My eyes slide closed. I should have known Tucker would call him and that he would rush home to make sure I was okay because he’s the kind of guy to show up even when he’s not expected or asked to.

“Sorry, I was in the shower.” A fresh wave of tears fills my eyes. “I don’t have cramps anymore. Actually, I forgot that I even had them to begin with.”

“So why are you crying?” He pulls me into his arms, palming the back of my head while his hand smooths down my back. “Is your dad okay?”

“He’s fine. I’m just being emotional.” I press my face against his suit jacket and choke on a sob.

“You’re scaring me, Franny. What’s going on?”

“I’m pregnant,” I whisper, squeezing my eyes closed.

“We already knew that, baby.”

“No, I can see that I’m pregnant!”

“What do you mean?” He uses his fingers under my chin to force me to look up at him.

Swallowing, I step out of his hold and open the bottom half of my robe as he watches, then turn to the side and slide my hand over my stomach.

“Holy shit,” he whispers, his eyes flying up to meet mine.

“I know.” I sniffle. “I don’t even know when this happened.”

Stepping toward me, he drops to his knees at my feet, and I feel the warmth of his hands on my stomach before his lips press softly against my skin.

“Fuck.” He tips his head back. “It’s so fucking crazy to think that just weeks ago, we were strangers, and now you’ve become the most important person in my life.”

The vulnerability of those words and the adoration I see in his gaze when he looks up at me make it difficult to breathe. I’ve been in love before, and it scares me to think that I’m already halfway in love with him.

Even if that emotion shouldn’t be possible so soon—even if it would be smart to protect myself—I know it’s already too late. He snuck under my defenses when I wasn’t paying attention and wrapped himself around my heart.

But I guess that’s love, right?

It’s one emotion we have zero control over. We can’t predict when it will happen to us or even guard ourselves against it when it does.