“I’m going to find Dane,” Cami tells us. “You two should talk.”
Jake steps aside so Cami can walk past him,but his eyes don’t leave mine. “We got something to talk about, baby?”he asks, but his tone is more telling than asking.
I swallow around the worry in my throat and do what Ido best. Or at least I did until him. “Where’s Lyra?”
“Still sleeping. Quinn is watching her,” he tells me.
“She’s here to be her therapist, not her nanny,” I tell him, pretending to be upset.
“Yeah, well, hernannyvanished, and I needed to have a talk with mygirlfriend.Cami seems to think we need to talk too,” he pauses, waiting for my response,but I’m pretty sure I’ve swallowed my tongue.I need to tell him. I know I do, but I don’t know if I’m ready. “No?You just gonna disappear from the bus the second I step into the shower without a word?”
“I – uh,” I stammer, not knowing what to say.I’ve just realized I have a pattern. When I freak out, I disappearfromhim. Probably not the bestthing.
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with this, would it?” he reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out the empty pregnancy test box.
Crap!Apparently,I can have the forethought to hide the results but not dispose of the rest of the evidence.
I feel my face grow warm as I gnaw on mycheek. I struggle to meet his eyesas my heart pounds in my chest. I’m not sure what to say. Five minutes ago, I wasn’t ready to say anything, but I can’t lie to him.
He sits next to me on the sofa, pulling me into his lap. “Are you?” he asks, his brows furrowinto a deep V ashe forces me to meet his gaze.
I still can’t seem to find words,so I just nod, tears stinging my eyes.
“You’re not happy about it?” he seems to be choosing his words carefully.He’s not giving anything away about how he feels.
Finally, my brain decides to communicate with my mouth. “Are you? Happy, Imean? I know this isn’t the best timing. We haven’t even been together that long. You already have Lyra. You’ve got your music back. I’m a mess.Why would you be happy? I’m probably the lastperson on earth who should have a baby. Istill have panic attacks and nightmares. You still have to hold on to me just so I can breathe. I –.”
“Cara, shut up,” he orders because apparently when my mouth starts working, it really starts working.Then hestarts laughing at me. “You’re freaking out on me. I knew when I found the box in the trash,you were freaking out. You’re overthinking like you always do.”
“It’s not overthinking,” Iyell. “It’s a big deal.”
He laughs again. “No shit. I think I’ve got a pretty good ideahow big a deal a kid is.”
This makes me laugh,and I realize he’s right. I’m definitely overthinking. I’m panicking over something that could be – should be good. “You’re not mad?”
“Hell, no,” he exclaims. “Timing may not be ideal, but is there really a such thing?I love you. I’ve loved you for so damn long I wouldn’t know how not to. You’re it for me. The thought of having babies with you hasalways been there.”
“I just don’t know how it happened,” I confess. “I know I’m not taking any birthcontrol or anything, but we’ve always been careful.”
“Except that one time on Maddox and Ryder’s sofa,” he chuckles.
“Well, damn,” I join him. “How did I forget about that?”
“Marry me,” he whispers.
My mouth falls open for a second before anger takes over. I remove myself from his gripwith a glare. “Are you joking? You’re asking me to marry younow?What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not marrying you just because I’m pregnant.”
“Overthinking, again,” he points at me with a smirk that only pisses me off more.Until he’s on his knee, pulling a small box out of his pocket.I suck in a breath, knowing he didn’t getthatbecause I’m pregnant. He found out ten minutes ago. There’s no way he would’ve had time.
He opens the box, revealing a simple diamond on a platinum band.My hands fly to my mouth. My heart begins to gallop. “Jake, what is that?”
“I’ve had it for a bit,” he tells me with a smile. It’s shy and humble.“I didn’t want you to think I was asking you becauseof everything that happened with Peyton. I’ve been trying to plan the perfect time to ask, but it’s kind of hard todo in between shows. Cara, I love you so fucking much. First time I laid eyes on you, I knew I had to have you. I also knew that would get me sent to jail quick,” he shakes his head with a laugh. “I felt like such a goddamn creep. I did good and kept my distance but damn if it wasn’t hard.Then it seemed like everything that could get in the way did.And despite all of that, my feelings for you kept growing.You’re the one. You were the one whenyou were sixteen, and I was twenty-one, and five years later, you’re stillthe one. That night you told me you loved me,that was the best day of my life. I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime for your feelings to catch up with mine. I don’t want to wait another lifetime to make you mine in everyway possible. So, Cara Alyssa Pierce, will you marry me?”
Holy shit. How do you say no to that?
Easy. You don’t.But my brain has lost communication with my mouth again,so all I can do is nod.
With a wide grin, he slides the ring onto my finger then pulls me into his arms. “I can’t wait to tell your brother he was there the moment the little bean was made,” he laughs.
