UNTAINTED

by Shanora Williams

  It led to the garage.

  He flipped a switch to turn the light on and I couldn’t help myself. This house was a great surprise, but nothing could surprise me more than seeing Ol’ Charlie parked in the garage, waiting for us.

  “Oh, Theo,” I laughed, clasping my hands. “This is the best surprise yet!”

  “Got him while you were at work. Brock brought him down this morning. Picked up the keys to the house too. Thought I’d show you what kind of future we can have once we get through this fight—that it will all be worth it in the end.”

  It felt like my face was about to split in half. If words could make knees quake, then mine were probably about to crumble to pieces.

  I stood on my toes and kissed him harder than before, my fingers curling in his navy blue T-shirt.

  When the embrace had settled, he pulled away and picked up a pink helmet from the shelf. “How about a ride before it gets too dark?”

  I accepted the helmet. “I would love one.”

  The ride was liberating.

  I’d never felt so free.

  So alive.

  My arms were locked around him as we rode on Ol’ Charlie, through Bristle Wave, rumbling past Dane’s bar as a few people he knew waved at him, and on the single street by the beach.

  When the sun was barely in sight, he parked the bike on a pier, planted his feet on the ground, and then grabbed my hand. He helped me climb off first and then he propped the kickstand.

  We stood on the pier, side-by-side, my head resting on his chest, and it remained that way until the sun fully sank. Until it was dark and there was nothing but the velvety night sky, the silver moon, and the twinkling stars surrounding us.

  He didn’t have to speak for me to know how he felt.

  His silence spoke volumes. The look he gave me, how his eyes sparkled from the moonlight and stars, was enough.

  In his eyes, I saw the words I love you. In his eyes, I saw a wonderful future I could create with him. In his eyes I was lost, and if being lost felt like this, I never wanted to be found again.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  THEO

  She was too eager to wait. She wanted to move in right away, so we spent most of the week moving furniture out of her old house.

  The furniture was still in good condition. We brought along her sofas, the dinner table, and the bed frame and headboard from her bed. I refused to bring the mattress she shared with Sterling. Fuck that. I ordered a brand new one for us to break in. I didn’t want his presence anywhere in my house.

  It’d been several days and still no word from Sheila, but there was an email with the new contract from my lawyer, about opening up a new franchise.

  Things were picking up. I felt better than ever, especially now with us in this house on the cliff, waking up every morning to a view of the beach. The breezy air. The peace and quiet.

  On Friday morning, I decided to make Chloe some breakfast. We’d moved most of what we needed for the time being. She brought along some more clothes to fill the closet. Of course we had no washer and dryer yet, but we made trips to her house for clothes that needed washing. We were going to get that last.

  I guess it was a good thing she still had the home, but it did tick me off when she had to go back alone, knowing that fucker could stroll in at any given moment and be alone with her.

  I hated the idea of it, but with the contracts, and endless phone calls with Sheila’s lawyer and mine about the divorce, I couldn’t always drop her off. She was a woman now, with her own car, and I had to understand that, but I hated sending her off without me. I hated knowing he could pop up to try and manipulate her again.

  As I cooked to music by The Rolling Stones that Friday morning, I glanced over at the clock. It was nearing 11:30 a.m. She was usually awake by now, most times before me. As I whisked the eggs, I looked over my shoulder, hoping to hear her coming down.

  Nothing.

  I dumped the eggs in the skillet, scrambled them up, and then shut the stove off. After washing my hands, I was making my way upstairs. The door was still shut, and it creaked lightly as I pushed it open.

  She was still in bed, her brown hair like a curtain over her face. She was breathing deep. Still sleeping, apparently.

  “Chloe?” I called, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing her thigh. She rolled sideways, turning her back to me. I fought a laugh, stepping around to the other side of the bed. “Chloe? You hungry?” I asked, stroking her hair back. She groaned, shifting and then peeling one eye open. “Breakfast is ready. It’s almost twelve now.”

  “Twelve?” she repeated, rolling onto her back. “How? Feels like I didn’t get enough sleep at all.” Her face was pale. She sat up sluggishly. “I don’t think I can eat right now, babe. My stomach isn’t settling too well. I think it was those oysters last night. Seafood always does this to me. I told you! That restaurant had a three star rating for a reason. Four stars or more for seafood from now on.”

  I grabbed her hand and helped her out of bed. “Go ahead. Wash up. I’ll go set up the table and find something to settle your stomach.”

  She bobbed her head, her hair bouncing, staggering towards the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. When I heard the faucet start, I made my way back down the stairs and grabbed some plates to set up.

  As I started, bringing the blueberry muffins and eggs to the table, I heard her footsteps.

  She rounded the corner, frowning as she stared at me. “Hey. I was just about to look for some medicine—” I was about to finish, until her eyes stretched wide, she cupped her mouth, and dashed for the downstairs bathroom.

  “Chloe!” I called. “Shit.” I set the last plate of food down and hurried after her. The door was already shut and locked behind her, but I heard gagging. The toilet water sloshed. Another cough and gag. Knocking, I called her name again. “You good in there?”

