Chapter 4

Four

Gabriella

I stopped dead and held my breath. I felt like I'd walked into some magical kingdom. The entryway opened to a great room that took up the entire first floor of the house. The ceilings were high and the house comfortably furnished with oversized everything—big brown couches and plaid chairs, massive dining room table, extra-large coffee table fronting the ginormous stone fireplace. And a few things that screamed bachelor—newspapers and an empty coffee mug on the table, dishes in the sink, a few flannel shirts tossed over the back of one of the chairs.

No candles, flowers, or pretty throw blankets to soften the harder masculine edges.

I absorbed all those details as my eyes skimmed over the room. They weren't what held my attention, though. What grabbed me was the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the entire back half of the house.

The home had been built into the surrounding forest. From the front, it looked like a boring old house. From inside, it was pure magic. The forest had continued to grow around the house long after construction on the place stopped. Lush green plants and massive trees created a protective shield while the carpet of soft pine needles invited one to step out and be taken in by nature.

Much like people wanted to live right on the beach, dip their toes in the sand the second they stepped off their back porch, Mac built his home just as close to the green vegetation for the same effect.

Light barely penetrated the canopy of branches so I couldn't see too deeply into the forest. But I could feel it. It was palpable, like my beating heart or the blood thrumming through my veins. And here I thought I loved the sand and surf.

I took one step and then another, until I touched the cool glass, the magic of the place drawing me closer.

"Gabriella?"

I turned at the sound of my name, almost surprised to find Mac standing a few feet away.

"You okay?"

I nodded and turned back to the glass, placing a palm against it, longing to brush my fingertips over the wispy fronds of plants and to feel the softness of the pine needles under my feet. To grab Mac's hand and find a beautiful place under the green canopy and make love.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I kept my voice quiet. Anything louder felt disrespectful, like screaming in church. "I just didn't expect this. It's…beautiful."

The word was inadequate, but it was the best I could do.

Mac moved until he stood behind me at the window. "Gabriella, is there something wrong? The look in your eyes..." He tilted my chin to where our gazes met. "You look so lost, baby. What's wrong?"

His voice sounded worried and perplexed like he was trying to figure something out but couldn't quite get the last piece of the puzzle to fit.

I turned my head to look at him. "I am. Lost that is."

His eyebrows pulled together. "How so?"

I nodded and turned to stare out the window, wishing I could be out there, running through the peaceful forest. Or really, anywhere that wasn't here, about to deliver some life-changing news to a man I barely knew.

I pulled in a shuddering breath and turned to face him. He stared down at me, concern and confusion clear in his expression.

"My doctor…" How did I say this? "The last few months I've noticed changes with my body. I got scared and my best friend made me see a doctor. That's why I'm really here. I'm sorry I didn't mean to lie. I was just scared you would turn me away."

He held his hands out in front of him. "Beautiful, I swear, if there's anything I can do to help. Just tell me."

He stepped into me, his face relaxing, leaving only the concern there. "Please trust me." He offered a grin and it melted my heart that he cared so much for someone he barely knew.

I bit down hard on my lower lip and held his stare. "She did two tests on me which came back positive and then an ultrasound."

His grin slowly disappeared as understanding dawned.

His gaze darted to my belly. "Are you…do you think you're pregnant?"

I nodded slowly.

"But how did you…we used condoms? Are you sure?"

"As I said, I saw a doctor. I didn't believe her at first either. Especially since I hadn't been with anyone since the night you and I were together. Finding out three months later that I'm carrying your baby came as a shock to me, believe me. You'd think by the second month I would know something was up, but not me." I rested my forehead against the cool glass.

"Three months?" His eyes dipped to the curve of my stomach.

"Almost four now."

The slightly rounded middle hardly offered proof of a real baby bump.

I could almost see the thoughts tumbling through his head, going round and round like clothes in the dryer. His gaze moved over the room, but I don't think he saw anything.

Then his brown eyes shot to me with laser focus. "And you're positive."

I nodded. "Saw the little one inside me on a screen and everything." I reached for his hands and took comfort that he didn't pull away.

