by Kate Hunt
“How’s the road been?” he asks.
“Good,” I say.
“Still not sick of it yet?”
“Nah.” I shift in my seat. “I actually met someone, though. A few weeks ago. Someone who makes me want to just stay in one place.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah. Her name’s Madison. She’s…” I look out the window. Shake my head. Look back over at Luca. “She’s incredible, man. There’s nobody else like her.”
“That’s awesome,” Luca says, grinning over at me. “I’m happy for you.”
Luca makes the last turn and pulls up to our parents’ house. Their place looks the same as always, and it feels great to be home.
I grab the flowers and the bag I packed and we head up to the house. As I ring the doorbell, Luca stands off to the side. Our mom’s voice calls out that she’s on her way, and then the door is opening and she’s standing there, wiping her hands on a towel, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Titus!”
“Hey, Ma.”
“I can’t believe you’re here!” she says, stepping forward to give me a hug. I give her a good squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.
“These are for you,” I say, handing her the flowers.
“So sweet of you, honey. Come in, boys.” She turns to call over her shoulder. “Michael! Come downstairs and see who’s here!”
My dad breaks out in a big smile when he comes downstairs and sees me. We move into the kitchen as a group. While my mom gets the flowers into some water, my dad gets beers for us and asks about the road.
I tell him and my mom the same stuff I told Luca in the car, ending with telling them about Madison. When I talk about her, my parents exchange a happy look, which I’m not surprised by. They’ve never been the sort to nag Luca or I about settling down and giving them grandchildren, but I’ve always had a feeling it’s something they secretly hoped for.
“Well, we look forward to meeting her one day,” my mom says.
I nod. “I look forward to it, too.”
Madison may have insisted that our night together was a one-time thing. But I could see in her eyes that deep down, she didn’t want that to be true. And when I told her I was coming back, I meant exactly that.
I’m going back.
I’m putting a ring on her finger.
And I’m making that sweet girl mine. Forever.
Later that night, while Luca and my dad are watching TV, I take the opportunity to talk to my mom alone. She’s in the kitchen drying dishes, keeping busy as usual.
“Hey, Ma,” I say. “Let me help you.”
“No, no,” she says. “You’re a guest.”
“What? This is the house I grew up in.”
“That doesn’t mean I have to let you help me dry the dishes.”
I shake my head in defeat. I grab another beer out of the refrigerator, twist off the cap, and take a swig as I lean against the counter.
“It’s really good to see you guys,” I say.
She smiles over at me as she runs a towel over a dish. “It’s great to see you too, honey. And it’s great to hear that everything’s going so well for you.”
I nod. Set the beer down on the counter. Clear my throat.
“Do you still have that family ring, Ma?”
She sets the dish in an upper cabinet and looks over at me with surprise. “Grandma’s engagement ring?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you telling me you already feel that way about Madison?”
I nod.
“Oh, honey…” She tears up as she steps closer and reaches out to touch my arm. “I always dreamed of this moment. Yes. Of course I have it. Hold on. Let me go find it.”
She hurries upstairs and I hear the sounds of her walking around on the second floor and opening and closing drawers. When she comes back down, I push back my shoulders and straighten up, the moment suddenly feeling very real.
My mom giddily hands over the vintage ring box. I carefully open it up and take in the sight of the ring inside.
The band is set with a stunning ruby surrounded by tiny sparkling diamonds.
It’s perfect.
Without any cargo in the trailer, it feels like I’m flying down the highway. Every mile that passes beneath my tires is one less mile separating me from my girl.
And it feels like I’m going home.
It takes close to three days to make it back to her. It’s early afternoon when I arrive in the town where Madison lives. I park the rig out of the way, quickly shower, then change into the nicest clothes I own. On my way to the café, I stop by a floral shop and pick up a bouquet of flowers, buying the biggest damn one I can find.
My heartbeat is going crazy as I walk up to the café. I can see my girl through the front window, and I keep my focus on her as I open up the door. She’s such a vision of beauty. No one will ever compare to her. Not in the slightest.
Madison looks up when I walk in, a smile still on her face.
But when she sees me, she blanches.
My stomach drops. Fuck.
“What are you doing here, Titus?” she says.
Chapter Five
Madison
Why, oh why, did he have to come back?
The only reason I’ve been able to deal with my predicament is because I’d accepted the fact that I was never going to see Titus again.
But now he’s back.
And by the looks of things, he didn’t come back to the café just to get another burger.
It’s been less than a week since I took the pregnancy test. There was nothing faint about the two lines that appeared, but still, I remained in denial at first. The words I’m pregnant kept repeating in my head, over and over and over, and yet I couldn’t believe it was actually true.
I spent several sleepless nights trying to imagine myself mothering a child, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t picture it. I couldn’t imagine ending the pregnancy, either, though. That felt just as impossible.
