To hold me, dry my tears, chase away all the old ghosts who still tried to spook me sometimes.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” I whispered to him. “Or maybe this is God making it up to me, for all that crap I had to go through as a kid. And if it is? I’d do it all again just to have this one shot with you.”

He closed his eyes as we pulled up to a traffic light and swallowed a couple of times before he said, “Girl, you don’t know what you do to me when you say stuff like that.”

“It’s true.” If I’d been given a gift with words, maybe it was so I could tell this man how much I loved him. “And I want to give you what you’ve given me. I want to make you feel safe. I want to make you feel loved. And I want to give you the family you’ve always wanted.”

He drew a shuddering breath and bit his lip, like he was overcome with emotion. “You know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you’re all in? Probably since the night I showed up on your doorstep and you invited me in.”

A burst of laughter spilled out before I covered my mouth with my free hand. “If we have a son, don’t ever tell him about how we met. If he knows his mama propositioned his daddy the first night we met, he’d probably lose all respect for me.”

And more than anything, I wanted our kids to respect me.

He smirked. “I love the way we met.” He winked at me. “I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

“Did you ever think we’d end up here?” I smiled, feeling deep contentment settle in. “I mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it? Everything about my life feels different, better, since I met you. But it hasn’t been that long.”

“Twin flames, remember?”

We pulled into the doctor’s office parking lot as I echoed, “Yeah, twin flames.”

We were flying high after leaving the doctor’s office. The doctor reassured us all was well with my pregnancy… and we were having a girl!

I couldn’t have been more excited. I would have been thrilled either way, but now that I knew the gender, my daydreaming would surely take on a life of its own.

“Okay,” I said, trying to remember how to breathe. “Baby names. Do you have any favorites?”

Cam laughed. “Uh, no. I just found out ten minutes ago we’re having a girl, so you’ll have to give me a minute to think about it.”

“Callista,” I blurted. “Callie, for short.”

He seemed to consider that for a second before he said, “Actually, I really like that.”

“It means most beautiful.”

His smile grew before he said, “And if she looks anything like her mama, it will be fitting.”

“Keep talking like that,” I warned. “And we won’t even make it back to my place.” I pointed at a boutique hotel not far from the strip. “How ‘bout a pit stop?”

“As tempting as that is,” he said, shifting his seat. “We’re not going back to your place. I’ve got other plans for you tonight.”

“Is that so?” I asked, leaning in to slip my hand under his soft cotton shirt. “Where are you taking me?”

He curled his hand around my wrist when I started venturing below his belt. “Keep doin’ that and I’m pulling this thing over. To hell with my surprise.”

I pouted before withdrawing my hand. “Fine, since I love surprises, I’ll behave. But I hope it won’t take too long. I wasn’t kidding when I told you this pregnancy makes my engine rev constantly, and it’s been a month already.”

I knew I sounded a little whiny, but I couldn’t help myself. I needed him. Now.