"Mac, I swear, I haven't been with anyone else. You were the only one since my last boyfriend. And she did an ultrasound that showed I was about three months along at the time." I shrugged and folded my hands protectively over my stomach. "I would have tried to contact you to let you know no matter what. But I didn't think this was the kind of information that should be delivered over the phone." My voice trailed off and I hugged my arms around my middle, protecting my baby and myself before I stated in a voice so small I almost didn't recognize it as my own, "I didn't know what else to do."

Most of the time I spoke, I kept my gaze in the vicinity of Mac's neck. When I finished my explanation, I summoned all my courage and finally managed to raise my eyes to meet his.

And the emotion in his dark eyes stole my breath. His look was so fierce it felt like he could reach into my soul and know anything he wanted.

He reached out and gripped the back of a chair. Following the movement of his hand, I watched as his knuckles turned white and the upholstery bunched in his fist.

I returned my gaze to his face and waited for him to say something. Anything. A lump formed in my throat and I could feel the hot prickle of tears stinging behind my eyes. I clenched my jaw, determined not to let them fall, not to give away even one more hint of the vulnerability I felt right this moment.

"Look, I have to get to my meeting."

I blinked. Of all the things I expected to hear when I made my little announcement, that he had a meeting to attend was not high on my list. And the clipped monotone added an extra layer of doubt to my already fragile strength.

I searched his face, but at the moment I'd looked away, he'd managed to shove all signs of emotion behind a blank mask. This was the face I remembered from the first night I met him. All tough, emotionless soldier.

That night I'd reveled in being able to bring out a smile or coax a chuckle from him. I could only imagine what he'd been through that left him so hard to reach.

It was obvious when he picked me up at the police station that he'd stopped hiding behind the blank-faced soldier. His easy smile and the way he'd moved right into me, his emotions plain to see, made it clear he'd at least started recovering from whatever he'd dealt with during his deployment.

And now it was me, my words, my news, that brought the blank-faced soldier back. A fist grabbed my stomach and squeezed. I swallowed hard and pulled in a shaking, shuddery breath.

"Do you want to drop me at a hotel on your way to your meeting? Maybe I should get out of your way while you, um…process all this. Believe me, I know it's a lot to take in all at once."

"No!"

I jumped in my spot, the fierceness of the single world startling me.

"I mean, I don't want you to go," he said, his voice quieter now. "I guess I do need a chance for the news to sink in."

He paused and shook his head, lifting a hand to rake it through his unruly dark hair. He looked down at his feet for several long beats. I did my best to stand there quietly and let him try to absorb what I'd told him.

Finally, he raised his head and looked at me. His smile returned. Not the wide, welcoming grin he'd given me when he first spotted me at the station. This one was small, just a twitch of the corners of his lips, more rueful than amused.

"It's a lot to take in," I offered softly.

He stepped closer to me, his eyes searching mine. "It is a lot to take in. But I guess it was a lot harder for you to take in. Were you alone when you found out?"

I shook my head, staring into his eyes. "My best friend stood by me the whole time."

He nodded and closed a little more of the distance between us. "I can only imagine what you went through when you found out."

A short laugh escaped me. "Yeah, that was an interesting day. But I've had a couple of weeks to get used to the idea."

I bit my lip and fought against making myself even more vulnerable to him by sharing the rest. But the gentle way he looked at me, coupled with the primal urge driving me from the inside to be close to him, left me with no choice. "I have to admit, being pregnant is terrifying all by itself. But being pregnant with a stranger's baby has been a lot to try to wrap my head around."

I hugged my arms more tightly around myself and whispered something I hated to admit to anyone, "I'm scared, Mac. I'm sorry to have shown up out of nowhere like this. Please don't hate me."

He tugged my arms open and replaced them with his own, pulling me to him in a fierce hug. He rocked me gently in his arms and pressed his mouth to the top of my head. "It's going to be okay. I promise. We'll figure this out, and I'll make sure you have no reason to be afraid."

A warmth stole over me, starting as a tiny flicker in my belly and radiating out until my whole body was consumed by it. I melted into him, reveling in the way my soft curves fit so perfectly against the hard planes of his body. For one tiny moment, I allowed myself to do the one thing I never allowed myself to do.

I placed all my trust and all my hopes right in the hands of Mac Becker. And prayed he wouldn't disappoint me the way every other person in my life had done.