Finally, I made up my mind that I was going to have to do the heart-wrenching thing—give the baby up for adoption, give my little one to a family who could provide what I was unable to. I simply wasn’t equipped for raising a kid.
And right now, I’m not equipped to see Titus again.
“Can we talk?” he says.
I take in the sight of him. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see him again. I know he told me he was going to come back, but I didn’t believe him. Guys say shit they don’t mean all the time.
But here he is. Standing before me. Holding flowers. Looking just as hot as he did the first time. As I look at him, an ache blooms between my thighs. Shit. I can’t get distracted by that. It doesn’t matter how delicious he might look. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.
“I’m working,” I say stiffly.
“When’s your shift over?”
“In an hour.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.” Titus glances around the café to see what booths are empty.
But the idea of him sitting here makes my chest constrict.
“Can you…sorry, but can you not wait here?”
Disappointment and confusion etches onto his face. I’m sure he just wants to know why I’m acting this way, why I’m not happier to see him. But I can’t explain it all right now.
“Okay,” says Titus. “I’ll come back in an hour.”
Titus walks out of the café, flowers still in hand, and I get back to work. I try to act like everything’s normal, keeping a smile on my face for customers, but all I want to do is slide into one of the booths and lay my head down on the table and shut out the world.
But I go on.
An hour later, my shift is up, and I’m bracing myself for facing Titus again. While I wait for him to show up, I sit down across from Joe, who looks up from his sketchbook with a smile.
“I saw your friend came back,” he says.
I sigh. “You noticed, huh?”
“A man that siz
e is hard to miss, my dear.”
I let out a half-laugh. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
“You aren’t happy to see him again?”
“It’s complicated, Joe.”
“Complicated how?”
I know that Joe is eventually going to figure it out—once I start to show, it’s not like I’ll be able to hide the baby belly for long. But I can’t bring myself to tell him yet. What if he’s disappointed in me? What if he thinks less of me?
“I just…I didn’t think he’d come back,” I tell Joe. “I’d already accepted that he was just passing through town.”
“Ah. I see.” Joe takes a sip from his coffee cup. “Well, if you want someone to scare the guy away…”
I laugh. “You’re sweet. But no. I can handle this myself.”
“My offer still stands.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
Even though my back is to the café door, I know Titus has arrived when I hear it open. I slide out of the booth and say goodbye to Joe. Then I take a breath and turn around, as ready as I’ll ever be to do this.
“I’m pregnant, Titus.”
I don’t mean to blurt out the news like that, but it just kind of happens. The two of us are sitting on a park bench a short walk away from the café. Titus was in the middle of telling me how he hasn’t stopped thinking of me since he left, saying all of this incredibly sweet stuff—but I just couldn’t keep the words in any longer.
And now the secret’s out.
Titus lifts his brows, then furrows them. “You mean…from…”
I nod.
He runs a hand through his hair. Blows air out of his cheeks. “That’s…” He reaches out to touch my hand, but I pull my hand away. Tears flood my eyes.
“Please don’t,” I say.
He frowns. “Madison, I know it’s a lot. But I’m here. I want to be with you. That’s the whole reason I came back.”
“I can’t.”
“Why can’t you?”
“I won’t be any good at this.”
“What are you talking about?”
I shake my head.
“Talk to me, Madison,” he says. “Please. Tell me why you think that.”
It kills me how earnestly he’s looking at me. It’s so obvious that he really, truly cares. I swipe away the tears that have spilled onto my cheeks and confess the thing I’ve never been able to say out loud. “I’m afraid of turning into my mom.”
“You won’t,” Titus says. “I know you won’t.”
“The thing is, Titus,” I say, “I was an unplanned pregnancy, too. My mom didn’t mean to have me. And look at how that ended up. It’s like she resents me for forcing her into a life she didn’t want. And it just feels like the cycle is repeating.”
“No,” says Titus. “It’ll be different with us. I know you won’t let the same thing happen. And I’m not going anywhere. Whatever you need, whatever our child needs, I’ll be here for you both. Always.”
A glimmer of hope inside of me tentatively grows. Brightens. Clears away some of the darkness.
Titus reaches up to dry away the tracks left from my tears, and this time, I let him touch me.
“What about you being on the road all the time?” I say.
“I’ll quit.”
“But don’t you enjoy it?”
“Yeah. I’ve really enjoyed it. But you know what I’d enjoy more? Being with you.” He cups my chin. “You know, all this driving around the country…I think I was searching for something. Because when I met you, Madison, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere.”
I’ve never felt so many emotions at once. I still feel raw from crying, and vulnerable from admitting my fear, and scared about the baby, and yet also so moved by how wonderful Titus is being.
“So…what?” I say. “You’re saying you’ll give up your job, just like that?”