  “I’m—” Another splash.

  I pressed my back against the wall, staring at the door. I listened to her vomit again and then groan in agony. “I don’t think it was the oysters. If it was, I would be sick too,” I called from where I stood.

  “I don’t know what else it could be. The shrimp and crab was fine.” She slightly gagged. “Ugh—why does it smell so bad out there? What did you cook?”

  So naïve. I knew this would happen, just not this soon . . . and I wasn’t even sure how the hell I felt about it. But I knew. I’d experienced it before. It was something I was never going to forget.

  “Chloe, baby,” I laughed, walking towards the door and pressing a hand on it. “I think you and I should take a little trip to the pharmacy.”

  “For what?” she asked, sniffling. “Medicine?”

  “No. For this little thing called a pregnancy test.”

  As soon as I said that, I heard the toilet flush and then the door was yanked open. Her eyes were even wider now, her face still colorless.

  “Theo, I am not pregnant. I can’t be! I’m on birth control.”

  “I’ve seen birth control fail plenty of times before, babe—not to me, but a few friends here and there. The stories never end.”

  She looked me in the eyes, her body going still. “Theo, I—”

  “Me. You. Pharmacy. Now. Before we talk about it, let’s make sure.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and helped her out of the bathroom. “There’s one right down the street. Won’t take long.”

  “Shit,” she hissed. “What if I am?” she asked as we started up the stairs. “I mean, shit, Theo, we haven’t even settled your divorce yet. You have all this stuff on your plate already. This is a bad time—and Izzy—”

  “Izzy will probably be over the damn moon. She’s wanted a sibling for years now. Janet swore she wasn’t going to have another. Izzy was hard enough to handle.” When I said that, she cracked a smile. I was glad to see it. “We don’t know anything for sure. It might actually be the seafood, but from my experience, I’m betting money that it isn’t the seafood, but something better
.”

  “Better?” she asked, stunned as she tugged one of her shirts on. “How is growing a baby better, with all you’re going through?”

  “Because it will be coming from my Little Knight.” I cupped the back of her neck and kissed the center of her forehead. “That’s a dream come true right there.”

  She bit a smile, but didn’t say anything.

  And she didn’t have to. The look in her eyes—that look she gave me—was more than enough for me to know that maybe she’d dreamt of the same thing too.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  CHLOE

  “You aren’t nervous about this? I mean, this changes a lot, Theo. Babies are huge responsibilities.”

  “I know they are. I think I did okay before, though.” He laughed. I could tell he was trying to keep his cool about this too. I honestly wanted to freak the fuck out. “Look, if you are, you are, and we’ll handle it. If not . . . well, I guess that’s okay. As many times as I’ve been inside you since we’ve reunited, I will be very surprised if you aren’t though.”

  “Right.” I waved the stick in the air. “Well . . . I’ll let you know in, like, three minutes?”

  He nodded with a light press of the lips. “I’ll be waiting in the living room.”

  When he walked off, I shut the door behind me. My heart was pounding, my fingers going numb as I ripped through the paper and pulled out the stick.

  Dropping my sweats and panties, I sat on the toilet and brought the stick down.

  After the job was done, I capped it, sat it on the back of the toilet, flushed, and then washed my hands.

  And then I waited. It was the longest three minutes of my life.

  At first, there was only one line. One bold, thin line. My heart steadied in rhythm . . . until another line appeared right beside it. Fainter, but it was there. Two lines.

  POSITIVE.

  Holy. Shit.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  CHLOE

  There were too many thoughts—too many feelings overwhelming me.

  The bottoms of my feet hit the cool wood as I stepped out of the bathroom. With the stick in hand, I continued my walk, unsure of how I felt.

  Should I be excited or upset?

  Should I be regretting this?

  Should we have been more careful?

  I took the final step it took to get around the corner and Theo was sitting in Janet’s red recliner, finishing up his muffin. I stared at him for several seconds before making my appearance known.

  What will this change? I loved what we had now, and one thing I knew for sure was that kids brought stress. Kids aren’t easy to handle. With all we had going on, would he even be able to take care of them the way he wanted to? If the divorce backfired, would he spend most of his time trying to figure it out . . . away from me?

  He sat there like he had no care in the world, which made me wonder if I was panicking for no reason. He already knew how babies could change things. Maybe it wouldn’t change much for him. Maybe it would make our bond stronger.

  I hoped.

  Finally clearing my throat, Theo picked his head up in an instant and then shot to a stand, a smile spreading across his lips. Was he expecting good or bad news? Hell, was me saying the words I’m pregnant going to be the good or bad news to him?

  “Well?” he probed, wide-eyed.

  I waved the stick in the air as I took a few more steps into the living room, unable to form words. I wanted to tell him right away—I really did. I wanted to blurt it out just to see his reaction, but something about it terrified me.

  Theo wasn’t the type to run away from his problems, but what if this caused him to panic? What if this was too much? What if he never expected to have babies with me—or to have another child again?