Titus nods. “Yep. Just like that.”
“What about money?”
“What about it? I’ve put a ton in savings. I can support us for a long time.”
“You make it sounds so simple.”
“It is.”
I’m so overwhelmed by all of this. Too overwhelmed to make a decision either way.
“I need some time to think about it, Titus.”
He nods. “Take whatever time you need.”
In the end, though, it turns out that all I need is a few hours. I thought I’d made up my mind about the baby, but Titus coming back has changed everything. The things he said to me have changed everything. Lying on my living room floor, with one hand on my stomach as I stare up at the ceiling, it all finally becomes so clear. I want to be with Titus. I want to keep our baby. I want us to raise our little one together.
I run all the way from my apartment to his rig.
He’s standing outside of it when I reach him, his back facing me as he messes with something under the hood. Even before I see his face, I can feel my chest swell with love for him.
“Titus,” I call out.
He looks over his shoulder first, then turns all the way around when he sees it’s me. As I run up to him, a grin overtakes his face.
I fly into his arms and he holds me tight. When his lips meet mine, his kiss is full of relief and affection and possession.
I don’t know how he has the ability to make everything feel all right, but he does.
This might not have been how I envisioned my life going. But as he holds me, as we kiss, I don’t regret a single thing about all of this. It feels like it was meant to be.
And I know now that Titus is the only man who could ever give it to me.
We pull apart and I look up at him with a racing heart.
“I want to be with you, Titus,” I say. “I’m scared, but I want to do this. I’m in love with you.”
“I’m in love with you, too,” he says, and his words flood my body with warmth. Then that warmth turns to happy shock as he gets down on one knee.
Chapter Six
Titus
3 Months Later
“Look who’s here, Madison.”
Madison looks over to see who I’m talking about. When she sees her mom, I feel her body go tense against mine. We’re in the garden just off the area where our wedding ceremony is about to take place. We’ve just finished up taking some first look photos with our photographer.
“She made it,” Madison breathes. She looks up at me and a mixture of emotions crosses her face. “I can’t believe she’s here.”
I give Madison a reassuring squeeze on her hip. “You should go say hello.”
“Yeah. I should. You good?”
“Yep. See you at the altar.”
She grins. “I can’t wait.”
I watch as Madison walks over and greets her mom. Even from this far away, I can tell their hug is cautious.
But it’s a start.
After we got engaged, Madison called her mom to tell her about the two of us and invite her to the wedding. But, as Madison worried might happen, her mom didn’t receive the news well. Her mom refused to acknowledge our relationship, no matter how much Madison insisted it was the real deal.
Madison hung up from the phone call that day angry and hurt. I comforted her as much as I could. But the following day, when Madison was at work, I went over to her mom’s place—it wasn’t hard to find the address—and knocked on her door.
I had to do something. Madison was my family now. Her pain was my pain.
When Madison’s mom opened the door, I told her she didn’t have to invite me in, but that I wasn’t leaving until she listened to what I had to say. She folded her arms and remained standing in the doorway, but she waited for me to go on.
So I stood on her doormat and talked. I told her how much I loved Madison. Told her how much Madison loved me. Told her how we both wanted her to be involved in our lives—and that it wasn’t too late to repair her relationship with her daughter if she started putting in the effort.
Honestly, walking away that day, I was
n’t sure whether I’d said enough. And when we didn’t hear anything from her in the weeks that followed, I began to accept the fact that it wasn’t ever going to happen.
But now she’s here. She showed up. And it looks like she’s finally ready to start rebuilding her relationship with Madison.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see my dad.
“Ready to get married, son?” he says, giving my shoulder a squeeze. When Madison and I asked him if he would officiate our wedding, he immediately said he’d be honored to.
“I was ready the day I met her,” I say.
“Hold on. Wait here for a second,” I tell Madison as I open the door to our hotel suite. I pick up our luggage and carry it into the room, then make sure there’s rose petals on the bed and a bucket of chilled non-alcoholic champagne like I asked for.
When I return to Madison, she squints at me playfully.
“What are you up to?” she asks.
“This,” I say, scooping her up into my arms. She laughs as I carry her into the room and kick the door shut behind us.
I set her down on her feet in the middle of the room and she looks around for a moment, a hand resting on her belly, before gazing up adoringly at me. “This is so lovely, Titus. Thank you.”
“You’re so lovely, babygirl.”
Her smile deepens. Then, drawing her hands behind herself, she undoes the back of her wedding dress. As the dress loosens, it falls off her, revealing the bridal lingerie she’s got on beneath: a lacy white bra and matching panties that make my hard-on nearly bust through my tux.
I lose my shoes and my jacket and vest. I practically rip off my bow tie and tear off my shirt. I’m throwing the piece of clothing aside when Madison steps forward and starts to undo my pants.