  “Shit, Chlo. Come on. Your silence is killing me here,” he laughed nervously, dropping his hands to his waist. His smile was crooked. He wasn’t sure whether to grin or frown.

  “Two lines,” I murmured. “It’s positive.” I didn’t blink. I didn’t want to miss any of his reactions. “And I—I’m sure it’s yours,” I went on. “Sterling and I haven’t slept together in the same bed for months. We’ve hardly even touched so . . . I know. I got my period before you first came back. Only person I’ve done anything with since then is you.”

  His mouth twitched. “I—I know,” he laughed hoarsely. “I believe you.”

  “So?” I pushed, swallowing hard. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking,” he started as he walked in my direction and pushed his fingers through his silver-shot hair, “that I just might be the luckiest man on the fucking planet right now.”

  My thundering heart sped up ten more notches. I broke out in a grin and Theo hurried my way, picking me up by the waist. I hooked my legs around him and he lightly shook his head, not in disbelief but in complete awe.

  “This is the best news I’ve gotten in years,” he laughed. “Shit, Chloe, I—” He struggled for words, smiling way too hard. That beautiful, adorable smile. I understood his speechlessness. I was at a loss for words myself, so instead of letting him continue the search for something to say, I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and kissed him. Hard. Deep.

  I could still feel my pulse in my veins. I could feel his heart beating against mine. It was good news for him. Great news apparently. I’d never seen him so happy. When our lips parted, he was smiling so damn hard I thought his face might break.

  “My Knight, carrying my baby.” He carried me to the couch, placed me on my back, and then leaned forward and cooed to my belly. “You hear me in there? It’s your daddy, and I’m never going anywhere! I love you to death already!”

  “Wow. Now you’re really Daddy Black,” I giggled as he kissed me below the navel, his lips brushing my skin, tickling me. “Theo!” I laughed.

  He picked his head up, brown eyes bright.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked. “I mean I know it will change a lot between us. I know it wasn’t planned or anything . . .”

  “Fuck the plans and society’s rules.” I sat up and he took a seat right beside me. “That’s my baby in there and you’re my woman. I don’t regret a damn thing. Will shit change? For sure. But it’s always for the better. Always.”

  My face grew hot, cheeks spreading wide as I formed a smile. I rubbed my stomach and released a heavy breath. “This was something I had always fantasized about, you know? Finding the perfect guy to have my kids with. Feeling this way—on top of the world. Like nothing can stop us now.”

  He leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “Nothing will ever stop us again, baby. You have my word.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  THEO

  There were no words to describe how I felt.

  The happiness—that emotion that swells up inside you, to the point that you feel like you’ll burst if you don’t let it out.

  My baby. She was carrying my baby.

  My Little Knight was everything to me, but this? This may have been the best thing to happen to us yet. She thought there was going to be stress, but fuck that. There wasn’t going to be any more stress. No more worries.

  With her carrying my child, no one would touch her again. No one would threaten her, and if they did, they had better start running because I would be coming for them. I would hunt them down until I found them and make them regret ever doing something so stupid—crossing the wrong man.

  That was my baby in there. Mine.

  And she was mine. Only mine.

  What more did I need?

  Later that night I got a voicemail. It was a voice that ruined the good news I’d just received.

  “Theo, it’s Sheila. I’m boarding my flight to San Francisco right now. I’ll be there for a few days. Come within the next day or two. It’s time to talk about the divorce with our lawyers in person. Hope you’re ready.”

  I frowned at my phone as Chloe rested her head on my arm. “You still want me to tag along?” she aske
d.

  “Hell yeah. I’m not leaving you here.”

  Her head tilted. “We shouldn’t tell her that I’m pregnant. It might make things a little more complicated. Maybe I can come, but while you two discuss the divorce and the contract, I’ll wait outside or something. Cause less of a distraction.”

  “You can do whatever you want, Chloe. But you’re coming with me to San Fran regardless.” I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “I think we’ve got this one. She didn’t sound too pleased. She almost sounds . . . defeated,” I laughed. “She lost. She probably only wants to talk about selling the house. If it sells, she wants to keep the furniture and shit. She might even ask me for a loan so she can stay on her feet for a while.”

  “And will you give her one?”

  “I figure it’s the least I can do. Better that she doesn’t feel completely down and broke. Maybe she’ll move back to Florida with her sister. I really don’t care as long as she stays the hell away from me.”

  She shook with laughter. “That would be nice.”

  Yeah, and easy.

  Too fucking easy.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  CHLOE

  By morning, my Theodore was a mess.

  He made phone call after phone call, which left me having to pack up most of what he was bringing, as well as my own stuff.

  I was mostly finished, but there were a few things I had left behind that I wanted to bring along, like my good jewelry—just in case I happened to run into Sheila one-on-one. It was a childish thought, but if she were to see me and figure out who was, I wanted her to find me beautiful and mature. Not some young girl that she’d assume didn’t know much of anything and had stolen him away.

  I also needed to bring my Kindle with me. It was going to be a long ride and I had a lot of reading to catch up on.